After looking almost unbeatable over the last month of the season, the Ohio State basketball team has now dropped three in a row, this time to the Iowa Hawkeyes at home 73-57.
The loss drops the Buckeyes to fourth place in the Big Ten, and elevates Iowa to third place as we get ever so closer to the end of the regular season with a top-four seed on the line to get that double-bye in the conference tournament. Purdue is right on the heels of Ohio State.
OSU has just one game remaining in the regular season, and a season that had been so promising now has some answers that will need to be figured out as the postseason nears.
As usual, here are three takeaways from the game.
NEXT … This team looks tired
There’s tired, then there’s fatigued
Buckeyes getting run out of the gym. The team looks like a tired, anguished, and mentally drained bunch.
— Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) February 28, 2021
When you talk about a tired and anguished team, it can be mentally, physically or both. The Buckeyes look both physically and mentally drained. When teams get run down, the shooting percentage drops, there’s more dribbling instead of passing, shots are short, and the defense is a step slow.
Things looked OK against Michigan, but against the Spartans, and now Hawkeyes, things have looked forced and scattered on offense. That has then found its way to the defensive end for a combination that often results in a loss.
There’s still time to find those legs and desire back, but pretty soon a loss will send you home.
NEXT … The recurring issue
Where’s the defense?
This particular lineup isn’t playing very good defense.*
*applies to every lineup playing for Ohio State today
— Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) February 28, 2021
Head coach Chris Holtmann keeps harping on it week by week, and even said it so when the Buckeyes were on a long winning streak. The defense has to get better. We are now seeing the defensive woes start to turn potential wins into losses.
In this one, the Ohio State defenders were trailing the man they were guarding instead of denying and beating the opposition to the spot. When you are a step behind, that opens up passing lanes and dribble drives. I know there was a lot of focus on limiting Luka Garza down low, but far too many defenders were disinterested in sticking to their man early. Iowa went on a run because of it, and it was almost too late then to do anything about it.
NEXT … What happened to sharing the basketball?
Ohio State has started to be more selfish on the offensive end
Iowa up 64-51 with 7:33 to play.
Ohio State has now turned the ball over 10 times, while Iowa has just four turnovers. Hawkeyes have 18 assists while Buckeyes have just eight.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) February 28, 2021
What makes this offense go, is the ability to share the basketball and score from multiple spots on the floor. Against Michigan State, and now against Iowa, there has been far too many dribbling, less passing, and too many 1:1 breakdown opportunities. That’s not going to get it done against the better teams in the league.
It can appear like guys aren’t getting open any longer when the ball doesn’t move and guys don’t penetrate to open opportunities all over the floor. The team would be well-advised to study the film of how it went on that long winning stretch and find its identity again.
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