The Ohio State Buckeyes had a lot of confidence heading into this season after making the NCAA Tournament a year ago. A lot of that was due to the fact that the Buckeyes added two five-star freshmen to the roster. Anthony Thompson and LJ Smith were both supposed to be big parts of the team.
Through four games, it looks like Ohio State might be better off without them. They have been awful. At fourth-ranked UConn, they needed those guys to step up. Instead, neither one of them played well, and Ohio State had another bad half that led to a loss.
Ohio State has a serious problem performing in the seond half
In both losses, the Buckeyes have gotten trounced in the second half of their games. Against BYU, the Buckeyes lost the second half by a margin of 14. They lost the game by 11, so that was the difference.
Against the Huskies, it was another bad second-half performance. This time, the Buckeyes lost the half by 22. That's a pattern that simply cannot keep happening. Even in the wins the Buckeyes have had, they have lost in the second half.
It wasn't John Mobley Jr.'s or Jimmie Williams' fault that Ohio State lost to UConn 84-68. They were the only two players who came to play offensively in this one. Mobley scored 16, while Williams added 17 off the bench. Those were the only two guys Diebler could count on to score.
The Buckeyes have now started the season 2-2, which is not ideal. Both of their losses have come to ranked teams, so that helps the resume. Still, they would have loved to get at least one of these games. It's a tough schedule they will play, but Diebler wanted to test his guys early.
Ohio State must get more production from its five-star freshmen
Quite honestly, the biggest red flag so far this season is the play of Thompson and Smith. Neither of them has shown much when it comes to the offensive end of the court. Thompson had a good first half against Marshall, and that's about it. Smith hasn't even done that.
Against the Huskies, Thompson was abysmal. He had three points and two turnovers. He only made one shot from the field, and it was a layup. Smith was worse, missing the only shot he took in nine minutes of play.
If Diebler is not going to get any production from his balleyhooed freshmen, he's going to have to change the rotation. Thompson can't start. Williams would be in the starting lineup, which would give them a three-guard lineup. Anything is better than what they have right now.
It's early, but the freshmen have looked really bad. If this team is going to be any good this season, those guys have to score points. Diebler needs to do whatever he can to instill confidence in both Thompson and Smith. Otherwise, they need to get fewer minutes, because they are just hurting the team right now.
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