Ohio State Basketball: Questions were answered in win over Kentucky
Any questions about issues that contributed to the Ohio State basketball team’s first loss of the season were answered in the win over Kentucky.
Areas of concern after the Ohio State basketball team’s loss to Minnesota were defensive intensity and rebounding. Those weren’t issues against an overmatched SE Missouri State squad but would they be against No. 6 ranked Kentucky?
The Buckeyes answered with a strong defensive performance and out-rebounded the Wildcats.
Kentucky only shot 42.4 percent from the floor and Ohio State had the edge in rebounding 33-25.
Some may have questioned how the Buckeyes would stack up athletically as John Calipari always has one of the top recruiting classes in the country. It didn’t appear there was a talent / athleticism disparity, a testament to how well Chris Holtmann has built his roster in such a short period of time.
You always have to question how true freshmen will perform on a big stage. It wasn’t an issue for D.J. Carton and E.J. Liddell, these two young guys continue to impress.
Carton led Ohio State with 15 points and Liddell added nine, and each made all of their free throws. Hitting shots from the charity stripe is always important in big games, and doing so shows a player has the ability to handle the moment.
Other positives for the Buckeyes:
Kyle Young and Kaleb Wesson each scored 10 points and all but one of the eight players who saw action scored at least seven. Andre Wesson didn’t hit that mark but the senior always does whatever is needed on a given night and only took four shots Saturday.
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Probably the biggest positive to take away in Ohio State’s victory is how quickly coach Holtmann and his staff corrected the concerns raised in the loss to Minnesota and you have to credit his players for increasing their intensity as well. Bringing that effort every game will be extremely important with the rugged Big Ten schedule about to resume.