It looked like Ohio State found their offensive groove again in their win against Iowa, but the Fighting Illini had a say in that. Illinois would put the clamps on the Buckeyes, holding the offense down and getting a 69-60 home win.
Not much went right for Ohio State in this one, another frustrating effort from Chris Holtmann’s bunch. The loss snapped a six-year win streak in Champaign for the Buckeyes.
There were plenty of thoughts after an effort like this, most of them being very similar to what we saw during the recent five-game losing streak. Find out below my thoughts on another difficult to watch Ohio State loss.
The offense we saw against Iowa was not there tonight
Why it mattered
After the offense broke out against Iowa for 93 points, you would have thought the Buckeyes got their mojo back. Well, that was not the case, as they struggled mightily against the Illini. The lack of ball movement reared its ugly head again and it showed. The Buckeyes would shoot under 40% from the field and just 60% from the line. On the 22 made shots, Ohio State had just 8 assists, further expanding on the non-existent offensive flow. You can’t expect to go on the road in the Big Ten and win with bad shooting and no ball movement.
The Illini’s length gave the Buckeyes issues
Why it mattered
The home team started three players 6-foot, 9-inches or taller, and that bothered the smaller Buckeyes. It wasn’t just the rebounding that hurt, it was contested shots and passing lanes too. The Illini out-rebounded the Buckeyes, 44 to 30, while forcing 6 turnovers (even though it seemed like more). The home team’s long arms slowed down the transition game and didn’t allow an Ohio State fast-break basket. There isn’t much to counter length and it made the night very difficult on the Buckeyes.
Zed Key’s struggles continue
Why it mattered
We didn’t know if the veteran Buckeye big man would play after tweaking his knee late against Iowa. [autotag]Zed Key[/autotag] ended up starting the game…
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Author : Buckeyes Wire
Publish date : 2023-01-25 02:53:58
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