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Ohio State falls 73-66 to No. 15 Texas A&M in wire-to-wire non-conference bout
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Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The Aggies out-physicaled and out-rebounded their way to a big road win in Columbus Friday night.
After surviving a suprising upset bid from the Oakland Golden Grizzles earlier this week, Ohio State returned to the floor on Friday night, welcoming the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies to the Schottenstein Center for the first time ever (these teams last played in 2007, but it was at Madison Square Garden).
Like the Buckeyes, Texas A&M also won their first game, although by a much larger margin — 78-46 over Texas A&M Commerce. They were led by guards Wade Taylor and Hayden Hefner, who combined for 35 points. The Aggies rolled into this game as the No. 21 team in KenPom. Specifically, they are listed as the No. 23 team in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Ohio State, on the other hand, entered Friday’s game at No. 46 in KenPom, and was the No. 24 offensive team and No. 70 defensive team.
Buzz Williams’ starting five was spearheaded by Preseason SEC POY Wade Taylor and fifth-year guard Tyrese Radford — one of the best backcourts Ohio State will face this season. Next to them was Henry Coleman III, Wildens Leveque, and Hefner. Ohio State went with the same starting five they rolled with against Oakland — Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, Jamison Battle, Evan Mahaffey, and Felix Okpara.
Texas A&M jumped out to an 11-9 lead at the first media timeout, despite the Buckeyes knocking down four of their first eight shots. The Aggies were making Ohio State feel it below the basket on high-percentage looks, and were especially physical with Bruce Thornton. Taylor — the main defender on Thornton — and Hefner each knocked down three-pointers early for A&M.
The Buckeyes fought back and claimed an 18-17 lead by the under-eight timeout. They held A&M to 37% shooting through the first 12 minutes of the game, but fouls and the resulting A&M free throws kept the Aggies in the game early. The Aggies were particularly tight on Battle, who struggled to get open on the perimeter early, and didn’t take his first three-point attempt until nearly 12 minutes into the game.
By getting into the bonus late and going to the free throw line multiple times in the final two minutes, A&M was able to ride free throws to a halftime lead, 34-33. While the Aggies went 7-11 from the charity stripe in the first half, Ohio State went 1-5. In such a tight game, that was a big difference. The two teams combined to shoot 7-25 from beyond the three-point line, as this game quickly became a “who wants it worse below the basket” type of game. Gayle, Thornton, and Battle each had eight points for the Buckeyes in the first half. A&M was paced by Radford, who had 11.
The Aggies held on to a 38-37 lead at the first media timeout of the first half, and a big part of it was their offensive rebounding. A&M continued to grab the majority of their own three-point misses, giving themselves extra opportunities despite shooting under 40% as a team for much of the game.
The two teams went tit-for-tat down the stretch, alternating baskets for eight possessions at one point, as A&M held a two-point lead at the under-eight timeout, 53-51. As promised, A&M was extremely physical below the basket, but the Buckeyes out-shot them for most of the game. If the Buckeyes could’ve kept A&M off the offensive glass, they might’ve been able to build a sizable lead. That wasn’t the case tonight.
The Aggies extra effort below the basket proved fruitful in the end, as A&M was able to squeak out a 73-66 win at the Schottenstein Center on Friday night. The Buckeyes were the better team offensively from wire-to-wire, but were bullied on the glass and gave up a few too many backbreaking offensive rebounds.
If you weren’t around to see Ohio State drop a tough one to the No. 15 team in the nation at home to fall to 1-1, here are a few key moments and plays that made the difference by the time the final buzzer sounded:
After Ohio State started the game with a three-pointer from Thornton, A&M went the other way and Taylor had his shot rejected at the rim by Okpara. But after the ball came back down, the whistles blew and it was called a goaltend on Okpara, therefore Taylor was credited with the Bucket.
Roughly five minutes later, when A&M led 11-9, the scoreboard wiped off two points, tying the game at nine points apiece. Eventually, it was concluded that the Okpara goaltend had been changed to a block. It was very odd that it took five minutes and basically 10 possessions to make the change, but Chris Holtmann was not going to complain, and neither was Okpara.
A&M clearly had Jamison Battle at the top of their scouting report this game. The Aggies face-guarded the senior forward for most of the first half, a lot like what teams used to do to Justin Ahrens a few years ago. It wasn’t until the 7:41 mark that Battle was able to even attempt a three-pointer, which he did in fact hit, to give Ohio State a 21-17 lead.
Defensive rebounding was supposedly a focus of this team in the pre-season, but they struggled with it against Dayton in the exhibition and did again tonight against A&M. The Aggies pulled down eight offensive rebounds in the first half alone, and won the rebounding battle 23-15 overall. The coaching staff will likely point to long rebounds on missed three-pointers, as the Aggies did miss eight of them in the first half, but Texas A&M was just overall the bigger, stronger, and more physical team on the glass.
After being held to just five points on 1-9 shooting in the first half, the SEC Preseason POY scored on shallow runners going towards the basket on back-to-back possessions early in the second half to give Texas A&M a 38-35 lead with 18 minutes to go in the game. It was a matter of when, not if, Taylor got it going.
Trailing 48-47 with 10:52 remaining in the game, Gayle was able to corral a missed three-pointer by Dale Bonner, and then find Zed Key below the basket. Key went up with it, drew the contact from Manny Obaseki, and scored, to give Ohio State a 49-48 lead. Key then gave the longest, most drawn-out finger guns he’s ever given, as the crowd jeered and cheered. Key missed the free throw, so Ohio State only led by one.
For a stretch of over five minutes, Ohio State and Texas A&M exchanged baskets, one after another. Neither team was able to string together multiple baskets until the 6:21 mark, when Henry Coleman followed Wade Taylor’s layup with one of his own to put A&M up 57-53.
Because of the back-and-forth nature of the game, neither team led by more than four points for the first 14 minutes of the second half. Every offensive possession was an opportunity for one team to make it a one-possession game again, or stretch it out to two — never more than two.
Trailing 63-57 with 2:54 remaining, Thornton dropped in a scoop layup and was fouled by Taylor as well, completing the three-point play to make it 63-60. On the very next possession, Taylor took an ill-advised three from near the Ohio State logo, and it (predictably) clanked off the glass. Mahaffey grabbed the rebound, with a chance to tie the game, but Thornton was called for a foul below the basket, wiping away the rebound.
Radford knocked down both free throws, and instead of Ohio State potentially tying the game, they trailed by five yet again, with 2:37 to play.
Ohio State (1-1) has four days off before they’re back in action on Wednesday night against the Merrimack Warriors (1-1) at home. Merrimack won the Northeast Confernce last season, but were unable to participate in the NCAA Tournament due to recently moving from Division-II to Division-I. That is what allowed Fairleigh Dickinson to slither into the tournament, and we know what happened after that!
The Warriors lost their top three scorers from a year ago, and register at No. 331 in the country according to KenPom. They also rank as one of the 15-worst offensive teams in the country so far this season.
Ohio State’s game against Merrimack will tip off at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on BTN.
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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
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The Aggies out-physicaled and out-rebounded their way to a big road win in Columbus Friday night.
After surviving a suprising upset bid from the Oakland Golden Grizzles earlier this week, Ohio State returned to the floor on Friday night, welcoming the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies to the Schottenstein Center for the first time ever (these teams last played in 2007, but it was at Madison Square Garden).
Like the Buckeyes, Texas A&M also won their first game, although by a much larger margin — 78-46 over Texas A&M Commerce. They were led by guards Wade Taylor and Hayden Hefner, who combined for 35 points. The Aggies rolled into this game as the No. 21 team in KenPom. Specifically, they are listed as the No. 23 team in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Ohio State, on the other hand, entered Friday’s game at No. 46 in KenPom, and was the No. 24 offensive team and No. 70 defensive team.
Buzz Williams’ starting five was spearheaded by Preseason SEC POY Wade Taylor and fifth-year guard Tyrese Radford — one of the best backcourts Ohio State will face this season. Next to them was Henry Coleman III, Wildens Leveque, and Hefner. Ohio State went with the same starting five they rolled with against Oakland — Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, Jamison Battle, Evan Mahaffey, and Felix Okpara.
Texas A&M jumped out to an 11-9 lead at the first media timeout, despite the Buckeyes knocking down four of their first eight shots. The Aggies were making Ohio State feel it below the basket on high-percentage looks, and were especially physical with Bruce Thornton. Taylor — the main defender on Thornton — and Hefner each knocked down three-pointers early for A&M.
The Buckeyes fought back and claimed an 18-17 lead by the under-eight timeout. They held A&M to 37% shooting through the first 12 minutes of the game, but fouls and the resulting A&M free throws kept the Aggies in the game early. The Aggies were particularly tight on Battle, who struggled to get open on the perimeter early, and didn’t take his first three-point attempt until nearly 12 minutes into the game.
By getting into the bonus late and going to the free throw line multiple times in the final two minutes, A&M was able to ride free throws to a halftime lead, 34-33. While the Aggies went 7-11 from the charity stripe in the first half, Ohio State went 1-5. In such a tight game, that was a big difference. The two teams combined to shoot 7-25 from beyond the three-point line, as this game quickly became a “who wants it worse below the basket” type of game. Gayle, Thornton, and Battle each had eight points for the Buckeyes in the first half. A&M was paced by Radford, who had 11.
The Aggies held on to a 38-37 lead at the first media timeout of the first half, and a big part of it was their offensive rebounding. A&M continued to grab the majority of their own three-point misses, giving themselves extra opportunities despite shooting under 40% as a team for much of the game.
The two teams went tit-for-tat down the stretch, alternating baskets for eight possessions at one point, as A&M held a two-point lead at the under-eight timeout, 53-51. As promised, A&M was extremely physical below the basket, but the Buckeyes out-shot them for most of the game. If the Buckeyes could’ve kept A&M off the offensive glass, they might’ve been able to build a sizable lead. That wasn’t the case tonight.
The Aggies extra effort below the basket proved fruitful in the end, as A&M was able to squeak out a 73-66 win at the Schottenstein Center on Friday night. The Buckeyes were the better team offensively from wire-to-wire, but were bullied on the glass and gave up a few too many backbreaking offensive rebounds.
If you weren’t around to see Ohio State drop a tough one to the No. 15 team in the nation at home to fall to 1-1, here are a few key moments and plays that made the difference by the time the final buzzer sounded:
One - Suspiciously late goaltend that was wiped away for Ohio State
After Ohio State started the game with a three-pointer from Thornton, A&M went the other way and Taylor had his shot rejected at the rim by Okpara. But after the ball came back down, the whistles blew and it was called a goaltend on Okpara, therefore Taylor was credited with the Bucket.
Roughly five minutes later, when A&M led 11-9, the scoreboard wiped off two points, tying the game at nine points apiece. Eventually, it was concluded that the Okpara goaltend had been changed to a block. It was very odd that it took five minutes and basically 10 possessions to make the change, but Chris Holtmann was not going to complain, and neither was Okpara.
12 - minutes until Battle attempted a three-pointer
A&M clearly had Jamison Battle at the top of their scouting report this game. The Aggies face-guarded the senior forward for most of the first half, a lot like what teams used to do to Justin Ahrens a few years ago. It wasn’t until the 7:41 mark that Battle was able to even attempt a three-pointer, which he did in fact hit, to give Ohio State a 21-17 lead.
Eight - first-half offensive rebounds for Texas A&M
Defensive rebounding was supposedly a focus of this team in the pre-season, but they struggled with it against Dayton in the exhibition and did again tonight against A&M. The Aggies pulled down eight offensive rebounds in the first half alone, and won the rebounding battle 23-15 overall. The coaching staff will likely point to long rebounds on missed three-pointers, as the Aggies did miss eight of them in the first half, but Texas A&M was just overall the bigger, stronger, and more physical team on the glass.
Four - consecutive points scored by Taylor early in the second half
After being held to just five points on 1-9 shooting in the first half, the SEC Preseason POY scored on shallow runners going towards the basket on back-to-back possessions early in the second half to give Texas A&M a 38-35 lead with 18 minutes to go in the game. It was a matter of when, not if, Taylor got it going.
One - set of Zed Key finger guns to take the lead with 11 minutes to go
Trailing 48-47 with 10:52 remaining in the game, Gayle was able to corral a missed three-pointer by Dale Bonner, and then find Zed Key below the basket. Key went up with it, drew the contact from Manny Obaseki, and scored, to give Ohio State a 49-48 lead. Key then gave the longest, most drawn-out finger guns he’s ever given, as the crowd jeered and cheered. Key missed the free throw, so Ohio State only led by one.
Eight - alternating baskets from 12:49 to 7:16
For a stretch of over five minutes, Ohio State and Texas A&M exchanged baskets, one after another. Neither team was able to string together multiple baskets until the 6:21 mark, when Henry Coleman followed Wade Taylor’s layup with one of his own to put A&M up 57-53.
Because of the back-and-forth nature of the game, neither team led by more than four points for the first 14 minutes of the second half. Every offensive possession was an opportunity for one team to make it a one-possession game again, or stretch it out to two — never more than two.
One- crucial foul called on Thornton below the basket
Trailing 63-57 with 2:54 remaining, Thornton dropped in a scoop layup and was fouled by Taylor as well, completing the three-point play to make it 63-60. On the very next possession, Taylor took an ill-advised three from near the Ohio State logo, and it (predictably) clanked off the glass. Mahaffey grabbed the rebound, with a chance to tie the game, but Thornton was called for a foul below the basket, wiping away the rebound.
Radford knocked down both free throws, and instead of Ohio State potentially tying the game, they trailed by five yet again, with 2:37 to play.
Up Next:
Ohio State (1-1) has four days off before they’re back in action on Wednesday night against the Merrimack Warriors (1-1) at home. Merrimack won the Northeast Confernce last season, but were unable to participate in the NCAA Tournament due to recently moving from Division-II to Division-I. That is what allowed Fairleigh Dickinson to slither into the tournament, and we know what happened after that!
The Warriors lost their top three scorers from a year ago, and register at No. 331 in the country according to KenPom. They also rank as one of the 15-worst offensive teams in the country so far this season.
Ohio State’s game against Merrimack will tip off at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on BTN.
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