Bad first half dooms Ohio State basketball vs. San Diego State

Monday night in Maui was the first time that we were able to see the Ohio State basketball team take on someone who might actually make the NCAA Tournament this year. It was our first chance to see if this Buckeye team has a chance to be good or not.

Based on the first game they played in Maui against San Diego State, the Buckeyes have a lot of work to do. They fell to the Aztecs 88-77 and weren’t able to make up the deficit they had in the first half. They were down 9 at halftime and shot just 30% from the field.

The lack of a three-point shot hurt this Ohio State basketball team in the first half. They made just 1 and shot 9% from deep. If it wasn’t for some strong defense played early in the first half, this game would have really gotten away from them before halftime.

In the second half, things got a little better from deep. Sean McNeil got hot and started hitting shots. After only two points in the first half, he had 20 in the second half to finish with 22. He shot 9-14 from the field and 3-7 from deep. McNeil was the main source of offense in the second half.

Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. The Buckeyes couldn’t maintain their strong defensive start and allowed SDSU to keep making buckets to pull away. The Aztecs shot over 50% from the field and 47.6% from three. You aren’t going to win many games allowing shooting percentages that good.

Ohio State starts 0-1 in Maui. They will get at least three games while they are in Hawai’i, so hopefully they can pick up a couple of wins in their other matchups. Otherwise, it will be an extremely disappointing trip early in the season, to say the least.