Ohio State freshman forward Zed Key (23) and junior forward Justin Ahrens (10) help up freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. (0) during the Ohio State-Iowa game on Feb. 28. Ohio State lost 57-73. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Although the Buckeyes have already locked in a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, their recent play has left plenty of questions in Columbus.
No. 7 Ohio State (18-7, 12-7) dropped its third straight contest Sunday in a blowout loss to Iowa at home. As compounding factors have contributed to the Buckeyes’ late season struggles, Ohio State is in danger of losing out on a potential top seed in the Big Dance.
Head coach Chris Holtmann pointed to Ohio State’s inefficiency on both ends of the floor as a primary reason for its three-game skid.
“I don’t think defensively we’ve been great in any of the three games, but these last couple games our offense has really been poor,” Holtmann said. “I think physically, we just haven’t been where we need to be, both with our health and our overall energy.”
Although they have typically been a top-flight offense, averaging 78 points per game, the Buckeyes have struggled to find offensive efficiency during the losing stretch. Despite an 87-point performance in its Feb. 21 loss to Michigan — kickstarting the skid — Ohio State’s offense has plummeted to 8 points below its season average over the last three games.
Ohio State saw its lowest point total of the season against Iowa, scoring just 57 points while turning the ball over 13 times.
As offensive efficiency has reached new lows over the recent slate, Holtmann said they’ll need to get their offense back to prominence if they are to succeed in the postseason.
“We gotta get to playing better,” Holtmann said. “We were too careless and loose with the ball, we were sloppy with it.”
Along with their offensive struggles, Ohio State’s defense has continued to falter and remains a major issue in the way of the Buckeyes’ success.
The Buckeyes rank No. 7 in the Big Ten in points allowed per game, giving up an average of 69.8 points per game. In the last three games, Ohio State has allowed 78.6 points per game, which would rank last in the conference.
Ohio State’s already subpar 3-point defense — ranking 12th in the conference with an opponent 3-point percentage of 34.4 — has gotten even worse over the three game stretch. The Buckeyes are allowing opponents to shoot threes at a 40.3 percent clip over the previous three games — which would be the third-worst mark in the country.
As the Buckeyes’ defensive struggles have worsened, Holtmann emphasized the need to improve on that end of the court.
“That’s our biggest area of growth and improvement that we need to have,” Holtmann said. “We might not have the potential to be a top-20 defense like we have in the past here, but we can be better and I think that’s the challenge in front of us.”
Holtmann pointed to widespread fatigue and health issues that have engulfed the team since early January as reasons for their regressions on both ends of the floor.
Senior forward Kyle Young has dealt with nagging injuries all season while redshirt senior guard CJ Walker has been affected with a hand injury since January. Redshirt junior forward Musa Jallow has also struggled to stay on the floor while the rest of the team has dealt with the wear and tear of a full college regular season.
The Buckeyes have also been without senior guard Jimmy Sotos since Feb. 3 after he had season-ending shoulder surgery.
Holtmann said the team’s growing health issues have crept into the team’s practices.
“I would like to be able to have practices where we can have a full team, we just haven’t had that,” Holtmann said. “I don’t know that that’s necessarily possible for the rest of the year.”
Despite boasting one of the nation’s best records, Holtmann said the Buckeyes have seen a decline in confidence over the recent stretch. However, the Ohio State coach said their issues come down to their execution.
“As much as anything, I think we just have to get back to work and back to executing,” Holtmann said.
Although Ohio State’s last three games have been worrisome, they’ve had to trudge through their hardest stretch of the season, playing three top-10 teams in their last four games.
As a date with No. 4 Illinois in the season finale approaches Saturday, Holtmann pointed to a need to take responsibility for the previous stretch and improve from there.
“I think what we can own is areas, as coaches and players, where we just have to get better and that’s what we’re gonna try to do,” Holtmann said. “Certainly, this is unlike any stretch I’ve ever been a part of. But, what I’m hoping is that it gets us better and it’ll be a measure of our ability to handle disappointment, adversity and challenges.”
