Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes' Defense Must Improve After Loss to UNC

Columbus, we have a problem.

The Ohio State basketball team is 0-2 against NCAA tournament-quality competition and 9-0 against cupcakes. There will be far fewer cupcakes during conference play (regardless of how many losses to NJIT, Texas Southern and Eastern Michigan the Big Ten suffers), so something had better change.

That something needs to be the defense.

To be fair, Ohio State’s offensive effort was nothing to write home about in Saturday’s 82-74 loss to North Carolina. D’Angelo Russell, who is the Buckeyes’ most talented player on the roster, finished 4-for-17 from the field and forced the issue far too often. What’s more, big guys Amir Williams and Trey McDonald combined for a whopping four points and six fouls.

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However, the defense was the biggest problem in the game and the most concerning thing moving forward because there will be some nights when the shots just don’t fall. The defense is more of a fundamental issue that could rear its ugly head throughout the season.

The zone defense was not just vulnerable against North Carolina, it was downright incompetent.

It seemed like the only time the Tar Heels didn’t get a wide-open shot or layup was when they made an unforced error like simply dropping a pass out of bounds. North Carolina also missed 12 of its 33 free throws and a number of layups, otherwise Ohio State’s performance would have looked even worse.

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The zone appeared much better against the Campbells and High Points of the world than the North Carolinas or Louisvilles. The Tar Heels had formidable ball-handlers who were easily able to move the ball through the initial three-quarter-court pressure, be it through quick crossover dribbles or rapid ball movement. Anytime Marcus Paige pushed the tempo, Ohio State couldn’t even get the zone set up.

There were a number of occasions when North Carolina’s offense even beat the Buckeyes downcourt after a made basket, which is inexcusable.

Any team like North Carolina with a solid backcourt that can move the ball from one side of the court to the other with crisp passes will be able to get any open shot it wants against this zone if there is no improvement on Ohio State’s end. The corner three is open on almost every possession, but that wasn’t even the biggest problem for Ohio State Saturday.

Rather, the Tar Heels simply snuck somebody behind Williams or McDonald on the baseline for easy five-footers on plenty of possessions. The fact that North Carolina was able to do that multiple times is a testament to the lack of defensive awareness and athleticism among Williams and McDonald, which continues to be a source of frustration for Ohio State fans.

A lack of skill is one thing, but a lack of effort from Williams is another, as Dave Biddle of Bucknuts.com noted during the game:

Speaking of issues down low, Ohio State’s problems on the defensive boards are a natural byproduct of the zone.

North Carolina ended up with a monumental 18 offensive rebounds, which helped set the tone for the outcome from the opening minutes. The Buckeyes also gave up 18 offensive rebounds to Louisville in their first loss, so this is not a new problem against quality competition.

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When Ohio State plays a zone instead of man-to-man, there are guys simply roaming around when the shot goes up instead of actually boxing out. That makes defensive rebounding a game of luck where everyone hopes the ball bounces their way instead of toward the opponent.

One has to wonder why Anthony Lee hasn’t gotten more playing time considering the struggles fans saw from Williams and McDonald on the boards and on defense in general during the losses to Louisville and North Carolina. Lee was a walking double-double at Temple, and the Buckeyes aren’t exactly bringing Tim Duncan and David Robinson to the table down low.

It is easy to get caught up in the 9-2 record and national ranking for Ohio State, but that is more a result of the ridiculously easy schedule the Buckeyes have played thus far.

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The Buckeyes are going to overwhelm most of the cupcakes they play from an athletic standpoint alone, but the defense was exposed in their two games of note. Ohio State was down by double digits before some fans even reached their seats in both losses and it took scramble efforts to make the final scores respectable.

With effective guards who can either gradually or quickly advance the ball past the initial pressure, opponents are only a well-timed pass or two away from a two-on-one situation along the baseline against Ohio State’s zone defense. That leads to either a wide open look from the corner for three or a fairly simple look from mid-range or closer.

Perhaps Thad Matta is afraid to play man-to-man without Aaron Craft spearheading the efforts up top or the freshmen aren’t ready for it yet, but the zone fans saw Saturday is not nearly effective enough to challenge Wisconsin in the Big Ten. It must improve if a conference title is still in the cards this season.

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Ohio State’s saving grace may be the fact that the rest of the conference outside of Wisconsin, Maryland and perhaps Illinois looks overrated at this point. That is especially the case for the two teams in Michigan.

It takes a program like Syracuse years to establish an effective and swarming zone defense. Matta and the Buckeyes think they can change defenses on a year-to-year basis and learn the zone on the fly against a Charmin-soft (hat-tip to Kobe Bryant) nonconference schedule. 

The lack of experience shows against formidable opponents.

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