Ohio State Basketball: After Iowa loss how do Buckeyes get back on track?
The Ohio State basketball team has now lost three straight Big Ten Conference games and coach Holtmann has a few things to straighten out.
After beginning the season 12-1 and 2-0 in the conference the Ohio State basketball team now has an uphill battle to get back into the Big Ten race and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The loss to the Hawkeyes proved the Buckeyes have plenty of work to do to get back on track.
It was their third straight loss in Big Ten play and the worst yet. Not only were there the same issues which caused problems in the loss to Rutgers but Ohio State had problems holding onto the ball. I’m sure coach Chris Holtmann wasn’t pleased with the 21 turnovers in the 72-62 loss.
Kaleb Wesson picked up two personal fouls during the first three minutes of the game like he did in the previous loss. Iowa mixed in a zone defense along with man-to-man which once again gave Ohio State problems.
The young Buckeyes have yet to figure out a way to get good looks against a tall athletic team playing zone without Wesson in the game. And the big center wasn’t even effective on the offensive end when he was on the floor against the Hawkeyes as he only scored 2 points.
Only brother Andre (13) and C.J. Jackson (10) scored in double figures. Other players are simply going to have to step up on the offensive end going forward.
Quick takes:
Kyle Young is anything but a polished scorer but he is scoring 7.4 points per game and shooting 72 percent from the field. Often the 6 ft. 8 forward is open within 12 feet from the basket and nobody seems to want to throw him the ball except Kaleb.
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If he were to get more touches and hit something close to 50 percent of his shots down low at least there would be another inside presence.
Jaedon LeDee had a poor shooting night against Iowa as he was only 2-8 from the field but the 6 ft. 9 freshman has hit 46 percent of his shots on the season. He needs to bulk up to be able to effectively defend Big Ten centers and forwards but he could add a spark on the offensive end if he gets more playing time.
Freshman Justin Ahrens finally got on the court in the first half and went 2-3 behind the arc as well as infusing energy into the team. Ahrens was known for his outside shooting in high school and the Buckeyes could use a little more of that at this point.
It may be a good idea to throw the freshman on the court a little more often and see if he can get hot.
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Just a few thoughts before Ohio State gets ready to face Maryland on Friday. At least coach Holtmann will have some extra time to get his offense straightened out before facing the 14-3 Terrapins.