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LGHL Purdue broke the Ohio State mens’ basketball team in January
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Purdue broke the Ohio State mens’ basketball team in January
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The odds don’t suggest the Buckeyes will get any revenge today.
Things were going pretty darn well for the Ohio State men’s basketball team until Jan. 5. The team was 10-3, ranked No. 24 in the country, and had the second-best odds to win the Big Ten title according to the DraftKings SportsBook. But something broke on that Thursday night.
Some late-game missteps foiled a valiant effort to upset the then-No. 1 team in the country the Purdue Boilermakers and the Buckeyes lost at home 71-69; Chirs Holtmann’s squad has only one once in the intervening 45 days. I’m not going to play sports psychologist here (although I have been watching “Shrinking” on Apple TV+, and it is excellent), but it does seem like something has gone haywire with the team since then.
The Buckeyes lost their next four games by an average score of 70.25-66. Two of those games were one-score margins and a third went to overtime. Obviously not the outcomes you want, but still respectable — especially considering what has happened since. Two of those losses came to teams still in contention for the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament (Maryland and Rutgers) and two were to teams in the conference’s cellar alongside Ohio State (Maryland and Nebraska).
Ohio State started to show signs of its fatal flaws probably back in December when it coughed up its lead to North Carolina and lost in overtime, but the same issues became one of the central narratives of the season in that Purdue game. The team would fight and claw and — even though it wasn’t always pretty — would stick around in games until the closing minutes with a chance to pull out the victory.
However, poor execution, equally poor coaching, boneheaded turnovers, missed free throws, an inability to break a press, etc. would erase the efforts for the first 36-ish minutes of games and would confine a team that appeared to be on the cusp of gelling to the L-column once again.
Following a 93-77 win over Iowa on Jan. 21 to break the losing streak, we saw these nasty habits continue to creep up again and again, but the margins of defeat continued to grow as any semblance of the team that started January with designs on a conference crown have by now nearly completely disappeared. The Buckeyes' last two losses have been by an average of 19 points and things are not especially looking up today.
The Scarlet and Gray will travel to Mackey Arena for a 1 p.m. ET tip and currently, according to the DraftKings SportsBook, they are 11.5-point underdogs, and man does that feel like an easy cover for the Boilers, despite the two teams’ earlier outcome. With all due credit to Ohio State’s players, I think that they have objectively continued to play as hard as they possibly could have during this horrible six-week slump and they have said all of the right things in postgame press conferences. While obviously, things will vary for each individual player, as an outside observer, I do not see a team that has quit on each other, their coaches, or their program.
However, what I do see is a group of young men who have been beaten down by everything that has gone wrong in the past month and a half; beaten down by the weight of their own personal and collective expectations crumbling down around them. No matter how much they want to give the game the same effort that they did when things were clicking, that’s just not possible, as they have been yoked to all of the disappointment of the past 13 games and it is literally and metaphorically making it more difficult to move forward.
In this era of college basketball with transfers, one-and-dones, and NIL opportunities, losing can be even more psychologically destructive than it was in the past. Players rightly have to consider their own individual futures and what is best for them, so invariably thoughts of moving on will creep in; insecurities, uncertainty, and even resentment can take root in someone’s psyche, even if they are the most committed and dedicated player on a team.
So, while following the not-so-nice 71-69 loss to the Boilermakers on Jan. 5, the game might have appeared to be just a speed bump, a missed opportunity in a still promising season, it was, in fact, the beginning of the end for this Buckeye team. The frustrating threads of late-game incompetence were fully on display in that game and they have become the unfortunate calling card of this season’s squad.
While it certainly wouldn’t redeem everything lost this season, a win on the road against No. 2 Purdue would certainly be welcomed measure of revenge, the odds do not suggest that’s in the cards for this afternoon.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The odds don’t suggest the Buckeyes will get any revenge today.
Things were going pretty darn well for the Ohio State men’s basketball team until Jan. 5. The team was 10-3, ranked No. 24 in the country, and had the second-best odds to win the Big Ten title according to the DraftKings SportsBook. But something broke on that Thursday night.
Some late-game missteps foiled a valiant effort to upset the then-No. 1 team in the country the Purdue Boilermakers and the Buckeyes lost at home 71-69; Chirs Holtmann’s squad has only one once in the intervening 45 days. I’m not going to play sports psychologist here (although I have been watching “Shrinking” on Apple TV+, and it is excellent), but it does seem like something has gone haywire with the team since then.
The Buckeyes lost their next four games by an average score of 70.25-66. Two of those games were one-score margins and a third went to overtime. Obviously not the outcomes you want, but still respectable — especially considering what has happened since. Two of those losses came to teams still in contention for the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament (Maryland and Rutgers) and two were to teams in the conference’s cellar alongside Ohio State (Maryland and Nebraska).
Ohio State started to show signs of its fatal flaws probably back in December when it coughed up its lead to North Carolina and lost in overtime, but the same issues became one of the central narratives of the season in that Purdue game. The team would fight and claw and — even though it wasn’t always pretty — would stick around in games until the closing minutes with a chance to pull out the victory.
However, poor execution, equally poor coaching, boneheaded turnovers, missed free throws, an inability to break a press, etc. would erase the efforts for the first 36-ish minutes of games and would confine a team that appeared to be on the cusp of gelling to the L-column once again.
Following a 93-77 win over Iowa on Jan. 21 to break the losing streak, we saw these nasty habits continue to creep up again and again, but the margins of defeat continued to grow as any semblance of the team that started January with designs on a conference crown have by now nearly completely disappeared. The Buckeyes' last two losses have been by an average of 19 points and things are not especially looking up today.
The Scarlet and Gray will travel to Mackey Arena for a 1 p.m. ET tip and currently, according to the DraftKings SportsBook, they are 11.5-point underdogs, and man does that feel like an easy cover for the Boilers, despite the two teams’ earlier outcome. With all due credit to Ohio State’s players, I think that they have objectively continued to play as hard as they possibly could have during this horrible six-week slump and they have said all of the right things in postgame press conferences. While obviously, things will vary for each individual player, as an outside observer, I do not see a team that has quit on each other, their coaches, or their program.
However, what I do see is a group of young men who have been beaten down by everything that has gone wrong in the past month and a half; beaten down by the weight of their own personal and collective expectations crumbling down around them. No matter how much they want to give the game the same effort that they did when things were clicking, that’s just not possible, as they have been yoked to all of the disappointment of the past 13 games and it is literally and metaphorically making it more difficult to move forward.
In this era of college basketball with transfers, one-and-dones, and NIL opportunities, losing can be even more psychologically destructive than it was in the past. Players rightly have to consider their own individual futures and what is best for them, so invariably thoughts of moving on will creep in; insecurities, uncertainty, and even resentment can take root in someone’s psyche, even if they are the most committed and dedicated player on a team.
So, while following the not-so-nice 71-69 loss to the Boilermakers on Jan. 5, the game might have appeared to be just a speed bump, a missed opportunity in a still promising season, it was, in fact, the beginning of the end for this Buckeye team. The frustrating threads of late-game incompetence were fully on display in that game and they have become the unfortunate calling card of this season’s squad.
While it certainly wouldn’t redeem everything lost this season, a win on the road against No. 2 Purdue would certainly be welcomed measure of revenge, the odds do not suggest that’s in the cards for this afternoon.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
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LGHL Four Storylines: No. 13 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. No. 12 Michigan
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Four Storylines: No. 13 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. No. 12 Michigan
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
Looking ahead to a regular season game with a lot on the line.
It’s the final week of the Big Ten regular season for the Ohio State women’s basketball team. Although the postseason doesn’t begin until March 1, the Buckeyes trip north on Monday to face the Michigan Wolverines has major implications on the postseason.
Plus, what will the Buckeyes look like with guard Taylor Mikesell taken out of the offensive side of the court, injuries impacting both teams and more.
The Big Ten Tournament is a five-day event where any team has the chance to punch their ticket to March Madness if they win their conference tournament. Outside of the automatic bid the winner receives, there’s already a handful of conference sides with their names on the tournament bracket in permanent ink.
So, what does Monday have to do with all of that? Both the Wolverines and Buckeyes are destined for basketball after the conference tournament. However, Ohio State is on the outside of the NCAA Tournament committee’s top-16, meaning the Buckeyes would travel for the first two rounds of the tournament.
A win on Monday secures a top-four finish in the conference, a double-bye into the third round of the conference tournament and strengthens the Scarlet & Gray’s resume.
Even though Michigan has three games left, they sit a half game back in the standings. Should Ohio State win, Michigan can’t catch them with the tiebreaker being head-to-head record, which the Buckeyes would have a firm grasp on after beating their rivals on Dec. 31 in Columbus.
Should the Buckeyes fall to the Wolverines, who sit ahead of Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament ranking, the Buckeyes would need to beat the No. 8 Maryland Terrapins on Feb. 24 and hope the Wolverines drop a game against either the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Wisconsin Badgers. Both are games the Wolverines enter as heavy favorites.
If Ohio State wins Monday in Ann Arbor, it doesn’t mean that they can sit back and relax against Maryland, but there’s less weight on the shoulders of the Buckeyes should they clinch top-four status.
On New Year’s Eve, the Buckeyes were a month removed from the last time guard Jacy Sheldon suited up in scarlet and gray. Ohio State got the victory despite Sheldon’s absence that’s now stretched to the final week of the season, playing just once since a Nov. 29 trip to the Louisville Cardinals.
While injuries are awful and it's by no means only a Buckeyes problem, the Michigan Wolverines are going through their own major loss with guard Laila Phelia. Michigan’s sophomore guard started 22 games this season until suffering an injury against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Jan. 29.
The lower body injury’s kept her in a boot and out of competition for the Wolverines. However, it’s only hurt the Maize & Blue once — on Thursday against the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers.
Michigan, like Ohio State, has five losses in the Big Ten to similar opponents. Indiana, Maryland and the Iowa Hawkeyes have all beaten the Wolverines, plus their defeat to the Buckeyes.
In the New Year’s Eve game, the Buckeyes mostly neutralized Phelia, allowing only nine points on 3-for-13 shooting. Replacing Phelia in the lineup is guard Jordan Hobbs, who’s averaging eight points and five rebounds per game in the starter’s absence. Compare that to the 17 points per game Phelia averaged before going down with her injury.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24443937/1247090305.jpg "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FEB 12 Nebraska at Michigan")
Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
What bodes well for Ohio State in that game is that the bench for the Wolverines scored two points the entire game. They came from guard Greta Kampschroeder, who’s also potentially out for Monday’s game with an injury of her own.
The big question game in and game out is, “does Sheldon return tonight?” Coaches, trainers and doctors at Ohio State are the only people who can answer that question.
Over the past month, head coach Kevin McGuff’s referenced getting Sheldon back to her pre-injury form for the stretch run, but with only two games left its hard to imagine that still being the case.
Sheldon’s status is still day-to-day. On Feb. 5, Sheldon made her lone appearance of the 2023 calendar, playing 25 minutes with five points and five rebounds in the lopsided 90-54 Buckeyes defeat at the hands of the Terrapins.
Last week, coach McGuff admitted that he didn’t like the way Sheldon looked against Maryland, citing that her movements were off and not just because rust needs shaken off. It’s a player-first decision, which should be the case especially for a college student, but it’s a hard pill to swallow for Ohio State on the court.
If the stretch run goal is still in place, only having two games left of the regular season feels like a “now or never” like situation for Sheldon’s return. Bringing the guard back for a conference tournament where the Buckeyes would consecutively for up to four days doesn’t seem feasible.
Should Sheldon miss Monday’s game against Michigan, it’ll be another game where Mikesell won’t have any room to breathe.
Since the beginning of the calendar year, teams have found the way to beat the Buckeyes: limit Mikesell. That’s done by having a defender stuck on the Northeast Ohio guard like glue and not give her any space to work or shoot.
It’s worked against the best teams too.
In all five losses this season, Mikesell’s shot under her 17.4 points per game average because regardless of the defensive set, once the Buckeyes are in their half court offense, there’s someone in the face of Mikesell with a hand or body. That’s with or without the ball.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24443939/1247122896.jpg "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FEB 13 Womens Indiana at Ohio State")
Photo by Ben Hsu/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
That means the offensive production falls to the other four Buckeyes on the court. In most cases its forward Cotie McMahon and guard/forward Taylor Thierry.
Against Penn State, Mikesell hit three attempts from deep, but they came off quick shots on screens made by teammates. Don’t be surprised to see Michigan take the same defensive strategy and they’ll perform it better than the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines defense gives up the second fewest amount of points per game in the conference, allowing only 62.3 points per game.
The only way Mikesell will see chances is if the other Buckeyes can get off to a hot start, and limit turnovers. On Thursday, point guard Rikki Harris showed that it doesn’t all have to fall to Mikesell. For the fourth time this season, Harris hit multiple threes in a game. It was a welcome sign for the Buckeyes guard after struggling from deep in the last three weeks.
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1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land
Looking ahead to a regular season game with a lot on the line.
It’s the final week of the Big Ten regular season for the Ohio State women’s basketball team. Although the postseason doesn’t begin until March 1, the Buckeyes trip north on Monday to face the Michigan Wolverines has major implications on the postseason.
Plus, what will the Buckeyes look like with guard Taylor Mikesell taken out of the offensive side of the court, injuries impacting both teams and more.
Win secures double-bye
The Big Ten Tournament is a five-day event where any team has the chance to punch their ticket to March Madness if they win their conference tournament. Outside of the automatic bid the winner receives, there’s already a handful of conference sides with their names on the tournament bracket in permanent ink.
So, what does Monday have to do with all of that? Both the Wolverines and Buckeyes are destined for basketball after the conference tournament. However, Ohio State is on the outside of the NCAA Tournament committee’s top-16, meaning the Buckeyes would travel for the first two rounds of the tournament.
A win on Monday secures a top-four finish in the conference, a double-bye into the third round of the conference tournament and strengthens the Scarlet & Gray’s resume.
Even though Michigan has three games left, they sit a half game back in the standings. Should Ohio State win, Michigan can’t catch them with the tiebreaker being head-to-head record, which the Buckeyes would have a firm grasp on after beating their rivals on Dec. 31 in Columbus.
Should the Buckeyes fall to the Wolverines, who sit ahead of Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament ranking, the Buckeyes would need to beat the No. 8 Maryland Terrapins on Feb. 24 and hope the Wolverines drop a game against either the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Wisconsin Badgers. Both are games the Wolverines enter as heavy favorites.
If Ohio State wins Monday in Ann Arbor, it doesn’t mean that they can sit back and relax against Maryland, but there’s less weight on the shoulders of the Buckeyes should they clinch top-four status.
Injuries for Michigan
On New Year’s Eve, the Buckeyes were a month removed from the last time guard Jacy Sheldon suited up in scarlet and gray. Ohio State got the victory despite Sheldon’s absence that’s now stretched to the final week of the season, playing just once since a Nov. 29 trip to the Louisville Cardinals.
While injuries are awful and it's by no means only a Buckeyes problem, the Michigan Wolverines are going through their own major loss with guard Laila Phelia. Michigan’s sophomore guard started 22 games this season until suffering an injury against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Jan. 29.
The lower body injury’s kept her in a boot and out of competition for the Wolverines. However, it’s only hurt the Maize & Blue once — on Thursday against the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers.
Michigan, like Ohio State, has five losses in the Big Ten to similar opponents. Indiana, Maryland and the Iowa Hawkeyes have all beaten the Wolverines, plus their defeat to the Buckeyes.
In the New Year’s Eve game, the Buckeyes mostly neutralized Phelia, allowing only nine points on 3-for-13 shooting. Replacing Phelia in the lineup is guard Jordan Hobbs, who’s averaging eight points and five rebounds per game in the starter’s absence. Compare that to the 17 points per game Phelia averaged before going down with her injury.
What bodes well for Ohio State in that game is that the bench for the Wolverines scored two points the entire game. They came from guard Greta Kampschroeder, who’s also potentially out for Monday’s game with an injury of her own.
Does Jacy Sheldon return?
The big question game in and game out is, “does Sheldon return tonight?” Coaches, trainers and doctors at Ohio State are the only people who can answer that question.
Over the past month, head coach Kevin McGuff’s referenced getting Sheldon back to her pre-injury form for the stretch run, but with only two games left its hard to imagine that still being the case.
Sheldon’s status is still day-to-day. On Feb. 5, Sheldon made her lone appearance of the 2023 calendar, playing 25 minutes with five points and five rebounds in the lopsided 90-54 Buckeyes defeat at the hands of the Terrapins.
Last week, coach McGuff admitted that he didn’t like the way Sheldon looked against Maryland, citing that her movements were off and not just because rust needs shaken off. It’s a player-first decision, which should be the case especially for a college student, but it’s a hard pill to swallow for Ohio State on the court.
If the stretch run goal is still in place, only having two games left of the regular season feels like a “now or never” like situation for Sheldon’s return. Bringing the guard back for a conference tournament where the Buckeyes would consecutively for up to four days doesn’t seem feasible.
Four on four basketball
Should Sheldon miss Monday’s game against Michigan, it’ll be another game where Mikesell won’t have any room to breathe.
Since the beginning of the calendar year, teams have found the way to beat the Buckeyes: limit Mikesell. That’s done by having a defender stuck on the Northeast Ohio guard like glue and not give her any space to work or shoot.
It’s worked against the best teams too.
In all five losses this season, Mikesell’s shot under her 17.4 points per game average because regardless of the defensive set, once the Buckeyes are in their half court offense, there’s someone in the face of Mikesell with a hand or body. That’s with or without the ball.
That means the offensive production falls to the other four Buckeyes on the court. In most cases its forward Cotie McMahon and guard/forward Taylor Thierry.
Against Penn State, Mikesell hit three attempts from deep, but they came off quick shots on screens made by teammates. Don’t be surprised to see Michigan take the same defensive strategy and they’ll perform it better than the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines defense gives up the second fewest amount of points per game in the conference, allowing only 62.3 points per game.
The only way Mikesell will see chances is if the other Buckeyes can get off to a hot start, and limit turnovers. On Thursday, point guard Rikki Harris showed that it doesn’t all have to fall to Mikesell. For the fourth time this season, Harris hit multiple threes in a game. It was a welcome sign for the Buckeyes guard after struggling from deep in the last three weeks.
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LGHL Edey proves why he’s the National Player of the Year as Purdue runs over Ohio State, 82-55
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Edey proves why he’s the National Player of the Year as Purdue runs over Ohio State, 82-55
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
It’s getting harder and harder to find a fourth Big Ten win on the schedule for Ohio State.
The last time Ohio State (11-15, 3-12) and Purdue (23-4, 12-4) met, things were quite a bit different. The Buckeyes were 2-0 in Big Ten play back on January 5, having beaten Rutgers and Northwestern, and were looking like one of the best teams in the B1G in doing so. Ohio State had a three-point lead over the Boilermakers that afternoon with 30 seconds to go, and then everything went south. A Zach Edey bucket, an Ohio State turnover, and a big Fletcher Loyer triple delivered a heartbreaking loss to the crowd in Columbus.
Ohio State won exactly one of their games between that meeting and today’s meeting with the Boilers, going 1-11 over the last 43 days, and you can make that 1-12 over the last 13 now, after Purdue dispatched the Buckeyes with relative ease, 82-55. Zach Edey put on a phenomenal performance, dropping 26 points and 11 rebounds on Ohio State, including a whopping seven offensive boards. He also had three blocks. Sensabaugh chipped in 20 for Ohio State, which shot exactly 40% just three days after shooting over 50% at Iowa.
With Zed Key out with a shoulder injury, Chris Holtmann went with a starting lineup of Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, Brice Sensabaugh, Justice Sueing, and Felix Okpara. Matt Painter countered with Braden Smith, Loyer, Ethan Morton, Mason Gillis, and Edey.
Thanks to Thornton’s active hands, Ohio State jumped out to an early 8-2 lead over the Boilermakers through the first two minutes. But the Boilermakers used their size advantage down low to create open looks on the perimeter and took a 12-10 lead by the first media timeout at the 14:50 mark of the first half. Purdue knocked down two of their first three three-pointers in the game — one each from Morton and Loyer. Purdue would not relinquish that lead the rest of the way.
Due to the size mismatch down low and Ohio State’s general inability to guard the ball without fouling, the Boilermakers got into the bonus with 10:29 remaining in the game. Okpara and Sensabugh both picked up two early fouls, and even former walk-on Owen Spencer checked in for a few minutes and picked up two fouls. By the under-eight timeout with 7:19 left in the half, the Boilermakers had the Buckeyes fully on their heels and held a 26-18 lead.
The Boilermakers went to the locker room up 38-29, but truth be told, the first half could have been a whole lot uglier. With Ohio State picking up 12 fouls over the first 20 minutes and a former walk-on guarding Edey at times, the fact that the Buckeyes only trailed by nine at halftime is astounding.
Comparatively, Purdue only committed six fouls in the first half, meaning the Buckeyes never got into the bonus, while Purdue hit the double-bonus with six minutes remaining. Sean McNeil had eight first-half points for the Buckeyes and Sensabaugh had nine, while Edey had 16 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in the first half.
Purdue outscored Ohio State 9-4 over the first 4:13 of the second half to push their lead to 47-33 by the first media timeout of the second half. Ohio State turned the ball over on three of their first seven possessions of the second half, something that they could not afford to do when Purdue was scoring racking up offensive rebound after offensive rebound at the other end.
Things continued to spiral for Ohio State, as Purdue continued to crash the offensive glass and make mince meat out of the Buckeyes below the basket. Purdue led 62-43 at the under-eight timeout with 7:57 remaining and had out-rebounded Ohio State 36-18 to that point. No amount of effort, grit, or determination was going to be good enough Sunday afternoon to outplay the No. 3 team in the country with the National Player of the Year in Mackey Arena. Ohio State ultimately fell to the Boilermakers, having been outscored 80-47 after taking that early 8-2 lead.
If you weren’t around to see Purdue complete the season sweep of Ohio State today, here are a few key moments and runs that propelled the Boilers to victory:
With Key out and Okpara starting in his place, the Buckeyes started four freshmen together for the first time this season, and for the first time in many years, I’d have to assume. Thornton, Gayle, Sensabaugh, and Okpara make up the key four of the 2022 recruiting class, and all four would likely be starters next season as well if they all return. Purdue, on the flip side, started, started their freshmen backcourt duo of Smith and Loyer.
Gayle finished with three points, one block, and one steal over 22 minutes. Okpara finished with four points, four blocks, two rebounds, and one assist over 16 minutes. Thornton finished with three points, three steals, and one block over 26 minutes.
For Purdue, Smith finished with four points, two rebounds, and two assists over 24 minutes, and Loyer finished with six points, four rebounds and one steal over 26 minutes.
You couldn’t have asked a whole lot more out of Ohio State’s freshman point guard on defense this season — he’s played adequate on-ball defense and is big enough to help on switches as well. Thornton hasn’t collected a ton of steals this season, averaging just 0.8 per game. He also hasn’t been whistled for a ton of fouls — averaging just 1.7 per game.
However, Thornton was a pest in the opening minute of this game, picking the ball from Smith twice over the first 52 seconds, which led to three early points for Ohio State. The Buckeyes jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over the first 52 seconds.
After Ohio State took an early 8-2 lead over the first two minutes, Purdue quickly answered with a 12-2 run to go ahead 14-10 by the 14:29 mark of the first half. With no Key, Purdue was able to take advantage of the Edey matchup below the basket — sometimes this led to Edey scoring himself, and other times it led to open three-pointers for Morton and Loyer early on.
Ohio State is a poor defensive team, which is evident by their No. 111 defensive efficiency ranking on KenPom. Ohio State also was tasked with guarding the 7-foot-4 Edey with a combo of Gene Brown, Okpara, and Spencer, which led to a ton of early fouls. Okpara picked up his second of the game with 10:29 remaining in the first half while trying to block a shot from Trey Kaufman-Renn, which was also the seventh team foul on the Buckeyes, putting Purdue in the bonus. Comparatively, Purdue had three team fouls over the first 10 minutes.
Ohio State owned the first two minutes or so of the first half, but after that, it was all Boilermakers. Leading 29-20 with 6:09 remaining in the first half, Edey scored over the top of Likekele and Sueing’s double-team to make it 31-20 Purdue. Sueing answered at the other end with a layup, but Caleb Furst drew another foul at the other end and split the free throws to put Purdue back up 32-22 again with 4:28 left in the half.
Trailing 35-29 in the closing seconds of the first half, Ohio State forced Edey to pass out of a triple-team below the basket. Edey passed to David Jenkins Jr. on the right wing, who took a three and missed. But Edey was able to use his 14-foot wingspan and grab the rebound and slam it home for a buzzer-beating putback dunk. It gave Purdue a 38-29 lead. Edey had 16 in the first half.
With a Loyer fastbreak layup with 14:13 remaining in the game, Purdue extended their lead to 51-35 — their largest lead of the game at the time. The Boilermakers outscored Ohio State 13-6 over the first six-plus minutes of the second half, putting separation between the two teams and more or less putting this game out of reach.
Additionally, Isaac Likekele picked up three fouls from the 13:33 mark to the 12:46 mark, racking up the first, second, and third team fouls for Ohio State in the second half all within 47 seconds. Two of those three fouls were while the 6-foot-5 senior was trying to guard Edey.
Already leading 66-45 with 4:58 remaining, Brandon Newman took a three-pointer from the corner just in front of the Purdue bench. It hit the back iron, bounced up, hit the left side of the rim, the right side, and then finally dropped in. It got Purdue to that oh-so-symbolic 69 mark, to which the students in attendance gleefully cheered and applauded.
Ohio State (11-16, 3-13) now returns how for their final three home games of the year, starting Thursday night against Penn State (16-11, 7-9). This is Ohio State’s only game versus the Nittany Lions this season, who beat Minnesota 76-69 Saturday night. Ohio State’s game against Penn State will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET. Thursday night and will be broadcast on FS1.
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Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
It’s getting harder and harder to find a fourth Big Ten win on the schedule for Ohio State.
The last time Ohio State (11-15, 3-12) and Purdue (23-4, 12-4) met, things were quite a bit different. The Buckeyes were 2-0 in Big Ten play back on January 5, having beaten Rutgers and Northwestern, and were looking like one of the best teams in the B1G in doing so. Ohio State had a three-point lead over the Boilermakers that afternoon with 30 seconds to go, and then everything went south. A Zach Edey bucket, an Ohio State turnover, and a big Fletcher Loyer triple delivered a heartbreaking loss to the crowd in Columbus.
Ohio State won exactly one of their games between that meeting and today’s meeting with the Boilers, going 1-11 over the last 43 days, and you can make that 1-12 over the last 13 now, after Purdue dispatched the Buckeyes with relative ease, 82-55. Zach Edey put on a phenomenal performance, dropping 26 points and 11 rebounds on Ohio State, including a whopping seven offensive boards. He also had three blocks. Sensabaugh chipped in 20 for Ohio State, which shot exactly 40% just three days after shooting over 50% at Iowa.
With Zed Key out with a shoulder injury, Chris Holtmann went with a starting lineup of Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, Brice Sensabaugh, Justice Sueing, and Felix Okpara. Matt Painter countered with Braden Smith, Loyer, Ethan Morton, Mason Gillis, and Edey.
Thanks to Thornton’s active hands, Ohio State jumped out to an early 8-2 lead over the Boilermakers through the first two minutes. But the Boilermakers used their size advantage down low to create open looks on the perimeter and took a 12-10 lead by the first media timeout at the 14:50 mark of the first half. Purdue knocked down two of their first three three-pointers in the game — one each from Morton and Loyer. Purdue would not relinquish that lead the rest of the way.
Due to the size mismatch down low and Ohio State’s general inability to guard the ball without fouling, the Boilermakers got into the bonus with 10:29 remaining in the game. Okpara and Sensabugh both picked up two early fouls, and even former walk-on Owen Spencer checked in for a few minutes and picked up two fouls. By the under-eight timeout with 7:19 left in the half, the Boilermakers had the Buckeyes fully on their heels and held a 26-18 lead.
The Boilermakers went to the locker room up 38-29, but truth be told, the first half could have been a whole lot uglier. With Ohio State picking up 12 fouls over the first 20 minutes and a former walk-on guarding Edey at times, the fact that the Buckeyes only trailed by nine at halftime is astounding.
Comparatively, Purdue only committed six fouls in the first half, meaning the Buckeyes never got into the bonus, while Purdue hit the double-bonus with six minutes remaining. Sean McNeil had eight first-half points for the Buckeyes and Sensabaugh had nine, while Edey had 16 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in the first half.
Purdue outscored Ohio State 9-4 over the first 4:13 of the second half to push their lead to 47-33 by the first media timeout of the second half. Ohio State turned the ball over on three of their first seven possessions of the second half, something that they could not afford to do when Purdue was scoring racking up offensive rebound after offensive rebound at the other end.
Things continued to spiral for Ohio State, as Purdue continued to crash the offensive glass and make mince meat out of the Buckeyes below the basket. Purdue led 62-43 at the under-eight timeout with 7:57 remaining and had out-rebounded Ohio State 36-18 to that point. No amount of effort, grit, or determination was going to be good enough Sunday afternoon to outplay the No. 3 team in the country with the National Player of the Year in Mackey Arena. Ohio State ultimately fell to the Boilermakers, having been outscored 80-47 after taking that early 8-2 lead.
If you weren’t around to see Purdue complete the season sweep of Ohio State today, here are a few key moments and runs that propelled the Boilers to victory:
Ohio State rolling with the freshmen
With Key out and Okpara starting in his place, the Buckeyes started four freshmen together for the first time this season, and for the first time in many years, I’d have to assume. Thornton, Gayle, Sensabaugh, and Okpara make up the key four of the 2022 recruiting class, and all four would likely be starters next season as well if they all return. Purdue, on the flip side, started, started their freshmen backcourt duo of Smith and Loyer.
Gayle finished with three points, one block, and one steal over 22 minutes. Okpara finished with four points, four blocks, two rebounds, and one assist over 16 minutes. Thornton finished with three points, three steals, and one block over 26 minutes.
For Purdue, Smith finished with four points, two rebounds, and two assists over 24 minutes, and Loyer finished with six points, four rebounds and one steal over 26 minutes.
Thornton staying active early
You couldn’t have asked a whole lot more out of Ohio State’s freshman point guard on defense this season — he’s played adequate on-ball defense and is big enough to help on switches as well. Thornton hasn’t collected a ton of steals this season, averaging just 0.8 per game. He also hasn’t been whistled for a ton of fouls — averaging just 1.7 per game.
However, Thornton was a pest in the opening minute of this game, picking the ball from Smith twice over the first 52 seconds, which led to three early points for Ohio State. The Buckeyes jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over the first 52 seconds.
Purdue's 12-2 run gives the Boilers the lead
After Ohio State took an early 8-2 lead over the first two minutes, Purdue quickly answered with a 12-2 run to go ahead 14-10 by the 14:29 mark of the first half. With no Key, Purdue was able to take advantage of the Edey matchup below the basket — sometimes this led to Edey scoring himself, and other times it led to open three-pointers for Morton and Loyer early on.
Purdue gets in the bonus with 10:29 to go, Okpara picks up another foul
Ohio State is a poor defensive team, which is evident by their No. 111 defensive efficiency ranking on KenPom. Ohio State also was tasked with guarding the 7-foot-4 Edey with a combo of Gene Brown, Okpara, and Spencer, which led to a ton of early fouls. Okpara picked up his second of the game with 10:29 remaining in the first half while trying to block a shot from Trey Kaufman-Renn, which was also the seventh team foul on the Buckeyes, putting Purdue in the bonus. Comparatively, Purdue had three team fouls over the first 10 minutes.
Edey pushes Purdue’s lead to double-digits for the first time
Ohio State owned the first two minutes or so of the first half, but after that, it was all Boilermakers. Leading 29-20 with 6:09 remaining in the first half, Edey scored over the top of Likekele and Sueing’s double-team to make it 31-20 Purdue. Sueing answered at the other end with a layup, but Caleb Furst drew another foul at the other end and split the free throws to put Purdue back up 32-22 again with 4:28 left in the half.
Ohio State forces a miss at the buzzer, but Edey slams it home
Trailing 35-29 in the closing seconds of the first half, Ohio State forced Edey to pass out of a triple-team below the basket. Edey passed to David Jenkins Jr. on the right wing, who took a three and missed. But Edey was able to use his 14-foot wingspan and grab the rebound and slam it home for a buzzer-beating putback dunk. It gave Purdue a 38-29 lead. Edey had 16 in the first half.
Purdue pushes lead out to 16, Likekele resumes the foul fest
With a Loyer fastbreak layup with 14:13 remaining in the game, Purdue extended their lead to 51-35 — their largest lead of the game at the time. The Boilermakers outscored Ohio State 13-6 over the first six-plus minutes of the second half, putting separation between the two teams and more or less putting this game out of reach.
Additionally, Isaac Likekele picked up three fouls from the 13:33 mark to the 12:46 mark, racking up the first, second, and third team fouls for Ohio State in the second half all within 47 seconds. Two of those three fouls were while the 6-foot-5 senior was trying to guard Edey.
Purdue gets a friendly bounce to hit 69
Already leading 66-45 with 4:58 remaining, Brandon Newman took a three-pointer from the corner just in front of the Purdue bench. It hit the back iron, bounced up, hit the left side of the rim, the right side, and then finally dropped in. It got Purdue to that oh-so-symbolic 69 mark, to which the students in attendance gleefully cheered and applauded.
Up Next:
Ohio State (11-16, 3-13) now returns how for their final three home games of the year, starting Thursday night against Penn State (16-11, 7-9). This is Ohio State’s only game versus the Nittany Lions this season, who beat Minnesota 76-69 Saturday night. Ohio State’s game against Penn State will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET. Thursday night and will be broadcast on FS1.
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