Ohio State basketball gets back on track vs. Merrimack

The Ohio State basketball team came into Wednesday night’s matchup with Merrimack not having played some good basketball. They played two games at home prior to Merrimack coming to town and came out 1-1, having barely beaten Oakland and losing to Texas A&M.

They were looking to play some better basketball and were able to do so after a slow start. The Buckeyes had just a six-point lead at halftime, mainly thanks to their work at the free-throw line. They were 15/20 from the line in the first half. That helped fix the fact that they only shot 32% from the field.

In the end, they were able to blow out Merrimack thanks to a big second half. They won the game 76-52. Surprisingly, they handled Merrimack’s zone very well. Usually, Holtmann-led teams struggle with zone defenses. That wasn’t the case against the Warriors.

Zed Key had a double-double, going for 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Buckeyes kept dishing the ball to him inside in that zone once they got the ball in the middle. He got into more of a rhythm in the second half. He wasn’t the best player for the Buckeyes though.

That title belongs to Roddy Gayle. Gayle had 20 points on 8/12 shooting from the field. He also hit three of his four three-pointers to help stretch the floor. Ohio State really needs someone who can stretch the floor and hit some outside shots. He’s been the best player for the Ohio State basketball team so far.

It was a nice bounce-back win for the young Buckeyes. They will play again on Sunday, so this should give them some nice confidence heading into that game. Shooting 57% from deep will certainly do that for a team that has struggled shooting from three.

Hopefully, Sunday will be another blowout win at home for the Buckeyes.