Ohio State Basketball: Knee-Jerk Reactions to Start of Big Ten Play

It’s a good thing Urban Meyer is in Columbus to hold the sky up. Otherwise, it would be falling given the Ohio State basketball team’s inconsistent play early in the Big Ten season (and the season in general).

You would be forgiven if you didn’t have a lot of confidence in the Buckeyes heading into the conference portion of the schedule given losses to Louisville and North Carolina in the only two nonconference games of note.

Thad Matta’s bunch did nothing to change that perception when it lost to Iowa at home in the Big Ten opener and fell behind in the first half against Illinois in the next game. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, they were able to complete the second-half comeback against the Fighting Illini and prevent a crippling 0-2 start to conference play. 

Things may actually be looking up after the victory. Here are some early takeaways from Big Ten play.

Man-to-Man is the Way to Go

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Illinois grabbed a 34-26 lead in the first half and had already made eight three-pointers when Matta finally decided he had seen enough from the zone defense and switched to man-to-man.

It wasn’t just one game, though. The zone was completely exposed against Louisville, North Carolina and especially Iowa and consistently allowed wide-open three-pointers from the corner and far too many offensive rebounds (a combined 36 in the two nonconference losses). It also put too much responsibility on Amir Williams’ shoulders to cover plenty of space, which is not exactly a reliable formula for success.

After the defensive switch, the Buckeyes (not coincidentally) held the Fighting Illini to 1-of-10 from deep and used a 21-2 run to secure the easy victory.

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It was clear to anyone watching that the players had more energy in the man-to-man sets as they hounded the ball-handlers and actually took the time to box out on the defensive side. For a half at least, the Buckeyes appeared to be a team that could very well challenge for a top-two or top-three spot in the Big Ten standings.

The same could not be said about Ohio State before the change.

The zone just couldn’t keep up against teams with solid guards. The ball always moves faster than the defenders, and the Iowa, North Carolina and Louisville backcourts rotated the ball from one side of the zone to the other until something opened up. That something was often along the baseline because Williams wasn’t aware of forwards sneaking in behind him (especially against North Carolina). 

The Buckeyes have the athletes to play man-to-man defense and have also gone as many as 10-deep this season. The question now is whether Matta trusts his entire team to play in man-to-man sets, especially with so many youngsters as part of the regular rotation.

The Rotation Is Going to Get Shorter

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Bob Baptist of The Columbus Dispatch had some intriguing updates after the victory over Illinois:

It is hard to argue with Baptist’s assertion there. Matta may not trust some of the youngsters to play man-to-man defense because he has been so spoiled over the course of his career with players like Aaron Craft, Shannon Scott, David Lighty, Mike Conley Jr. and even Lenzelle Smith Jr. (who was a better defender than he got credit for).

The only way the young Buckeyes are going to learn the fundamentals of man-to-man defense is with experience. Plus, it’s not as if Ohio State doesn’t have some defensive weapons already in place. Scott and Sam Thompson in particular stand out as players who have spearheaded pressure defenses in the past and can lead by example for Jae’Sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop and Kam Williams.

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Matta has been known to shrink his rotation to as little as six guys, but there is far too much talent on this season’s squad to do that.

There will be some growing pains if the Buckeyes do transition to the man-to-man, but they won’t be nearly as painful as watching Illinois drill three-pointer after three-pointer or North Carolina’s guards slice through the zone and set up numerous layups along the baseline for the bigs. 

Don’t expect the minutes to be distributed evenly, but it will be difficult to survive the grueling Big Ten schedule if Scott, D’Angelo Russell, Thompson and Marc Loving are asked to play the entire second half of every important game.

Marc Loving Is Quietly Becoming an Offensive Weapon

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Loving was an X-factor heading into the season, but he has answered almost every question in the early going.

Yes, he was something of a disappointment as a freshman given his Mr. Basketball in Ohio status that only led to 4.4 points and 1.7 rebounds a night. However, he has emerged as the team’s second scorer behind Russell, which is critical in its own right so there is someone to pick up the offensive load when opponents focus in on Russell.

Loving has also been Ohio State’s best perimeter shooter without question. He is shooting 52 percent from the field and a blistering 55.6 percent from three-point range while also hitting 86.3 percent of his free throws. He scored in double figures in both Big Ten games (and 12 of 15 games in total) and also grabbed a combined 14 rebounds.

Those rebounding numbers are critical from the forward spot given Ohio State’s lackluster play from the center position at times this season.

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Loving can run the floor, slash to the hoop and spot up from deep, but we saw a different angle to his offensive arsenal against Illinois. The Buckeyes posted Loving up on multiple occasions in the second half, which let him go to work closer to the basket.

Considering his shooting touch around the rim and his ability to hit open teammates if the lane gets congested, don’t be surprised if Loving finds himself in the post more often. 

Whether it is beyond the three-point line or on the block, Loving needs to get the ball. He is far too dangerous of a weapon not to be used, especially when the Buckeyes need a second scorer behind Russell.

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