The Ohio State Buckeyes are in the midst of an identity crisis right now. So, in an effort to help my alma mater, I’m going to tell them exactly what they are.

They’re an offensively anemic team that relies on streaky three point shooting and contested fadeaways in the post all too much. They don’t drive, they don’t use high-low post action against zone defenses, and they don’t feed their big man and best player on this team half as much as they should. They’re a very good defensive team, but that defense is prone to giving up some star performances to mediocre players because of its complexity. They’re also a team that is playing bad basketball at the wrong time down the stretch and is heading for a first weekend upset at this point. They cannot win on the road consistently, and they’ve struggled against other top opponents in the conference.  All of that fire in my belly comes after watching Michigan dominate the first half, despite what the scoreboard said, and hold off the Buckeyes with a little help from Ted Valentine and the men in stripes. The Wolverines won 56-51, and Michigan State stands alone atop the Big Ten standings, with Ohio State and Michigan now tied for second, one-half game behind them. [Read more...]

William Buford is one of the most maddening players that I’ve ever had on the teams that I closely follow. In some of the biggest games of his career, he has failed to rise to the occasion with some hideous shooting performances. Overshadowed by other guards and forwards throughout most of his career, the lone senior on the team is often unfairly the scapegoat for some of the Buckeyes’ less than outstanding play. But, where the frustration enters is with a performances like last night’s against Purdue. Buford had a great shooting game, scoring a career-high 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting. More than the raw numbers, it was the fact that he was practically indefensible in the second half, piling up 21 of those 29 and carrying the offense with both Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft on the bench due to foul trouble. Often a secondary headliner, Buford was the star in Ohio State’s up-tempo seesaw 87-84 victory.

For a good chunk of the game, it looked like the takeaway from this one would be another Jordan Taylor, E’Twaun Moore, Brandon Paul-type performance from a role player who got red hot and carried his team to victory, coming in the form of Purdue junior guard D.J. Byrd. Byrd, who averages around 7 points a game, had career highs with 24 points and 7 three pointers made. In fact, for a while, I was preparing myself to write about how a team could shoot above 60% against one of the best defensive teams in the nation in their own building. Throughout the game, Ohio State’s defense was simply not clicking. [Read more...]

When the Ohio State Buckeyes take the floor tomorrow afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin against their newest and freshest rival, the Wisconsin Badgers, they’ll do so with a one-half game lead over the Badgers and Wolverines, fighting to hold onto first place. That’s often how it is in the Big Ten conference, but the number of B1G title contenders this season is greater than most, with seven and maybe even eight teams having a shot at the NCAA tournament. So, at 7-2 and 19-3 overall, the third-ranked Buckeyes are in great shape for a run at the Big Ten title and a number one seed, but there are certain issues that have plagued them in their losses and could surface again as the schedule gets even more difficult down the back stretch.

Let’s start with what has gone right, and there’s plenty of it. It has to start at the defensive end of the floor, where the Buckeyes have made life tough for opponents this season in many ways. In eye popping fashion, the Bucks have held opponents to 39.1% on field goals this season (shockingly, it’s even lower in conference play at 37.7%). Teams are scoring under 56 points per game against Ohio State, and with them averaging over 77 per contest (still over 75 for B1G play), it’s not a matter of pace. Quite simply put, the Buckeyes have been winning quite often via blowout.

The team lost great defenders last season in Lighty and Lauderdale, but what they lost in individual defense, the Buckeyes have picked up in a unified team effort. It starts with Aaron Craft, who is averaging 2.4 steals on the season. But, the incoming freshmen have picked up on how important defense is when it comes to playing time as Shannon Scott has proved he is worthy to give Craft a breather on that end of the floor for short spurts. Sam Thompson has replaced incumbent bench guard Jordan Sibert mainly because of his defensive effort, and Amir Williams has the ability to rattle off multiple blocked shots. Truly though, the commitment to defense has been picked up by Smith Jr., Sullinger, Thomas, and Buford, who have all become better defenders. [Read more...]

In a battle for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes faced some adversity against a worthy foe in rival Michigan. A well-executed gameplan kept Jared Sullinger from dominating the low post, but the Bucks kept their home winning streak alive thanks in large part to the 38-29 rebounding margin in their favor, led by Lenzelle Smith Jr.’s team-high 17 points and 12 rebounds, as OSU pulled away late for a 64-49 victory in The Schott.

Michigan came out strong in a hostile environment, and the first half was played entirely at their pace. Defensively, Michigan threw a couple variations of zone at the Buckeyes, all based upon keeping the ball out of Jared Sullinger’s hands. In that respect, for the first half and really most of the game, it was a resounding success. Sullinger was held to 5 points on just 2-of-5 shooting at the half. Jordan Morgan, Evan Smotrycz, and Zack Novak all played a role in keeping tight tabs on Sully. Morgan made a difference on the other end too, slipping on screen-and-roll situations for three first-half buckets to lead Michigan in scoring. Sullinger picked up one early foul, so he was hesitant to be physical on that end of the floor, which we’ve seen in the past. Sully did pick up that second foul off the ball with just under six minutes remaining, so he was relegated to the bench. With just a 24-21 lead at the half for Ohio State, Michigan had to feel pretty good about how things were going.

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And you thought Brandon Paul’s 43 points would be the most surprising scoring outburst in the Big Ten this week…

Lenzelle Smith Jr., often thought of as “the other starter” that fills out the four-man Buckeye attack of Sullinger, Thomas, Buford, and Craft, he of the 5.2 points per game average, was the star of this game. Smith made 10 of his 12 shots, pouring in a career-high 28 points, adding 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal as his unexpected scoring binge disrupted Indiana’s gameplan. Coupled with the ferocious Buckeye defense, it sucked the life out of the Hoosiers in a wild environment in The Schott that resulted in a 80-63 victory for OSU. The Buckeyes really needed this one to stay right near the top of the conference and avoid back-to-back losses. After questionable defensive focus on Tuesday against Illinois, there was no doubt that Thad Matta’s bunch was determined to smother the Hoosiers with all-out effort.

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