Ohio State Basketball: Challenges Buckeyes face vs. Hoosiers

The Ohio State basketball team found an offense in their game against Northwestern but will be challenged to do so against Indiana.

Freshman guard D.J. Carton announced via Twitter on Thursday that he is taking time off from the Ohio State Basketball team. Let’s hope he gets his situation taken care of because a young man’s well-being is more important than wins and losses.

However, there is a game tomorrow so let’s take a look at the challenges the Buckeyes face against the Indiana Hoosiers without one of their key players.

Ohio State will not only have to replace 10.4 points per game but the Buckeyes must find another guard to run the offense at times. C.J. Walker has performed well this season but is only averaging 20 minutes of playing time.

Walker’s time on the floor will almost certainly increase, but he will have to take a break from time to time so who will take over running the offense then?

You would think it would probably be Luther Muhammad and/or Duane Washington Jr. Both are good ball handlers, willing to share the ball and  can drive to the paint from outside.

I don’t see Justin Ahrens in that role because he has proven to be a spot-up shooter so far. But he does handle the ball well so maybe he will be able to play some at the point.

At the very least, Ahrens should see more playing time after hitting four shots from behind the arc against Northwestern, and coach Chris Holtmann will need plenty of scoring options.

There may be more of an emphasis on scoring in the paint. The Wesson brothers scored 11 points apiece against the Wildcats but Kyle Young and E.J. Liddell each only had a single bucket. The two power forwards must pick up some of the scoring slack.

Hopefully Holtmann’s squad can make the changes needed to climb to 4-6 at the midpoint of the Big Ten season. It won’t be an easy task against the Indiana Hoosiers who are 15-6 and 5-5 in the conference.