Buckeyes 'set rules,' lock down defensively to move on in Big Dance

PITTSBURGH — Ohio State heard the noise, the narratives, the buzz about what would be its demise early in the NCAA Tournament.

All the questions about whether the Buckeyes could defend well enough to advance past an efficient Loyola-Chicago team suddenly faded away as loose balls were corralled, rebounds were grabbed and defensive stops piled up Friday afternoon.

Sure, the Ramblers didn’t shoot well or play to their offensive standard. But much of that is a result of a collective defense effort from Ohio State, one that had been missing for most of the season. When the Buckeyes needed a stout performance on that end of the floor most, they got one, suffocating the Ramblers and moving on with a 54-41 win at PPG Paints Arena.

“For us, that’s our mentality going into every game,” Ohio State senior forward Kyle Young said. “We try to hang our hat on being the more physical team, setting the rules. So when you have a team coming in that’s going to do the same thing, it’s just that much more of a challenge.

“So we love that type of challenge, and we just have to respond. So it was just about who is going to play more physical and tougher with 50/50 ball and things like that.”

Ohio State limped into the tournament as a loser in four of its previous five games. It was having trouble stopping anyone on the defensive end, and it seemed poised for an early exit. Instead of accepting their fate as a below average team that struggled to defend, the Buckeyes challenged themselves. And it resulted in their fewest points given up in an NCAA Tournament game since 1946.

The 180-degree turn by the Buckeyes on defense started with the players, was driven by the players and was executed by the players. They wanted to silence the talk about their poor defense.

Consider it done.

“I think it really comes down to ownership with them,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “And obviously as coaches we’re constantly seeking ways we can do a better job at putting our guys in position defensively. But I think ultimately the effort piece comes down to ownership on their part.

“They were as bought in and as owned as they’ve been all year for sure on that end. It was the best defensive performance we’ve really had in a couple years.”

Could this team have played that well defensively all season? Was the effort there all along? It’s all moot now, especially after the dominance on that end erased the loud talking points from the last week after the late-season slide.

For the players and staff members inside the program, this doesn’t come as a revelation. The potential was there all along. And while the Buckeyes didn’t show it for most of the season, they certainly put together their best performance of the year at the perfect time.

“I’m not surprised,” forward E.J. Liddell said. “I feel like when we start out, the first four minutes, that determines the game. We set the rules. And I felt like we came out here and did a great job on defensive end, great communication. And we played with an edge tonight. Played like the underdogs. We gotta keep playing like that because people have been counting us out big time. We’ve got to have that same mindset next game.”

If they can turn in another defensive performance like they put together Friday, the Buckeyes will have a chance to take their alleged point of demise and flip it into their March Madness calling card.