Boy has it been a yo-yo season for the Ohio State basketball team. It started out white-hot, winning its first nine games, and eleven of the first twelve. Then the proverbial wheels fell off when the calendar flipped to 2020. The Buckeyes went on to lose six of seven, falling out of the top 25 rankings and sitting at the bottom of the league.
Now, OSU seems to have found its early in the season form, winning three straight — two of them on the road to turn the ship back out into open water. The last of those a really good victory in Ann Arbor against arch-rival Michigan.
And that’s where we pick things up. Here are three things we learned from Ohio State’s 61-58 victory over That Team Up North.
Next … A trend worth noting
Ohio State is beginning to take care of the basketball
Yeah, we keep harping on it because it’s made all the difference in the world over the last three games. No team is ever going to be perfect in the turnover department, but Ohio State was more charitable than Mother Theresa during that forgettable stretch, making a slew of turnovers that gave the opposition far too many extra possessions.
The last four games have been much, much better though. It started in the loss vs. Minnesota when OSU had twelve turnovers. That’s not great, but it’s better than the average of sixteen it had for a bit. Then, these last two games have been even better. The team had just ten against Indiana, and only eight in hostile territory against Michigan.
Keep it up boys. It’s so huge for this team to limit turnovers and find other teammates.
Next … Live and die Washington
You live with the bad and hope for the great with Duane Washington
Admit it. How many times have you screamed at your television or streaming device and some of the ill-advised shots by Duane Washington? You’re not alone. He’s such a good shooter and could be such a weapon if he just realized his role and situations. There were times near the end of the game when Washington was playing point and tried to do far too much. He took the scoring on his shoulders and forced some shots in three possessions during crunch time.
But then, he was my favorite player again when he nailed a clutch three-pointer to put Ohio State up by one as the sands of the hourglass began to run out. But that’s just it. On that possession, he was off the ball, found an open spot, then caught and released in rhythm.
That’s his game, or should be. He’s done a great job at times handling the point guard duties, but he’s not quite a guy that can go and find his own shot during winning time. But man, that shot was huge, so I guess you have to live with the good and bad there.
Next … Toughness
Chuck Norris would have loved this Buckeye effort
This was a very physical game, especially in the first half. It was almost unwatchable for a bit with the refs allowing far too much contact, hand-checking, and reaches. In fact, you have to wonder if the Michigan basketball team could do better on the gridiron than the football squad.
At least it went both ways. The knock on this team through that rough patch is that it just didn’t have the toughness to win in the Big Ten, especially when it went on the road and had to deal with the added pressure of a crowd with bad intentions.
But the team showed something tonight. It is without one of its most athletic players as D.J. Carton gets the help he needs. The Buckeyes also had to deal with an injury to Luther Muhammad midway through the second half.
But Ohio State just kept playing with all the chaos and emotion of the crowd going on. And in the end, it was left standing after battling through some missed calls, physical play, and bizarre situations.
It could be a turning point for this team.
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