Ohio State’s basketball season has been more up and down than an out of control roller coaster this year. There have been some fantastic wins (Cincinnati, Creighton, Iowa), and some unexplainable and embarrassing losses at other times.
Count the latest as the latter, as the Buckeyes will limp home from West Lafayette with a bruised, torn and tattered ego after an absolute beat down by the league’s first place team.
Welcome back to the bubble, especially with Kaleb Wesson on the shelf serving a suspension.
Here’s three things we observed.
Next … No identity?
Without Wesson, what is Ohio State?
If you’ve watched this team over the course of the year, it’s clear how much big man Kaleb Wesson means to the team. He commands attention in the post, often drawing double teams that open up shots and drives out on the perimeter.
He’s also the team’s most productive scorer and rebounder. Without him, the Buckeyes have little to no inside game and teams know it. It not only results in a pathetic display on the boards, but it allows opponents to defend straight-up, making life difficult for an Ohio State team that doesn’t really have anyone that can create their own shot with regularity.
With Wesson in the penalty box, this team looked severely outmatched today, and it won’t be the last time we see that as he sits on the pine.
Next … Team ball anyone
Where’s the sharing of the ball?
The only way Ohio State is going to get open looks is by others buying into the team mentality and getting the ball to others that are open through the running of the offense. The Buckeyes are who they are at this point, and there’s just not a whole lot of options for matchup one-on-one opportunities.
In this one though, there was way too much selfish basketball being played. The shot selection wasn’t that great because too many guys tried to take it upon themselves with Wesson out to be the man to get things going.
It didn’t work. The Buckeyes shot an extremely poor 33.3% from the floor on just nine assists for the game. NINE. Not for one guy, but for the entire team.
By contrast, Purdue shot lights out at 55.9% but totaled 17 assists. Sometimes there’s a story in the numbers.
Next … NCAA Tournament not a done deal
NIT or NCAA bound thanks to Kaleb Wesson?
The impressive win against Iowa just a few days ago was a huge one. Then Kaleb Wesson got suspended for mysterious reasons, and now things are up in the air for OSU’s postseason fate.
Shame on Wesson. At the worst time possible, with his team starting to find its sea legs late in the year, and likely headed towards an appearance in the Big Dance, he goes and does something stupid for his team.
You have to believe it the Buckeyes can win at Northwestern, they’ll get into the NCAA Tournament, but that’s in doubt after what we saw today. If this team loses in Evanston then drops its final game at home against Wisconsin, I’m afraid it might be the NIT for Ohio State.
