Ohio State basketball: Keys to winning the Maui Invitational
By Jacob Rhymer
The Ohio State basketball team must take care of the ball
A second key that seems like it’s always been a key for an Ohio State basketball team over the past few years is that turnovers must be limited. The Buckeyes could face a very tough defensive team each game they play this week. It’ll be difficult against some of these defenses but they need to take care of the ball in order to win any of their games in Maui.
There are a lot of good defenses in this field at the Maui Invitational. Three of these times are ranked inside the top ten of KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency ranking. Those teams are Arkansas, Texas Tech, and San Diego State. They wouldn’t play Arkansas or Texas Tech until Wednesday if they met in the bracket. However, the Buckeyes play San Diego State tonight.
One thing that you need to know about this San Diego State team is they are one of the best defenses, if not the best, in this Maui Invitational field. Holtmann has given the Aztecs a lot of praise this week for how tough their defense is.
San Diego State is a very experienced team and they know how to get their opponents to cough the ball up a lot. Through three games this season the Aztecs are averaging 16 forced turnovers a game while Ohio State has turned it over 14.7 times per game through their first three games. It’s vital for this Buckeyes team to take care of the basketball if they want any chance at winning this week.
The last thing Ohio State needs to do this week is defend at a high level.