Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State needs to be 'nastier' defensively to win games
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Ohio State needs to be ‘nastier’ defensively to win games
Ohio State has lost its last three games by double digits. Ohio State has registered its three-lowest defensive efficiency ratings of the season in those games, according to KenPom.
That included Tuesday night’s 87-75 loss to No. 14 Illinois in the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes shot 50% from the field, turned the ball over only six times and still suffered a 12-point defeat at home.
Poor defensive play is the culprit.
“Honestly, I think it’s just a lot of our details on that end,” Evan Mahaffey said postgame. “I think we go into the game with really good game plans. I think we execute them for stretches of the game, but just being able to do it consistently every single time down the floor … we just have to be able to do it every single time and make it a habit and everything no matter if you’re tired or not.”
Fellow sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. added: “70-plus points is enough to win the game. But letting up [87] is way too much. We got to really hang our hat on the defensive end, and offense will obviously come.”
The Buckeyes threw everything at Illinois, including a 1-3-1 zone, but nothing seemed to work against a Big Ten title contender that ranks fifth in the country in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency.
Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood pointed out that the Buckeyes entered the matchup top five in fewest transition points allowed this season. Illinois, however, scored 11 fastbreak points Tuesday. An unrelenting Terrence Shannon Jr. was a big reason why.
Ohio State also recorded its third-lowest defensive rebounding percentage (65.5%) of the season, according to Sports Reference. Granted Illinois is 16th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, but the Buckeyes allowed 11 offensive boards — three more than Ohio State pulled down — and 14 second-chance points.
Plus, for the fifth game in a row and sixth time in the last six games, a Buckeyes opponent logged a 3-point percentage above 40%. Illinois shot 7-of-17, or 41.2%, from beyond the arc, and its clip could have been even higher had the Illini not missed as many open looks, often created by Ohio State trapping.
“If we don’t get better in that area quickly,” head coach Chris Holtmann said of Ohio State’s defense, “we’re obviously playing a terrific offensive team in Iowa [on Friday], so we have to we have to get way better on that end right now. We have to really be way more committed than what we are. Whether it was zone or man, there really wasn’t an answer right now.”
Improving defensively was a significant emphasis before the season, a broken record of sorts. It looked like the Buckeyes had a chance to finally make that jump, but their adjusted defensive efficiency has gotten lower and lower in Big Ten play, now ranking them 123rd nationally in that category.
Holtmann was asked postgame what his team’s defensive identity needs to be to win games.
“We need to be nastier. We need to be much nastier,” he said. “We need to play with more force.”
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What Ohio State transfer additions said about Michigan, The Game
Four high-profile Ohio State transfer additions met with the media Tuesday in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center: former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, former Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, former Alabama center Seth McLaughlin and former Alabama safety Caleb Downs.
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Lettermen Row rounded up what the batch of Ohio State transfers said about Michigan and The Game. Check it out here.
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Akron: 213 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 304 days
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