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Ohio State basketball: Defense is the “Achilles heel” for Buckeyes in tournament play

By Jacob Rhymer

Ohio State Buckeyes guard Jamari Wheeler (55) gets high fives from center Joey Brunk (50) and forward E.J. Liddell (32) after hitting a three pointer during the first half of the NCAA men's basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at Value City Arena in Columbus on March 6, 2022. Michigan won 75-69.Michigan Wolverines At Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes guard Jamari Wheeler (55) gets high fives from center Joey Brunk (50) and forward E.J. Liddell (32) after hitting a three pointer during the first half of the NCAA men's basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at Value City Arena in Columbus on March 6, 2022. Michigan won 75-69.Michigan Wolverines At Ohio State Buckeyes /
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There are a good number of flaws in this Ohio State basketball team, but the main concern for this team in the finishing weeks is their effort on the defensive end of the floor. If the Buckeyes are wanting to make a run in either the Big Ten Tournament or the NCAA Tournament they will need to improve their defense quickly as that has been their Achilles heel all season long.

The Buckeyes are coming off one of their worst weeks of the regular season. They finished the regular season 1-3 in their last four games. The main theme in the losses was the poor effort on the defensive end.

There are so many things wrong with this team’s defense. They give up way too many straight-line drives to the bucket for uncontested layups. It also bothers me to no end when they switch every ball screen. When they switch all the ball screens it forces Jamari Wheeler to get stuck on a big on the inside, which is an easy two points. The Buckeyes can’t keep switching all ball screens, especially in the Big Ten Tournament.

Another feature on the defensive end that has been poor is the rebounding. In every game this season, a major key for the Buckeyes to win is their play on the boards. They gave up 13 offensive rebounds in the loss to Michigan on Sunday.

During Coach Holtmann’s postgame press conference after the loss to Nebraska, he was asked about the Buckeyes’ defensive effort and Holtmann questioned the team’s “buy-in” on that end of the floor. Holtmann also recognizes the poor rebounding and defense by saying, “If we don’t defend and rebound, we’ll be terminal”, come tournament play.

It’s very evident throughout the whole program that the effort on the defensive end needs to be adjusted. According to the KenPom defensive efficiency rankings, the Buckeyes rank at a horrible 121st in all of college basketball. The team’s defensive effort is their Achilles heel, and if they can’t fix it then the Buckeyes are bound to not have any success in the later weeks of March yet again.

Next. True March Madness only hope for Buckeyes. dark

The Ohio State basketball team starts their play in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night against either Penn State or Minnesota. Hopefully, we can see some change to the defensive effort in the Big Ten Tournament. If there is no change, expect another early-round exit in the NCAA Tournament for the Buckeyes.

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