Welcome to March Buckeye fans.
Who could blame any Ohio State fan that felt like the team had punched above its weight class already this year by elbowing its way into the NCAA Tournament. It felt like mission accomplished this year, but wait until next year.
But this year’s team had another thing in mind in controlling play throughout its first-round matchup with Iowa State, beating a team nobody thought it had any business hanging around with, and a team that steamrolled its way to a Big Twelve Tournament title.
Here’s three observations:
Next … Better than a No. 11 seed?
Ohio State is a dangerous eleven seed
Yeah, I picked the Buckeyes to lose this one. There was just too much inconsistency throughout the year to expect them to play a complete forty minutes against one of the best offensive clubs in all of college basketball.
I love it when I’m wrong in some cases.
Before the game, I did say that the Cyclones likely wanted no part of the Buckeyes as a dangerous No. 11 seed. That’s because with Kaleb Wesson interested and in the lineup for the majority of the game, Ohio State can pay with anyone. He stayed in the game, barely breathed on foul trouble and had himself a game.
In the end, the Buckeyes can do this same things to teams moving forward as long as it duplicates the same effort and minutes of its key players.
Next … Keyshawn Woods playa!
Keyshawn Woods has emerged and made Ohio State better
A case could be made that senior graduate transfer guard Keyshawn Woods is now the Buckeyes 1B to Wesson as 1A as the most important player on the court.
Woods has now scored in double-figures in four of the last five contests, and the one in which he didn’t reach at least ten points, he went for nine. And those stats haven’t just been in junk time or in the flow of a game that doesn’t mean anything. All of Ohio State’s games have been make or break type scenarios coming down the line, and he’s made some big shots at big moments in them.
He did it again tonight. He scored nineteen points with four rebounds — and maybe most importantly — zero turnovers. When a guy has the ball in his hands as much as Woods, scores that many points and doesn’t make too many mistakes, that’s the recipe for winning.
Next … Cure that turnover bug
Buckeyes shockingly won the turnover battle
Wesson and turnovers. Wesson and turnover. repeat it with me, because those to things seem to be the difference between a good outing for Ohio State and one to forget.
We already know Kale Wesson balled-out, but did you know that the Buckeyes also won the turnover battle? They turned it over eleven times, but only four of those were in the second half. Iowa State, on the other hand, gave the ball away eight times in the last twenty minutes — twelve for the game.
That’s huge for a Buckeye team that led the Big Ten in turnovers and often forces the issue too much. That’ll need to continue going forward to continue to shock everyone.
