The Cincinnati Bearcats came into Columbus looking to get some revenge on an Ohio State team that beat them in their place last season. It was a hard-fought defensive slugfest for the most part, but the Buckeyes were able to find themselves in the second half and outlast the Bearcats.
At the end if the day there’s plenty to learn from in this one. It wasn’t pretty a lot of times, but it’s still a win against a quality opponent, and you’d rather teach from that than a loss straight out of the gate.
As we do after every contest, here’s five things we learned from the 64-56 victory by OSU.
Next … Things are still gelling
This team is still being baked in the oven
You can tell this team is still finding out what it is. There’s a lot of returning parts, but there’s a new point guard, and head coach Chris Holtmann and staff are still figuring out roles for the freshman. It’s also still a work in progress to figure out which returning players are going to make that next step in development and be a scoring threat.
The first half was ugly and there’s no denying that. But things will get better. Guys will settle into their roles, and this team will begin to form its identity. There was flashes that show you what this team can — and likely will — become.
Next … Kaleb Wesson is still the motor
Kaleb Wesson has to be more of a force
This game isn’t as close if Kaleb Wesson is more effective on the offensive end. He got out of the gate slow with some shooting issues and struggled with some of the strength and size down low Cincinnati has.
It’ll be interesting to see how well he can still use his body with all the weight he’s lost. The conditioning should be better, and he’s definitely more agile, but he was used to being able to lean on people a little more.
He and the team have to find a way to get him in the flow early against teams that are going to be physical like the Bearcats. At least until the team continues to find some other consistent scoring threats.
Next … That’s the Kyle Young we’ve been waiting for
Kyle Young might be figuring it out
Kyle Young came out of Ohio as one of the top recruits in the state. In fact, Mr. Ohio Basketball was really between him and Kaleb Wesson back in 2017. Of course Wesson won the honor, but Chris Holtmann made a major splash in recruiting when he lured Young to commit to Butler.
You know the story. Holtmann was hired by Ohio State and Young decided to come along. So far though, what we’ve seen from Young is an athlete that does a lot of the little things and works hard, not a guy that has reached his potential as an option on the offensive end as expected.
But he had himself a game tonight. He was active on the boards, confident on the offensive end and without him Ohio State probably doesn’t notch this one in the win column. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come and Young is going to be a threat on both ends now. Now, whether or not he puts together double-doubles like he did tonight remains to be seen.
Next … Depth is a nice luxury to have
Ohio State has more depth than I can remember
It’s evident that Ohio State has a ton of depth this year. There’s not only a slew of returning production from last year, but some of the freshman are also getting significant minutes. You can also add in the services of C.J. Walker at point guard who had to sit out last year because of transfer rules.
Cincinnati isn’t a team that will wear down easily, but I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the Buckeyes pulled away just a wee-bit in the second half. Conditioning aside, when you can go nine and ten guys deep without much of a drop in production, it opens up a lot of things.
Next … Defense is still the name of the game
Defense is still a staple of Ohio State
As long as Chris Holtmann is in charge of this program, you can bank on Ohio State putting a premium on defense. It’s not that the team won’t or doesn’t want to be an efficient squad on offense, but when all else fails, the Buckeyes should be able to lean on its defensive intensity.
As bad as things looked in the first half on offense for OSU, it doesn’t come out on top in this one without being able to lock things down like it did on that end of the floor. You simply don’t play for Chris Holtmann if you aren’t willing to put the work in to guard the other team.
