D’Angelo Russell leads Ohio State past VCU in OT thriller

Credit: Bleacher Report

The Ohio State Buckeyes (10) came into Thursday’s game against the VCU Rams (7) as the underdog with head coach Shaka Smart hoping to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Although the Rams played well throughout the game and appeared to be the better squad at times, draft prospect D’Angele Russell proved to be too much to handle down the stretch.

With a game-high 28 points, Russell seemed to get better and better as the game progressed. The potential future NBA lottery pick also added six rebounds, two steals and two blocks to the stat sheet with the Buckeyes ultimately prevailing in overtime, 75-72.

As result of Russell’s performance leading Ohio State to victory on Thursday, the Buckeyes will advance to the next round to face the Arizona Wildcats (2) on Saturday. It’ll be another tough challenge for Russell and company with Arizona looking to redeem themselves after a disappointing exit in the tourney last year with Aaron Gordon leading the way.

The Wildcats were one of the few teams that were able to dominate the competition in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona made easy work of the Texas Southern Tigers (15) with a dominant first-half performance. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson led the way for the Wildcats combining for 45 points in the 93-72 thrashing of the Tigers.

Before the NCAA Tournament got underway, Arizona had the following moneyline to make the Sweet 16 with -700 (Yes) and +450 (No). There’s no question Russell’s Buckeyes will put the Wildcats to the test as Arizona attempts to advance.