TCU's star forward David Punch gave the Buckeyes the perfect bulletin board material ahead of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
If the Ohio State Buckeyes needed more motivation for their first-round game against the TCU Horned Frogs on Thursday, they got it thanks to David Punch.
Punch is TCU's best player and, apparently, their lead trash talker. On Wednesday in TCU's media availability, Punch dropped the line of the day. When asked about the game, Punch said, "We win this matchup nine times out of 10 based on our physicality and athleticism.”
You can almost guarantee that quote has been printed out and is plastered all over the Buckeyes' locker room. This is a piece of old-school bulletin board material that Ohio State should use as fuel.
The Buckeyes' toughness has been put to the test over the last month of their season. Their backs were up against the wall, and they were on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament.
Instead of turtling and coasting to the offseason, they buckled down and went to work.
Game after game, they chipped away and ripped off four straight wins to end the season before a hard-fought loss to the Michigan Wolverines. They went from out of the tournament to an eight seed in just three weeks.
To do that, they went through the heart of the Big Ten.
Wins over No. 25 Wisconsin, No. 8 Purdue, Penn State, Indiana, and Iowa were all a part of their run to the tournament. To win those games, you simply must display both mental and physical toughness to even have a chance.
Now, to say the Buckeyes are the most athletic group is not that far off. They don't have any guys who are going to instill fear into a defense from an athleticism standpoint, but they will get into a street fight with you just to win a game.
This first-round matchup is going to be a really good basketball game to start the tournament. It is a battle between two really good basketball teams that are playing very good ball to end the season.
The winner of this one gets the right to, probably, take on the Duke Blue Devils in the Round of 32. The East Region is loaded, and for any team to get the four wins necessary to get to the Final Four, they will have to be tough and athletic.
We'll see very soon if Punch's assessment of the Buckeyes is right or wrong.
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