A look at the factors that tipped the scales against the Buckeyes in a battle on the hardwood.
Ohio State battled Big Ten-leading Michigan Sunday at Value City Arena and the result was not what Buckeye fans wanted — an 86-83 home loss. The Buckeyes hung around, led at times, and were competitive all game long. However, many of the same issues continued to plague Ohio State, allowing the Wolverines to escape with a win.
Here are my five takeaways from a loss that could have been an important tournament resume-building win.
What Happened to Parrish?
Micah Parrish obviously didn’t set out to have his worst game in a long time, but his performance could have drastically altered the outcome of the game. Parrish hit just two of his 11 shots in his 36 minutes on the floor Saturday, including just one of his six from behind the arc. He also missed a third of his six free throws.
Had Ohio State gotten the same Parrish we’ve seen in recent games, the narrow loss could have been a blowout victory.
Gayle Watch
Former Buckeye Roddy Gayle Jr. ended up with a decent performance overall, but he hasn’t cleaned up some of the maddening issues that plagued him while he was a starter in Columbus. In the first half, he missed one of his two layups, one of two dunks, and one of his first two free throws. He also had a bad turnover.
His numbers ended up OK but inefficient. He made three of nine shots and three of four free throws for nine points. Where he hurt Ohio State was on the glass, as he pulled down eight rebounds. Gayle wasn’t the only one, however, which leads me to my next takeaway…
Put a Body on Someone
Ohio State gave up too many easy second-chance points, getting out-rebounded 46-31. Michigan had a 19-12 advantage on offensive boards, and many of those offensive rebounds ended up in easy putbacks for the Wolverine bigs.
Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin combined for 21 rebounds. The visitors outscored Ohio State 21-12 in second-chance points and 46-34 on points in the paint.
Free Throws a Factor (Again)
Although the Buckeyes outscored the Wolverines from the stripe, 18-13, Ohio State shot at a lower percentage, missing a third of their attempts from the line. This included multiple and-one opportunities that could have changed the end of the game.
Oh, Bruce
Ohio State had a golden opportunity at a late basket trailing by two. Bruce Thornton could have opted to try a winning three-point shot, but instead opted to drive the lane. He was cut off, but he caught a break when his larger defender slipped, giving him room to shoot.
Thornton short-armed his floater, which missed everything, and the game was essentially over. That’s a shot Thornton likely makes more than 90% of the time, and it was unfortunate that he couldn’t send the game to overtime with his attempt. That shot would hardly have been necessary had the Buckeyes hit more of their free throws.
It was also a sour end to the possession, as an apparent hip check that took out John Mobley Jr. went uncalled after 36 fouls had been whistled in the game. It was an odd play on which to swallow the whistle, but that lack of a call wasn’t the reason the team lost.
Mobley still would have had to hit both free throws, and although he is one of the better shooters on the team from the stripe, there are no guarantees.
There were other factors, like a lengthy field goal drought late in the first half that saw Ohio State either taking terrible shots or missing wide open ones. But that’s what I took away from the basketball version of The Game on Sunday.
What stood out to you?