Scarlet and Game
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Ohio State Basketball: Bench scoring key to win, success going forward

By Charlie Lockhart

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 18: Heah coach Chris Holtmann of the Butler Bulldogs reacts in the first half against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 18, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 18: Heah coach Chris Holtmann of the Butler Bulldogs reacts in the first half against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 18, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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The play of the Ohio State bench was the difference in the victory over Purdue.

The Ohio State basketball team has had a magical season so far and is now leading the Big Ten with a 12-1 record after the win over Purdue. However, one of the recurring issues for the Buckeyes had been the bench scoring, especially in the last five games. It certainly wasn’t a problem last night in West Lafayette and was the key in the win over the Boilermakers.

The players coming off the bench for Chris Holtmann hadn’t totaled double figures in any game since the win over Northwestern January 17th. Last night, they outscored their counterparts from Purdue 18-0.

Guard Musa Jallow led the reserves with 10 points and center Micah Potter added 5. The surprising thing was that Jallow was 3-4 from beyond the three-point line. He is only hitting 28 percent of his shots from behind the arc this season.

Jallow was an excellent scorer in high school but is only averaging 2.7 points per game. Sometimes a shooter just needs to see the ball go through the basket to remind him he can still score. Who knows, that might have been all the freshman needed to jumpstart his season.

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Guard Andrew Dakich scored two points and Kyle Young 1 to finish the bench scoring. Dakich is more of a floor general and a nuisance to the opposing team, and the freshman Young has only contributed on defense and as a rebounder so far this season. I don’t think either of these two strike fear in other teams as far as being a scoring threat.

But there could be a third scorer coming off the bench soon.

Sophomore Andre Wesson scored 13 points against Purdue in his second game filling in for the suspended Kam Williams. Like with Jallow, that may have been the confidence boost Wesson needed. So whether he or Williams (8.0 ppg) comes off the bench down the road, the Buckeyes may have another reserve who is a threat to score.

If opposing teams have to be concerned about the bench scoring on a consistent basis it’s hard to tell just how far Ohio State could go in the NCAA Tournament.

You know that Chris Holtmann’s players will always give a great effort and Keita Bates-Diop will bring something special to the table every night. But having scorers coming off the bench could be the difference between the Buckeyes losing a close game early in March or making a run in the tournament.

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