Ohio State junior forward E.J. Liddell (32) guards an IUPUI player during the Ohio State-IUPUI game Jan. 20. Ohio State won 83-37. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes dropped the regular season finale to archrival Michigan 75-69 Sunday, squandering a seven-point halftime lead.
Head coach Chris Holtmann said after each of Ohio State’s last two home losses that the Buckeyes still have things to “clean up” defensively ahead of the Big Ten Tournament.
“I think there is some things to consider there and, obviously, we’ve got to find a way to coach it better,” Holtmann said. “There’s clearly some personnel things we have addressed and need to continue to address.”
Ohio State’s defense opened the first two possessions of the second half, forcing a shot clock violation and a turnover on a bad pass by Michigan freshman guard Caleb Houstan.
From then on, the Buckeyes surrendered 45 second-half points as the Wolverines shot 48.4 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
Michigan ran its pick-and-roll offense with ease. Ohio State overpursued the ballhandler, allowing the Wolverines’ freshman forward Moussa Diabate to slide down the lane and hammer home three easy dunks.
Diabate scored 14 points, with other major contributions coming from graduate guards DeVante’ Jones and Eli Brooks, who had 21 and 14 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Terrance Williams II added 17 as well, as the foursome accounted for 88 percent of the Wolverines’ 75 points.
After logging their sixth-best defensive efficiency of the season in the first meeting against the Wolverines Feb. 12, the Buckeyes recorded their ninth-worst performance in that regard Sunday, according to KenPom.com.
The bad defense has become a trend for Ohio State, as the other two losses it suffered in its final four games against Maryland and Nebraska featured the Buckeyes’ fifth-worst and worst defensive efficiency of the season, respectively.
“A lot of it’s schemes, being locked in on the game plan,” senior forward Justin Ahrens said. “That just goes along with watching film, paying attention to the scouting report, things like that, knowing what guys have certain tendencies.”
One factor that Holtmann alluded to was Ohio State’s health.
The Buckeyes’ bigs have been banged up recently with forwards graduate Kyle Young still in concussion protocol and sophomore Zed Key recovering from an ankle injury.
Key subbed in for junior forward E.J. Liddell with 10:02 remaining in the first half before reaggravating that ankle injury, rolling it 4 1/2 minutes later and hopping straight to the locker room.
He made the most of his time on the floor, though.
The Bay Shore, New York, native gave the Buckeyes four points on both his shot attempts, corralling three offensive rebounds which led to four second-chance points while adding the only block by any Buckeye not named Liddell.
Key returned in the second half to play 2 1/2 minutes but didn’t provide the same punch he did in the first frame, grabbing just one defensive rebound.
Holtmann said on 97.1 The Fan Monday that Ohio State will have a “better indication” of the statuses of Young, Key and freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr come its first Big Ten Tournament game Thursday.
“A lot of games in a short amount of time, I felt like the energy levels just went down,” Liddell said. “Seeing our legs not being able to slide our feet, and those are things we just got to work on. I mean, happy we get a little break here soon, but can’t let that happen.”
The Buckeyes slot in at the sixth seed in the conference tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, kicking off their postseason run Thursday. They await the winner of Big Ten offensive bottom feeders Minnesota and Penn State, which scored 67.6 and 64.7 points per game, respectively.
Liddell said the key to playing good defense is a combination of natural talent and having the will to do so.
“I feel like we got to want it a little bit more,” Liddell said. “Just have to go out there and execute the game plan better, have to go out there and make the winning plays, have to dive on the floor for the loose ball.”
