For the third straight Big Ten game, Ohio State failed to match its opponents intensity, this time falling on the road to Michigan, 73-65.
The Buckeyes just couldn’t get their shots to fall on the road, something that is all too familiar over this stretch recent of basketball. The loss puts Ohio State’s season record at 12-5, just 2-4 in the Big Ten. They are now just one spot ahead of being at the bottom of the conference just a few games in.
We learned a good amount about Ohio State in its most recent loss, some of it was more of the same that we have seen during the conference losing streak.
Ohio State struggled throughout the game against Michigan, but Holtmann didn’t just keep running the same unsuccessful plan. He gave rookie Taison Chatman and Devin Royal more minutes than we’d seen before, changed up the defense from man-to-man to several zone looks. Holtmann even tried to play two big men simultaneously. Unfortunately, nothing worked, as the Buckeyes continued to struggle with offense and defense.
Gayle Jr. has had a hard stretch over the last four games, with this one being a little different from the previous three. He was scared to shoot the ball because he knew what he was putting up wasn’t falling, going 3-for-8 from the field. Gayle Jr.’s confidence is waning, which is something this squad cannot afford. On the good side, he found his way to the free throw line and made all six tries. The Buckeyes need Gayle Jr. to score and play with vigor and confidence, something we did not see against Michigan.
The Midwest is going through a cold front, just like the Buckeyes shooting. In the first half they shot just 32.3% from the field and an atrocious 1-of-14 from beyond the arc. The lone three that went in, from Bruce Thornton, bounced around the rim a few times, so it wasn’t a clean shot. No Buckeye went over double-digits in the first twenty minutes and the issues continued over the second half. It was a bit better, but the final line of 37.9% from the field and just 12% from three isn’t going to get it done.
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