The Buckeyes are back to .500 in conference play!
“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated” – Mark Twain, 1897.
Like Twain’s haters over a century ago, some people from within the very borders of our great state wrote off this Ohio State team weeks ago when they were 2-5 in Big Ten play and looked incapable of running an out of bounds play to save their life.
Were they crazy to come to that conclusion? Eh, maybe not.
Since then, Ohio State (13-8, 5-5) has rattled off road wins against Purdue and Penn State, and even threw in a home shellacking of Iowa in between. The Buckeyes are back to 5-5 in Big Ten play, are 20th in the nation in defensive efficiency, and are inside the top-25 in KenPom.
If the season ended today, Ohio State would be an NCAA Tournament team. People can be fickle, and so can the NCAA Tournament bubble. Just nine days ago, the Buckeyes had fallen off the map.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated if Ohio State’s win over Purdue at Mackey — the first time any team had beaten Purdue in that arena in 23 months — was simply a one-off or if the Buckeyes were definitely back. 63% of the readers sided with Connor, who said the win was likely a one-off and nothing more. 37% agreed with Justin, who thought the Buckeyes were definitely back.
Connor won the poll, but Justin may have been right in real life as Ohio State has not lost a game since before that Purdue game.
After 189 weeks:
Connor- 85
Justin- 79
Other- 19
(There have been six ties)
Jake Diebler’s team has improved across the board and on an individual basis over the past two weeks. They’ve won three Big Ten road games in January, which is the same number of Big Ten road games Ohio State won during the 2022-24 seasons combined.
This week’s question: What (or who) has been most impressive during Ohio State’s three-game winning streak?
Connor: Throwing the last punch
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In all three of these wins, Ohio State’s opponent swung back after the Buckeyes took a lead. Over the last few seasons, it has felt like if the Buckeyes had a run in them, it was just that — one singular fight during the course of a game. If Ohio State roars back and takes the lead in a game, they probably weren’t going to do it again if the other team did the same thing and flipped the script again. Not this year.
It was the most dramatic during the Purdue game, obviously. The Boilermakers went up by 16 in the first half, but Ohio State answered with a 17-2 run to start the second half, knocking Purdue on their asses and stunning the fans in the stands. But with under 10 minutes to go, Purdue answered and went back up by six points.
Now the old Ohio State team — or even this same team from December — would’ve rolled over and lost by 10 or 11. But the Buckeyes battled back and authored a 15-0 run, took the lead back, and hung on. I don’t think I have seen that type of resiliency out of an Ohio State team in a few seasons.
On Monday night against Iowa, Ohio State went ahead by double-digits late in the first half on Devin Royal’s seventh three-pointer of the season. Over the next four minutes and carrying into the second half, Iowa outscored Ohio State 10-2 and cut it to a two-point game. The Buckeyes responded promptly, going on a 20-4 run that made it an 18-point game and put things out of reach.
Against Penn State, Royal slammed down a dunk to put Ohio State up 15 with 1:08 left until halftime. Penn State responded with five unanswered points to end the half, and then opened the second half with a three to cut it to 43-36. For the final 19:29 of the game, Penn State never scored more than four points in a row without Ohio State answering. The Buckeyes just wouldn’t let them string anything together.
After losing to Indiana, I asked Jake Diebler if this team was resilient or not. Even though they were 2-5 at the time, he said yes, it’s a resilient group. That answer is aging well right now.
Justin: Micah Parrish
There have been many positives during this three-game winning streak, which will leave Ohio State fans with a lot to be excited about. The main one, in my opinion, is San Diego State transfer forward Micah Parrish.
Parrish entered the program after two years at Oakland and two years at San Diego State. In his four-year collegiate career, he averaged 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 154 games. He has shot 33.9 percent from three-point range and 43 percent from the field. With the Buckeyes, Parrish is averaging more points, rebounds, and assists and has better shooting splits this season than his career numbers.
However, Parrish has been the catalyst in this three-game stretch. Namely, in the game that started it all: the win at Mackey Arena against Purdue.
In a game where offense was hard to come by, Parrish recorded 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting and 6-for-8 from three-point range. He also recorded seven rebounds. His points and threes were the main reason the Buckeyes were able to come back in that game.
In the game before that against Indiana, even though they lost, he scored 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Against Iowa, he was only 5-for-13 from the field, but he scored 18 points and six rebounds to help the Buckeyes win the game. Against Penn State, he recorded 12 points in 31 minutes.
He brings that to the offense, but that doesn’t even mention what he brings to the defense. He is a versatile, long-wing defender who can guard multiple positions, including interior and perimeter defense.