Hoosier fans are ready to fire their head coach, but Ohio State can’t afford another loss with Purdue coming up.
Is it possible to feel good about how a team is playing while the team is not winning basketball games at all?
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (10-7, 2-4) lost games to No. 15 Oregon and No. 24 Wisconsin over the past week by a combined four points. Ohio State led for over 30 minutes against the Quackers, but ultimately a thin lead didn’t hold up in the final 90 seconds. The Buckeyes shot themselves in the foot — really both feet — at Wisconsin, falling behind by 17 at halftime before swinging back and cutting the deficit to one point before losing by two.
At 2-4, Ohio State doesn’t really have a whole lot of time to “take positives” from losses or “recognize growth.” They are essentially eliminated from winning the Big Ten regular season title with almost two months to go, and need to go 8-6 over the next 14 to finish .500 in the conference.
Enter Indiana, stage left.
Hoosier fans are done with Mike Woodson. Indiana (13-5, 4-3) has lost three games by at least 25 points this season, including a 94-69 loss to Illinois at Assembly Hall this week. The record is not dire, but the vibes certainly are. Something has to give.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated if Jake Diebler should’ve used his final timeout against Oregon, down two with seven seconds remaining on the clock. 63% of readers sided with Justin, who said that Diebler made the correct call by not using the timeout and preventing Oregon from setting up a full court press with very limited time left.
After 187 weeks:
Connor- 84
Justin- 79
Other- 19
(There have been five ties)
This week’s question: What does Ohio State need to do to snap this three-game losing streak against Indiana?
Connor: Attack the basket on offense/don’t settle
In a really strange twist, Ohio State’s lack of a “back to the basket” center might actually play to its advantage against Indiana on Friday night. Oumar Ballo averages just under two blocks per game, but he’s not too quick on his feet and doesn’t react fast enough when guarding away from the basket.
Fortunately, neither Sean Stewart nor Aaron Bradshaw are those types of post players. Even against smaller teams, Ohio State barely ever throws the ball to one of them below the basket and says “go get a bucket.”
When Stewart shoots, it is usually off of a lob, an offensive put-back, or some type of floater/hook shot from six-to-seven feet away. When Bradshaw shoots, it is usually a jumper or a layup where he starts with the ball on the perimeter and slashes to the basket.
As our friends at Crimson Quarry shared with us this week, getting Ballo away from the basket and making him move his feet to guard will be a big key for Ohio State if they want to win on Friday night. Ballo has 50 pounds on Bradshaw and 40 pounds on Stewart, but he’s not as quick as either of them. If the Buckeyes can make him move around a bit, it will be to their benefit.
Plus, if Bradshaw and Stewart can move Ballo away from the paint some possessions, it will open up that area for everyone else to drive to the basket into a little less traffic. Bruce Thornton, Micah Parrish, and Devin Royal are all above average finishers at the rim, but all three of them are going to get stuffed at the rack if Ballo is there.
Settle for fewers jump shots, move Ballo around, get to the rim, hit your free throws. Sounds like a plan to me. We’ll see Ohio State can execute it.
Justin: Let Bruce Thornton cook early
I think the key to winning this game is very simple. They have to get Bruce Thornton going early. The junior point guard is the best player on the team. In many games, he is the best player on the floor.
However, sometimes he is more passive on the offensive end to start games, trying to get others involved and facilitate the offense instead of taking the ball and going and scoring.
It is not a coincidence that when he scored 30 points, and they beat Kentucky. Or that he scored 17 in the second half against Wisconsin, and they immediately got back in the game. He needs to be the main scorer for the Buckeyes to successfully get into the offense.
If teams are not worried about Thornton, it becomes much harder for everyone else. He opens up the offense by scoring.
Thornton must score double-digit points in the first half against Indiana to win the game. I am keeping this short because it is that simple.