Ohio State basketball: Will the defense get better?

The Ohio State basketball team struggled on the defensive side of the ball in 2020. Will it be any better in 2021?

The Ohio State basketball team looked like they were going to be one of the best teams in the country. They worked hard to get a two-seed and made a run all the way to the Big Ten Championship game that ended in an overtime loss.

That run was made despite the fact that the Buckeyes had some truly dreadful defensive performances. They allowed teams to score 85 points on them four times and failed to contain Oral Roberts’ two best players, which is why they got upset in the first round.

Chris Holtmann needs to find a way to address this. They get their best defensive player back for 2021 in Kyle Young, who decided to use his COVID year to return. They also get a taller backup center in Joey Brunk who transfers in from Indiana.

Will these players help the Ohio State basketball team play better defense?

The answer is yes, partially because it’s hard for them to get much worse. Brunk is at least a taller dude in the middle who can come off the bench and deter players from going straight to the rim. His 6’11 size will do that more than anything else he does.

Young, even though undersized, fights hard down low. The biggest problem for the Buckeyes is defense in the backcourt. They lose C.J. Walker, who was their best defender that was a guard. Justice Sueing helps with that as a wing of course, but they still have to stop guards from getting into the paint.

Duane Washington will be a little better than he was last year, assuming he comes back, but still isn’t a true stopper. Meechie Johnson played hard on defense last year but didn’t quite know where to be positioning-wise. That will be fixed with a year under his belt.

Expect this basketball team to play much better next year on the defensive end. That should allow them to make a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament.