Ohio State basketball takes down UCLA despite awful shooting

This was one of the ugliest Ohio State basketball games I've watched in a while. The score at halftime against UCLA was 23-22. The offense was disgusting to watch from both teams. It did get better in the second half, even if the Buckeyes still didn't shoot it well from deep.

Ohio State made just one three-pointer in this game, finishing 1/15. It didn't matter. They still beat the Bruins 67-60 because UCLA was just as bad from three. They too made just one as they finished 1/9. It's not often that you can win a basketball game by making just one three.

Roddy Gayle was the best offensive player for the Buckeyes. He had 19 points on 6/11 shooting. He also added 6 rebounds, which was the second-highest among the starters. Gayle was one of four starters who scored in double figures in this game, with Evan Mahaffey.

Turnovers were a problem for the Buckeyes too. They committed 13 of them in the game. But, a win is a win. It's nice to be able to win a game like this when they played so badly on the offensive side of the ball. It's a good neutral-site victory for the Buckeyes midway through the year.

Hopefully, this is a win the Buckeyes can build on and take into Big Ten play. They have struggled once the Big Ten season has started in past seasons. If they can tap into some better shooting performances next month, they might be able to play well in the conference.

I also hope this is the ugliest game we have to watch this season. It wasn't fun to watch in the first half.