Jake Diebler opted not to use the final timeout, and Thornton’s final shot did not fall.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team fell to 2-3 in the Big Ten play after Thursday night’s 73-71 loss to the Oregon Ducks, who are now 3-2 in conference play. Ohio State led for over 30 minutes last night, but Oregon was always lurking. It was a one or two-possession game for most of those 30 minutes that the Buckeyes led, and the Ducks finally strung together some baskets at the very end of the game to pull ahead.
Nate Bittle set a career-high in made three-pointers, knocking down four of them despite coming into the game as a 26% three-point shooter. Jackson Shelstad tied his season-high with 24 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer that gave Oregon the lead with 1:35 remaining.
Ultimately, Ohio State found itself in a position very similar to what happened on Monday. The Buckeyes were down one point with the ball and seven seconds remaining.
Jake Diebler had one timeout remaining, but opted not to use it. Bruce Thornton brought the ball up quickly, assessed the defense, and took a highly contested three-pointer from the right wing. It came up short, there was a scramble for the ball, and Bittle secured the rebound. Ballgame.
After the game, a pseudo-debate broke out among some fans online: Should Diebler have called timeout?
When asked about this, Diebler said he didn’t want to use the timeout because that would allow the Ducks to set up a full court press. With only seven seconds remaining, would Ohio State even be able to get the ball to half court against a press?
But also, had Diebler called the timeout, could the Buckeyes have gotten a better shot off than just “Let Bruce make a play?”
Last week, Connor and Justin each picked one New Year’s Resolution for the Ohio State men’s basketball team. Connor said hit some free throws, while Justin said to “Unlock Aaron Bradshaw.”
70% of readers sided with Connor on this one, with 13% siding with Justin and the remaining 17% saying that both of those ideas were completely unreasonable. Since that article, Ohio State has gone 56-for-68 at the free throw line, which is 82.3%. Not bad!
After 186 weeks:
Connor- 84
Justin- 78
Other- 19
(There have been five ties)
This week’s question: Should Ohio State have used its final timeout against Oregon?
Connor: Yes
Hindsight is 20/20, and we will always think that we know the correct answer once we’ve been able to see how a different choice played out. Jake Diebler opted not to use the timeout in the moment, and the team lost. Because of that, we can point to it and say “See! If he would’ve called the timeout and set up a play, they would’ve won!”
What proof do we have that using the timeout wouldn’t have won the game? Well, none. But we do have proof that not using the timeout resulted in an Ohio State loss.
I don’t blame anyone who stands on either side of this “debate”, if you want to call it that. By Monday or Tuesday people will probably move on. But I do think that in that scenario, calling a timeout would’ve given you a higher percentage chance to make a basket than not using it. I’m not sure if it would’ve delivered a win, but I think the odds go up.
Diebler was concerned that a timeout would give the Ducks a chance to set up their press, which could chew up time and make it hard for Ohio State to even get a shot off.
I agree, but could the Buckeyes have inbounded the basketball, got it to halfcourt within 3-4 seconds, and then used the timeout? Even if that only left the Buckeyes with 2-3 seconds, they would have at least ran an out of bounds play and got the ball to exactly who they wanted, and hopefully where they wanted. Perhaps Ohio State could have ran a quick ball screen to get Thornton a more open shot than the one he took.
Again, hindsight is 20/20. There’s also the chance the full court press Oregon gets to set up because of the timeout makes it so hard for Ohio State to move the ball that they don’t even get a shot off. We’ll never know. But it’s tough to lose at home with a timeout still in your pocket.
Justin: No
In a situation like this, I almost always say no. You do not need to use the timeout. There are three main reasons for this.
First, you don’t want Oregon to get into a set defense — especially the way Dana Altman likes to run his full-court press. With only seven seconds left, Oregon can set up a press and make sure the ball handler isn’t able to get downhill and get a good look. Getting down the court and getting a good look is easier against an unset defense.
The second reason I would not use the timeout is that the Buckeyes’ best player had the ball in his hands. Bruce Thornton is the guy you want to take the shot in that situation. He just decided to pull up for three, which I disagree with. I wanted him to drive into the lane, but he was the right guy to have the ball.
The third reason is you want to keep that timeout in case of an emergency. If you call it immediately with seven seconds left, then you don’t leave yourself any room for error, whether it be on the inbounds play or if the play you want to run is blown up.
Ohio State did not execute down the stretch, but I do not think the decision not to use the timeout was the reason.