Ohio State coach Thad Matta did not need to be informed that Northwestern has managed to miss more than 70 percent of its shots in the three games it has played since leaving Value City Arena two weeks ago.
As Matta said after the Wildcats made 11 three-pointers and gave Ohio State more of a run than it might have expected, his team is sometimes ?like a get-well card? for opponents struggling to make shots.
So what do the Buckeyes have in the envelope tonight?
In a volatile Big Ten race in which five teams still have a shot at the championship with three games left, Ohio State players hope to play as well as they did last week in wins over Minnesota and Michigan State, and not as they did the week before against Northwestern and the blowout loss at Wisconsin.
?First of all, give Northwestern credit. They really ran their offense, they made shots, they executed, and for probably 32 minutes, they really controlled that basketball game,? sophomore Sam Thompson said yesterday of Ohio State?s 69-59 win on Feb. 14.
?But I think a lot of that was a lack of defensive intensity and a lack of defensive focus on our part. And it wasn?t just the Northwestern game. If you look in that stretch, I think we lost three of four games in two weeks, and we did not defend the way we are capable of defending (in any) of those four games. That?s what happens when you don?t defend in the Big Ten.?
The Buckeyes seemed to regain that part of their identity last week.
?I think that?s one of the difficulties in coaching, trying to get guys to understand their strengths and weaknesses, even when it?s maybe something that isn?t real glorified in terms of what you look like out there,? Matta said. ?But I think when push comes to shove, and wins and losses are on the line, you?ve got to do what you have to do.?
When Ohio State has done that this season, it has played with almost anyone, anywhere ? in losses at Duke in November and at home against Kansas in December, and in splitting games the past two months with three of the other four Big Ten contenders: Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
?You?re in a great league and you?re attempting to bring it every single night,? Matta said, ?but everybody forgets that the other team is bringing it, too. That makes it extremely challenging. Every time you take the floor in this league, there?s a lot at stake.?
