Transition defense proved to be Ohio State's top undoing at Iowa on Friday, with the Buckeyes suffering a 17-0 deficit in fastbreak points.
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TRANSITION DEFENSE DOOMED OHIO STATE IN PIVOTAL GAME AT IOWA
In a game Ohio State lost by two points, a 17-point discrepancy in one statistic is a clear area to point to.
Iowa trounced the Buckeyes 17-0 in fastbreak points, which proved to be the difference in a 79-77 affair in Iowa City that saw neither team pull ahead by more than four points in the first 30 minutes.
That’s why Chris Holtmann isn’t blaming any individual play, such as Felix Okpara’s costly double-dribble in the final 30 seconds while Ohio State was trying to take the lead, for the loss.
“At the end of the day, those are the little things that matter, but that’s not what got us beat,” Holtmann said on 97.1 the Fan following the game. “It’s the transition points that got us beat and the inability, at times, to get a stop when we needed to.”
Six separate Hawkeyes scored a bucket in fastbreak settings.
Iowa guard Tony Perkins, the game’s leading scorer with 20 points, collected two transition buckets. None was more costly to Ohio State than a quick jumper to put the Hawkeyes back ahead 69-67 with four minutes to play following a game-tying layup from Bruce Thornton.
“We were disorganized in transition right there a few times,” Holtmann said. “At the end of the day, that’s probably what got us, is the inability to get a couple stops, and a couple of those (transition baskets) were after makes. That’s the disappointing thing.”
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Just sayin': Isn't that the type of problem that you notice during the game, call a time out, and get it fixed then? Not wait until after the game to explain why you lost.