Ohio State basketball: Will the three-point shooting come back?

The Ohio State basketball team shot the three-ball pretty well earlier in the year. In fact, they were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the Big Ten when conference play started. Where has it been since? It’s been tough sledding for the Buckeyes behind the arc lately.

In the last four games, Ohio State has shot 36%, 44%, 18%, and 31% from beyond the arc. That 44% is a really strong number. If Ohio State could do that on a regular basis, they’d be killing it. But it’s the numbers in the last two games that are concerning.

If you shoot 18% from three in any game, there’s little chance you’re going to win. That was certainly the case against Iowa, as they lost with that low shooting percentage. That 31% against IU would have been even worse had it not been for Eugene Brown.

As a team, the Buckeyes are shooting 37.4% from three. That’s still good enough for the 28th best in the country. A large part of that strong percentage is from earlier in the season. The biggest question is whether or not the Ohio State basketball team can shoot against the toughest opponents.

One of those tough opponents is Illinois, whom the Buckeyes play next. Illinois is one of the best teams in the country and has one of the best players in the country in Kofi Cockburn. His presence inside will make it harder for E.J. Liddell to be as effective as he normally is.

That will make it all the more important for the Buckeyes to have strong three-point shooting. We’ll see whether or not Ohio State can rise to the occasion and score an upset victory and keep their slim hopes of winning a Big Ten title alive.