Buckeyes can’t solve puzzle
In the television game show, Wheel of Fortune, you can’t buy a “W” because it’s a consonant.
One constant in Ohio State’s four-game losing streak is that the Buckeyes can’t shoot, rebound, or play defense. Or is that the case?
I scanned through the statistics for each of the last four games, and I didn’t find anything real definitive in those numbers to corroborate my theory.
In the last four games, Ohio State has attempted and made more two-point field goals (76-for-153, .497) than their opponent (63-for-129, .488). The Buckeyes have also shot better from the field overall than their opposition, though it’s just a three-tenths of a percentage point disparity. During the four-game skid, Ohio State is 99-for-232 (42.7%) from the field while Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota have combined to shoot 92-for-217 (42.4%) from the floor.
All four teams have fared better from beyond the arc, though, as they are a combined 29-for-88 (33.0%) from three-point range, while Ohio State is just 23-for-81 (28.4%) in the last four contests.
For the season, Ohio State is now 196-for-582 from downtown for 33.7 percent, second-worst in the Big Ten and slightly better than Michigan’s 31.6 percent.
One troubling stat that has plagued Ohio State all season is getting to the free throw line. In the last four games, the Buckeyes have been outscored 68-28 from the charity stripe. The average margin of defeat during the losing skid, eight.
One could argue that since Ohio State lost those four games that obviously their opponent is going to get to the foul line more, especially during the final minutes. And yes, Ohio State has played three of those four games on the road, which could also inflate those numbers. But here’s another stat for you, Ohio State has only attempted 425 foul shots in 29 games for the entire season. That’s the second-lowest total among all Big Ten teams. Northwestern, who implements the Princeton offense, has only went to the line 324 times.
Yes, Ohio State has also been outrebounded 129-121 and has committed five more turnovers than their opponents in the last four games, but those are by slim margins.
The bottom line is this, the Buckeyes are not attacking the basket and are settling for jumpers. The offense has become stagnant. There’s too much movement in the backcourt, the area between the mid-court line and the foul line extended. Another problem is that players seemed to get bunched up, and there’s not enough spacing, which is easily defended. I have never been a big fan of the motion offense, which is based more on set principles as opposed to specific movements.
Another problem is that Ohio State’s opposition has figured out the Buckeyes’ zone defense, even though it might take the first 20 minutes of the game to do so. In three of the last four games, Ohio State was either tied or trailed by just a point heading into the locker room at intermission, which was the case against Minnesota on Saturday.
Never team played particularly well in the first half, as the Golden Gophers held a 24-23 advantage at the break. Ohio State was 9-for-24 (37.5%) from the field, while Minnesota was 7-for-23 (30.4%).
What the Buckeyes were able to do in the first half was force 11 turnovers, thanks to a three-quarters court press. Minnesota adjusted to the press and committed just three TOs during the final 20 minutes.
There were five ties and eight lead changes in the first 20 minutes of action, but there was none of that in the second half as the Gophers never trailed.
After OSU’s David Lighty made a pair of free throws with 18:45 left to tie the game at 26-all, Minnesota went on a 10-2 run as Lawrence McKenzie drained two triples during that span.
The Gophers’ up their lead to 49-37 after a three-pointer by guard Lawrence Westbrook with 10:56 remaining that prompted a timeout by Ohio State head coach Thad Matta.
Minnesota took their largest lead of the game after McKenzie was fouled by OSU’s Jon Diebler while attempting a trey, and later connected on a jumper with 7:24 left to put the Gophers up 56-42.
Ohio State went on a 8-2 run from that point to trim Minnesota’s lead down to single digits after a conventional three-point play by Kosta Koufos with 4:36 to go, but the Gophers converted all seven of their foul shots down the stretch to keep the Buckeyes at arm’s length.
McKenzie scored all 20 of his points in the second half to lead Minnesota, while Westbrook chipped 10 of his 16 in the final period. Where was the defense!!!???
Ohio State was led by Koufos, who scored 17 points but had just four rebounds.
Up next, the Buckeyes host Purdue, Tuesday night. Tip-off at Value City Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and it will be televised on ESPN.
