Ohio State basketball plays too soft to beat Indiana

The Ohio State basketball team came into Thursday night’s game having stolen a close game against Nebraska in their previous outing. They won a gritty, tough game. You would have thought that would have carried over in Bloomington against IU. Unfortunately, it did not.

Ohio State was not able to match Indiana’s toughness and lost the game 67-51. They played soft all night long, especially in the post. E.J. Liddell had another terrible night, shooting only 3-12 for 11 points. He refused to play with aggression or toughness in the paint.

In contrast, Trayce Jackson-Davis was the best player on the floor. The Buckeyes had no answer for him in the post. He finished the game with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He was simply outstanding and played with authority.

Because of his presence, Ohio State wasn’t able to generate any shots at the rim. Because they couldn’t play in the post, They couldn’t get any kick-out threes. 30.8% is what they shot from deep in this one, which is not acceptable in any game they play.

This game started to get out of hand with about 8 minutes left in it. After that, Ohio State started panicking and made all kinds of mistakes. Turnovers were once again a problem, as they had 15 of them. Until they fix that issue, this team can’t be taken seriously late in the season.

If you only score 51 points in a game, you’re not going to win. The Buckeyes’ offense simply wasn’t good enough tonight. Shooting only 31% from the field isn’t good enough either. It was a soft effort from a team who had built an identity of being anything but.

Chris Holtmann needs to get his team together. This has the beginnings of another famous Holtmann January slide. He needs to fix this team’s mentality and its offense.