Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball: Where Is Their Defense?

There have been rumblings in Buckeye land. Where is the Ohio State defense lately? 

There may be an answer.

I have noticed in the past that Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta has had a good handle on taking care of defensive adjustments at halftime in most games. Ohio State comes out in the second half and defensively shuts down the opposition with a mixture of defenses.

This year it has been different.

You have young men who are picking up the slack for point guard Anthony Crater's departure and injuries to forwards David Lighty and Nikola Kecman. These three issues hurt the guard rotation and keep certain players on the floor longer.

When this happens, a zone defense is mostly necessary to keep players from complete exhaustion. Man-to-man defense is a valuable switch when you have a good rotation in personnel, but with the absence of players such as Crater, Lighty, and Kecman, it becomes difficult.

Matta has thrown in some fullcourt and trapping defenses, but it has not worked to Ohio State's favor.

Michigan State scored more than 50 points in the second half last week, and a soft Indiana team scored 81 points yesterday on a Buckeyes team that prides itself on their defense.

Jon Diebler, William Buford, and Evan Turner all played 37 minutes or more against Indiana which wears down Ohio State's defense.

Ohio State is faring better than expected this year. It is a team loaded with sophomores and freshmen, who, in my opinion, are overachieving. After Lighty returns and these young men get more experience this team may make a run in their last five conference games.

This team has been an exciting one to watch. A little depth and experience will take them far. Maybe not this year, but the future is looking very promising for the Buckeyes.