After looking somewhat flat against UMass Lowell on Sunday, the Ohio State basketball team rebounded nicely and took care of business in a little less dramatic fashion on Wednesday against Morehead State. The Buckeyes took the lead in the first half and never really looked back, winning by a total score of 77-44.
As expected, the Eagles came out in a zone defense to try and befuddle and bewilder the OSU offense the same way UMass Lowell did. In that game, Ohio State looked a bit lost and scattered trying to run actions through a matchup zone. That wasn’t the case in this one though and the Buckeyes looked much more comfortable and efficient.
As we do after every game, here are three things we learned in watching Ohio State dispose of Morehead State.
NEXT … E.J. Liddell is becoming a player
The rise of E.J. Liddell
E.J. Liddell will out work ya. @EasyE2432 | @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/E2pxgZn7UJ
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) December 2, 2020
Last we saw E.J. Liddell, he was beginning to figure things out at the tail end of the season last year before things got shelved because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was making leaps in becoming the player we thought he was when he was recruited to Ohio State.
That evolution seems to be continuing. Liddell led all scorers Wednesday with sixteen points and also pulled down seven rebounds to be the inside antidote to the issues OSU experienced against the zone on Sunday. We’ll see what happens when Ohio State gets into bigger frontcourt lineups once Big Ten season play gets underway, but so far, so good.
NEXT … The Buckeyes have balance
This squad can score from multiple spots
Through the lens…#Team122 #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/AktVauJvJ3
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) December 2, 2020
Ohio State may not be a scoring machine this year, and it might struggle trying to determine where to go when a bucket is needed, but it does have options from multiple players and spots on the floor.
The Buckeyes had all five starters score in double figures against Morehead State, and there’s reason to believe it’s not just a fluke. Between Kyle Young, E.J. Liddell, Duane Washington, C.J. Walker, and Justice Sueing, any one of them can exploit a match up or get hot. And that’s before arguably their best player, Seth Towns, gets back on the court.
That’s going to be a hard offense to gameplan against on a nightly basis.
NEXT … The team’s identity will be blue-collar
Ohio State is made of defense and toughness
Steal and splash.@cjwalk13 does it all himself here for @OhioStateHoops. pic.twitter.com/DxzFUeGX30
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) December 2, 2020
All of that being said, this Ohio State team will undoubtedly go through some dry spells in putting the pumpkin into the peach basket. Because of that, it will have to rely on defense, rebounding, and effort to win some battles in the Big Ten and beyond.
The hallmark of a Chris Holtmann team is one that plays solid man-to-man defense, works hard on the offensive end, and looks to capitalize on opportunities based on solid defense.
Seth Towns coming back will help on the offensive end, but defense is the name of the game. So far this season the Buckeyes have only allowed 67, 64, and now 44 points. That’s playing D. There’s one more game before a three-game stretch of Notre Dame, Purdue, and North Carolina, so it has to continue.
