Ohio State coach Thad Matta hopes the Buckeyes' tough defense can keep up with UCLA's high-scoring offense Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at Las Vegas.
If Matta's transition defense can rise to the challenge, the Buckeyes could have a chance to subdue UCLA's offensive flow led by future NBA point guard Lonzo Ball.
That could be a case of easier said than done, however, against the Bruins, who ranked No. 2 nationally in scoring at 97.9 points a game after beating UC Santa Barbara 102-62 Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion.
No. 2 UCLA improved to 11-0, its best start since a 14-0 beginning of the 2006-07 season. Ohio State (8-2) is unranked. The game at the T-Mobile Arena (3 p.m. ET, CBS) is part of a doubleheader with the second game featuring No. 6 Kentucky and No. 7 North Carolina.
"They are playing at such a fast pace and just a very high skill level," Matta said of UCLA. "(They have) a lot of guys who can make shots. They do a good job of getting the ball down the floor.
"That's one thing that will be very, very important from the start -- getting back on defense. Getting our defense set will be a huge priority for us."
The Buckeyes have established themselves as one of the nation's top defenses through the first 10 games, allowing only one opponent to score more than 70 points -- a 79-77 overtime loss at home against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 6.
UCLA is unlike any of Ohio State's opponents to this point when it comes to scoring. The closest the Buckeyes faced is Marshall, which averages 86.6 points a game.
Ohio State can gain confidence from that game heading into the matchup against the Bruins. The Buckeyes beat Marshall 111-70 in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 25. Matta said the Buckeyes will play at a faster pace similar to that game but won't try to match UCLA step for step.
The Bruins showed their firepower against UC Santa Barbara with their fifth game of 100 points or more. Freshman standouts TJ Leaf and Ball each recorded a fifth double-double of the season, and reserve sophomore guard Aaron Holiday -- who started 34 games last year but now backs up Ball -- tallied his first career 20-point game.
Leaf had 25 points, including 17 in the first half. He and Ball each had 10 rebounds. Leaf nearly finished with a triple-double, adding a season-high eight assists. Ball wound up with 13 points, seven assists and a season-high 10 rebounds.
"It's a lot of fun watching this team play and coaching this team," UCLA coach Steve Alford said after noting that the Bruins had 27 assists and only eight turnovers against the Gauchos. "We move on now. We have a major test with our third Big Ten team coming up on Saturday."
The Bruins defeated Nebraska 82-71 and Michigan 102-84. They also have a 74-67 win over Texas A&M, showing they can survive a challenge in a lower-scoring game. Their best achievement was a 97-92 triumph at then-No. 1 Kentucky on Dec. 3.
Ball is drawing comparisons to Jason Kidd while averaging 14.8 points, 8.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. He is a better perimeter shooter than Kidd, making 45.8 percent of his 3-point attempts. UCLA is shooting 45.3 percent from beyond the arc.
"Ball's making great decisions," Matta said. "He has a tremendous future ahead of him. There's no question about that."
Ohio State ranks No. 20 nationally allowing only 61.7 points a game, almost 36 points fewer than the Bruins' scoring average. Greg Paulus, the former Duke standout who is Matta's defensive assistant, has told the Buckeyes it will require a team effort with defense away from the ball to challenge UCLA.
"It boils down to having an understanding that it's five guys guarding the basketball," Paulus told the Columbus Dispatch. "It's not just one-on-one, if you get scored on it's not my guy who scored -- no, it's on Ohio State. It's on us."
UCLA has six players scoring in double figures per game while Ohio State has five, but the Bruins played without junior center Thomas Welsh (11.1 points and 9.6 rebounds) the last two games. He is nursing a sore right knee.
Starting forward Jae'Sean Tate leads the Buckeyes with 13.9 points a game while also averaging 7.3 rebounds. Reserve 7-foot center Trevor Thompson tops Ohio State with 8.6 rebounds a game, and he is shooting 66.7 percent from the field, most of that following offensive rebounds.
