Ohio State basketball struggles defensively down the stretch against San Diego State

The Ohio State basketball dropped their first game in the Maui Invitational to San Diego State 88-77. The Buckeyes’ play on the offensive end kept them in this game, but their play defensively down the stretch helped the Aztecs pull away with the win.

Late in the second half of this game, the Buckeyes were riding Sean McNeil and Brice Sensabaugh. These two were brilliant on the offensive end against San Diego State. McNeil lead the Buckeyes with 22 points and Sensabaugh followed with another 17-point outing. They made an abundance of clutch shots to keep Ohio State within striking distance.

With McNeil and Sensabaugh trying to give Ohio State some life on offense in the second half, they also needed to get stops on the defensive end. The defensive effort while the Buckeyes were trying to make a run was mediocre at best. They were getting the scoring they needed, but the team couldn’t get the stops needed to keep momentum on their side.

There was a time in the second half when Ohio State got the Aztec lead down to four and the Lahaina Civic Center was electrifying in favor of the Buckeyes. After some forced shots and careless turnovers, San Diego State went on a quick 8-0 run to go back up double-digits and all momentum for Ohio State was gone.

The one positive takeaway from this game is this Ohio State basketball team is going to fight to the final buzzer. They were trying to hang around with their offense, just couldn’t muster up enough stops late to close the gap. The focus these next two days in Maui needs to be getting the timely stops on the defensive end. If they do that, the Buckeyes will come out of Maui on a positive note.

Ohio State is back for their second game in Maui tonight and they will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. Tip-off is at 5:00 ET on ESPN2. No matter the outcome of this game they will play Texas Tech or Louisville on Wednesday.