Buckeye nation, there are signs of life beginning to appear for this Ohio State basketball team. After a Big Ten road win against Northwestern, it followed that up today with a solid victory over a pretty good Indiana team at home.
After going on a rough patch that saw the Buckeyes drop six of seven, the last couple of games have looked more like the OSU team of earlier this year than what we’ve seen since the turn of the new year.
This team is still a tournament team as it stands today, and this one went a long way towards keeping things that way. There’s still a lot of the season to go, but here are three things we learned fro Ohio State’s 68-59 victory over the Hoosiers.
Next … Playing with care
Ohio State was much better in the turnover department
We said it would be the most important thing heading into the game, and Ohio State listened. The turnovers have been the main thing keeping this team from being what it can be, but it was different today.
The Buckeyes went through a period during its recently slide when it was averaging about 16 turnovers a game, but it held things down to just ten turnovers in this one. That’s more about average, and you can live with that.
More possessions generally equal more points. OSU got more possessions in this one because it took care of the basketball. That equated to more points and a victory.
Next … C.J. Waker stepping up
Ohio State needs this kind of effort from Walker while Carton is out
There are times when C.J. Walker kind of blends into the background. That’s sometimes the byproduct of being a point guard, but while D.J. Carton is out taking care of his mental health (and rightfully so), Ohio State will need more scoring from that position.
So far so good.
Walker didn’t get points in bunches, but he picked his spots and took advantage of situations as they presented themselves in this one, scoring at key times throughout the game. He went 5 of 9 from the field, knocked down a couple of triples, tallied 14 points, and grabbed three steals. That’s a solid all-around game that you wish he could bottle up and pour out when needed the rest of the way.
Next … Better offensive flow
Ohio State shared the ball much better today
This looked like a smarter and more cohesive team today. There’s a couple of things I want to point out. First, having Duane Washington at the point at times looked like a good move. He handled himself well with the ball, and found open guys with three assists. He didn’t shoot well from the floor, but there was less in the way of bad shots and his game had a lot to do with it.
Also, Kaleb Wesson got involved early in the offense and that opened things up on the perimeter. It’s one thing to have that, it’s another to use it effectively. The ball moved around the outside well and the team seemed to be looking for the open shot rather than forcing things with individual guys trying to be the hero.
Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come.
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