Ohio State Basketball: Keys for Buckeyes to get back on track

The Ohio State basketball team was on a little roll before losing to Wisconsin Sunday. What do the Buckeyes need to do to get back on track?

The biggest key for the Ohio State basketball team to get back on track is for Kaleb Wesson to stay out of foul trouble early in the game. When he is on the bench for an extended period of time the opposing team often gets on a run like Wisconsin did Sunday.

The center took a seat with his second foul with just under eight minutes to play in the first half and the score tied at 15. The Badgers outscored the Buckeyes 23-5 to take a 38-20 lead into the break.

That pretty much sealed the game as they led by at least 11 points the rest of the way in their 70-57 victory.

Now let’s look at other keys for Ohio State whether Wesson is on the bench or not.

Older brother Andre, Duane Washington and C.J. Walker have to create shots on their own. Getting more touches for forwards Kyle Young and E.J. Liddell will be important too.

Young has become an effective scorer down low and will kick the ball out to an open man when double teamed. The freshmen Liddell is gaining confidence and proving why he was a highly ranked recruit.

Last but certainly not least, Chris Holtmann has to get Justin Ahrens more involved in the offense. The sophomore’s playing time has picked up, at least 12 minutes in each of the last five games, but often he doesn’t get his shots.

In three of those games he only shot a total of four times. The other two combined he scored 23 points in 27 minutes on 8-11 shooting with 7 three-pointers.

I have no idea why you recruit a shooter and don’t get the ball in his hands often. Even when Ahrens doesn’t have a clean shot it’s because the opposing team has to account for him which opens up opportunities for other players.

We will see if Ohio State can get back on track tonight against Rutgers (17-7, 8-5 in the Big Ten). Game time is 7:00 PM in the Schottenstein Center.