The Ohio State Men’s Basketball team huddles up before the Ohio State-Illinois State game on Nov. 25. Ohio State won 94-67. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After closing the month of January winning six of their last seven games, the surging Buckeyes are looking to keep the momentum Thursday.
The mid-season run places No. 7 Ohio State (14-4, 8-4 Big Ten) at fourth in the Big Ten and trailing its Thursday opponent No. 8 Iowa (13-4, 7-3 Big Ten) by mere percentage points in the conference standings.
As the Hawkeyes have sat toward the top of the Big Ten standings all season, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann pointed to the historic nature of this dominant Iowa team.
“They’re elite offensively, historically good offensively. I think in a lot of ways this is the best offensive team I’ve ever coached against,” Holtmann said. “They just have a tremendous skill and ability.”
The Hawkeyes are home to the conference’s best offensive attack, producing 89.4 points per game — more than 7 points more than any other team.
Iowa’s offensive spark lies in senior center Luka Garza, who is the nation’s leading scorer putting up an average of 26.5 points per game.
However, this is not Garza’s first season in the spotlight, as it’s the second straight season he’s averaged more than 23.5 points per game.
As the Washington, D.C. native has left his mark on the Hawkeye program, Holtmann pointed to the difficulties he presents for opposing defenses.
“He’s the best collection of offensive skill and physicality of any big I’ve ever coached against,” Holtmann said. “When I say he’s been the best player in college basketball over the last couple years, lotta great players in college basketball, but I don’t think that’s an overstatement.”
Garza and his 6-foot-11, 265-pound frame also creates matchup difficulties for the Buckeyes, who largely play without a true center.
Compounded with the Buckeyes’ struggles against opposing bigs this season, Holtmann said Ohio State has a difficult challenge ahead of them.
However, although the Buckeyes lack size, Holtmann said they make it up with their versatility.
“What we’ve been able to do is, we have at times really used it to our advantage in a lot of ways,” Holtmann said. “Our mobility and versatility at those positions, which I think if you do have some deficiency in size, you gotta find ways to use it as an advantage. And those guys have done a good job doing that, particularly our versatile forwards.”
The task of slowing Garza will largely weigh on the shoulders of sophomore forward E.J. Liddell — who’s carried the weight of the Buckeye offense through their winning stretch.
Liddell is in the midst of his best stretch of the season over his last five games, averaging 25 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
In last season’s 85-76 loss to the Hawkeyes, Liddell burst onto the scene — scoring a then-career high 17 points while corralling eight rebounds.
“In that game, he was able to find some holes and attack in some places and make some shots,” Holtmann said. “He gave us a lift when we desperately needed one.”
Although Liddell and senior forward Kyle Young will most likely deal with Garza’s aggression in the paint, he doesn’t only produce from inside — shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc.
Garza’s 3-point prowess is backed up by junior guard Joe Wieskamp, who shoots 45 percent from deep, and redshirt senior guard Jordan Bohannon, who leads Iowa in 3-pointers made with 42. The Hawkeyes make a conference-most 9.8 threes per game on 38.2 percent from beyond — the second-best mark in the Big Ten.
Although the Hawkeyes are a dangerous threat from the perimeter, the Buckeyes’ backcourt is reeling from an injury to one of their primary reserves as senior guard Jimmy Sotos will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury.
As Ohio State has dealt with the injury bug all season in the backcourt, Holtmann said he has no worries about the Buckeyes’ depth at the spot.
“I think, all in all, I feel comfortable with our rotation of guards,” Holtmann said.
As the Buckeyes head into the home stretch of the season, Holtmann pointed to the value that recent successes has had on team morale in what has been a grueling year.
However, as wins have piled up over the past few weeks, Holtmann said the team knows they can’t get complacent with just eight games remaining on the schedule.
“As we know with this league, you can still play well and lose and go on a losing streak. So I think you’re a little bit guarded of feeling too good or too healthy,” Holtmann said. “We just gotta stay committed to getting better.”
The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes tip-off at 7 p.m. in Iowa City, Iowa, on ESPN.
