Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes must be more aggressive on offense

The Ohio State basketball team has lost four consecutive games and there is plenty of work to do on the offensive end of the court.

When Big Ten play resumed the Ohio State basketball was on a roll with a 12-1 record and 2-0 in the conference. The Buckeyes also had nice non conference wins over Cincinnati, Creighton and UCLA on their resume.

Ohio State looked like a cinch to make the NCAA Tournament and possibly be a contender for the Big Ten title. After losing four consecutive games it now will be an uphill battle for the Buckeyes to make ‘The Dance’.

The losing streak in itself is a concern but the recent 75-61 loss to the Maryland Terrapins especially so. The two previous losses could be explained away somewhat because they were road games with Rutgers and Iowa employing defenses the young Ohio State squad couldn’t crack.

Yesterday the Terrapins just manned up on defense and dared the Buckeyes to beat them, and they couldn’t. On the other end of the court Maryland was aggressive and attacked the Ohio State defense with much success.

When the offense broke down the Terrapin players often created their own shots, and hit quite a few of them. The Buckeyes struggled doing so which has been a problem this season, especially against Big Ten teams.

Aggressive offensive play often leads to confident shooting. Maryland shot 58.7 percent from the field and a ridiculous 64.7 percent from three-point range. Ohio State’s numbers, 39 percent shooting and 23.1 percent from behind the arc

C.J. Jackson is the most consistent Buckeye at making something out of nothing and others can do so at times, but not often enough. As a result there are too many forced shots as the possession clock is winding down.

The difference between the two teams creating their own shots can’t be explained away because of Ohio State’s youth either. Maryland has 10 freshmen and sophomores on their roster and four scored in double figures with another adding six points.

There is hope for the Buckeyes going forward though. Freshman Duane Washington looks as though he will become a guy who can create his own shot regularly at some point and I’m sure Chris Holtmann hopes that will be sooner rather than later.

Luther Muhammad is another freshman who looks like he could develop into one as well, but he has focused on playing strong defense and becoming a complete player. Once he realizes what kind of potential he has as a scorer, expect his 9.1 average to increase significantly.

Quick takes:

There should never be a game in which Kaleb Wesson doesn’t get off double-digit shots. He was only 3-8 with 10 points against Maryland.

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I hope this is the last time I ask this question, why won’t anybody but K. Wesson throw the ball to Kyle Young? Last night the 6-8 forward was 3-3 from the field, with two scores coming off offensive rebounds and the other from a pass by Wesson. Hey guys, he is shooting 73.2 percent from the field on the season.

Young is averaging 7.3 points per game on 4.2 shots. If he wasn’t averaging about 1.8 offensive rebounds per game he wouldn’t have that many attempts.

Young certainly is not to be confused with an outside scorer, but he is often open within 10-12 feet from the basket and the player with the ball will look away. If he were to get more touches in those instances, he could attack the rim which would give the Buckeyes a second inside presence.

That would do away with some of the double teams Wesson has to deal with. And since both Young and Wesson are willing passers when help defense comes, it would benefit perimeter players who find an open spot to get a clean shot off.

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It’s hard to say what kind of changes coach Holtmann will make to make the Buckeyes more aggressive on offense going forward. But one thing is certain, those changes had better come quickly if Ohio State has any chance at making the NCAA Tournament.

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