COLUMN: NOT HOT, NOT COLD: OHIO STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL INCHING TOWARD ITS MEAN
Ohio State had no choice. It simply had to beat Northwestern Sunday.
In the Big Ten, the chance to play a 6-13 Wildcat team is the closest thing to a “gimme” the Buckeyes will get the rest of the way.
Well, that and Nebraska: the only teams beneath Ohio State in the conference standings and the only teams the Buckeyes have beaten since Christmas.
The Buckeyes’ 71-59 victory in Evanston, Illinois, over the weekend was no cause for over-celebratory exuberance –– though it seems Ohio State wins are coming fewer and farther between –– because it was supposed to happen.
Losing the game would have been a stronger indication about the team’s status than winning, but that doesn’t mean there was nothing positive the Buckeyes can take away.
After a heart-wrenching three-point loss to Minnesota Thursday, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann made several references –– even if ambiguous –– to the “steps forward” the team took in the contest.
It may sound disheartening that the coach of the one-time No. 2 team in the country would be discussing silver linings in a loss to a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten opponent six weeks later, but Holtmann’s assessment seems to be holding up in the short term.
For the first time during Ohio State’s slump –– save a blowout win against Nebraska –– the Buckeyes’ supporting cast clicked on offense for most of the Minnesota matchup.
It wasn’t his teammates’ output, but the near nullification of junior forward Kaleb Wesson’s offensive game in the second-lowest scoring performance of his career that likely sabotaged Ohio State’s chance at a win.
The team shot better than 51 percent without him, and redshirt junior guard CJ Walker, sophomore guard Duane Washington and junior forward Kyle Young all outscored their season averages.
However, one issue that has plagued the Buckeyes all season was once again underscored in the game’s final minutes.
While Minnesota redshirt sophomore guard Marcus Carr was able to conjure magic off the dribble to score the final five points of the game, it became evident once again that the Buckeyes have no such equivalent on their roster.
Though officiating made it increasingly difficult to feed Kaleb Wesson in the low post at the end of games, his sparing late-game looks have been misfires from 3.
No Ohio State guard, nor any Buckeye except Young, could score a point in the final six minutes of the game.
Instead, it was three missed shots from Washington, who all too often plays the role of Ohio State’s go-to option late despite diminishing returns, and two 3-point misses from Kaleb Wesson.
It was that area in which Holtmann might have felt the Buckeyes finally took a step toward improving against Northwestern.
Kaleb Wesson turned in another below-average performance Sunday, but he wasn’t even on the court in the game’s deciding minutes due to foul trouble.
Entire article:
https://www.thelantern.com/2020/01/...tate-mens-basketball-inching-toward-its-mean/
