Ohio State senior forward Justin Ahrens (10) shoots from behind the arc during the Ohio State-Towson game Wednesday. Ohio State won 85-74. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
For a one-minute, 28-second stretch late in the second half against Towson, No. 21 Ohio State’s offense ran through senior forward Justin Ahrens.
Ahrens drained three 3-pointers in that time, including a shot on the right wing where he was fouled on his follow through to complete a four-point play.
The four-point play ignited a fire on the Ohio State bench to carry the Buckeyes down the stretch en route to a 85-74 victory over the Tigers Wednesday at the Schottenstein Center, showing how Ahrens’ hot spells from deep can pay great dividends for head coach Chris Holtmann’s offense.
“It opens up a lot for us,” sophomore forward Zed Key said. “Teams can’t really double when he’s hitting, because if they leave him, we’re just going to throw it back out, and he’s going to hit it.”
Ahrens has made a name for himself in his four-year Ohio State career as the guy to wander the 3-point line and wait for catch-and-shoot opportunities. Sometimes off-ball screens are set up to get him an open look; other times he’s left open in the corner.
No matter the way, he’s going to shoot it, taking 91.7 percent of his field goal attempts beyond the arc.
The past two seasons, though, are where Ahrens hit his stride, converting his triples at 42.5 and 44.4 percent, respectively.
He put his name on the map to Buckeye Nation his sophomore season against Iowa Feb. 26, 2019, where he dropped a career-high 29 points on 6-for-10 from downtown, almost reaching the 38 total points he had scored in the 18 games that season prior to the matchup.
Iowa was just the first example of Ahrens getting hot and pacing Ohio State’s offense — see Nebraska Dec. 30, 2020, Seton Hall Nov. 22 and Wednesday for more evidence.
The age-old mantra of just letting shooters shoot rings true when talking about the Versailles, Ohio, native as well. In eight career games in which the lefty has attempted at least eight 3’s, he has converted at a 50-percent-or-greater clip in half of those contests.
Those eight games have contributed almost one-third of Ahrens’ career points, despite counting for slightly more than one-fifth of his minutes.
Ahrens has been penciled into all nine of Holtmann’s starting lineups in 2021 for that very reason: scoring points in bunches, alleviating junior forward E.J. Liddell and Key from carrying the offensive burden on their backs while also compensating for the defensive inefficiencies.
“Justin’s shooting’s been phenomenal,” Holtmann said. “He’s really had a good year for us. I know there’s been a game or two where he hasn’t been his best, but he’s really had a good year.”
The 3-point load has been taken off his shoulders a bit, thanks in large part to a surge from graduate forward Kyle Young, who has made each of his last six 3-point attempts going back to Sunday’s game against Penn State.
However, Ahrens still lugs around the majority of deep shots, attempting 39 3-pointers in the last five games, while knocking down a whopping 43.6 percent in that time.
Holtmann, and Ahrens’ teammates alike, have given the Buckeyes’ sharpshooter the green light, and it has paid dividends with his highest points per game mark in his career.
“We tell him to shoot,” Key said. “If he’s a little bit open, shoot it. He’s one of the best shooters in the Big Ten.”
