Three things that may have cost Ohio State an NCAA Tournament berth
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The Buckeyes were in good shape late at Indiana, but the mistakes down the stretch could prove the bubble team’s ultimate undoing.
Ohio State’s men’s basketball season has been a roller coaster ride, and unfortunately for Buckeye fans, the coaster has been headed downward at the end of the season when it matters most. The Buckeyes have lost four of their last six games, including Saturday’s gut-punch loss to the
Indiana Hoosiers. That’s the sign of a bubble team heading the wrong way, with three of those losses coming by two possessions or fewer.
While Ohio State could still get into the NCAA Tournament with a strong showing in the Big Ten tourney, there is little recent evidence to suggest that will happen. The same inconsistencies and weaknesses that have shown themselves all season were problems on Saturday — rebounding, costly turnovers, and untimely poor free-throw shooting.
Leading the Hoosiers by double digits in the second half and still holding a five-point lead with less than five minutes remaining provided the opportunities the Buckeyes needed to get a vital road win to finish the regular season strong and stake a claim to one of the “last four in” spots.
Here are three of the things that I saw as major contributors to Ohio State’s loss on Saturday and could potentially cost the team an NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Freebies
Ohio State had some costly double misses from the free throw line at Indiana. The first of those instances came with under two minutes remaining in the first half. Up eight points, Micah Parrish went to the line with a chance to put Ohio State up by double digits just before halftime. However, Parrish missed both shots, and 90 seconds later the Hoosiers were within four points. A bigger halftime advantage may have altered the end game for Ohio State or at least prevented Indiana from building a multi-possession lead in the game’s closing moments.
If Parrish’s free throw misses late in the first half were the shot, Devin Royal provided the chaser in the second half. With 3:33 remaining, the game was tied at 56-56 when Royal was fouled by Malik Reneau. Royal went to the stripe and promptly missed both shots. Evan Mahaffey grabbed a rare offensive rebound off the second miss, but the Buckeyes missed a three-point shot on the ensuing possession and came up empty. The free throws were the higher percentage chance to score, and they were wasted.
The Fumble
A killer play came off a break the Buckeyes failed to capitalize on. Oumar Ballo badly missed a free throw with 4:30 to play. Parrish was in perfect position to grab the errant shot, but he couldn’t handle it. Sean Stewart had the best position to go get the rebound. He boxed his man out but did not attack the ball once he had position. Parrish may have been bothered by Luke Goode, but in the end, it doesn’t matter
why Parrish bobbled what should have been an OSU rebound out of play.
Indiana’s Trey Galloway was left wide open at the top of the arc on the ensuing inbound play. He hit a critical 3-pointer that pulled the Hoosiers within 56-54 and swung the momentum. To add insult to injury, Galloway hit another dagger trey with 1:24 remaining, just moments after he should have fouled for clobbering John Mobley on the other end. That second late triple pushed a two-point lead to five points.
Late Turnovers
Ohio State had a fairly clean first half, committing only three turnovers. However, the Buckeyes turned the ball over seven times in the second half, and some of the most critical miscues came late in the game while either still holding the lead or while trying to catch back up with Indiana.
One of the most costly was Parrish traveling in the immediate aftermath of Galloway’s triple that cut the OSU lead to two. Driving the lane, Parrish seemed to change his mind about challenging Reneau and looked to pass, but he took too many steps as he made that decision. Aaron Bradshaw fouled Reneau at the other end, and he hit both free throws to tie the game.
After two more Reneau free throws gave Indiana the lead, Royal attempted to drive from outside the arc. It did not go well. As seemingly happens a couple of times per game this season, Royal has a tendency to lose control of the ball on those drives as he did Saturday. Royal drove at Goode, and there was some contact on the right side of the key, around the top of the semicircle.
It wasn’t enough for a foul, but Royal was loose with the ball and Indiana picked it up. While the Hoosiers didn’t score on the ensuing possession, it was an empty OSU possession at a time the team could not afford one.
And finally, with under a minute remaining, Parrish turned the ball over again while the Buckeyes were down six points by simply not making sure he was in bounds. Catching a pass while his feet were on the line produced another critical empty possession.
It’s a shame Parrish was involved in all three of the above situations, because he had one of the better games overall for Ohio State. Parrish was one of the few players who was able to find his game on the offensive end, leading the Buckeyes with 19 points and chipping in three steals and two blocks on the defensive end.
I also don’t mean to pick on Royal, who scored 13 points and was the only other Buckeye in double figures. Royal also pulled down six rebounds and had an assist. The above turnover was his only one in the game. It was simply a critical one and something he’s done numerous times this season without seeming to change that part of his game. From the wing, he’s good at driving to the basket. From the arc, not so much.
The rest of Ohio State’s starting lineup and bench did very little, although there were good contributions from Ques Glover, who maybe should have played more, given that he scored six points in just 10 minutes while other guards were struggling offensively. Glover accounted for two-thirds of Ohio State’s bench points on a night when the Buckeye bench was outscored 19-9.
The Buckeyes may be one of best 64 best teams in the country, but it might not matter. They have some impressive wins on the schedule, but ultimately those might just have to be remembered as bright spots in another mediocre season. They may be things that Jake Diebler can build on for next season. Either way, if the Buckeyes get left out, they have largely done it to themselves — not just in the Indiana game, but through much of the season.
The chances have been there for the taking and they’ve failed to take them. The biggest rake they stepped on down the stretch was getting waxed at home by Northwestern after a strong showing against Michigan, but in the end, it’s the full body of work that hasn’t been good enough.
Even though it’s the hope that kills you, Ohio State fans’ hopes likely now depend on a good run in the conference tournament.
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