Buckeye Basketball Brief: Bucks open up Big Ten season, dominate Northwestern

The favorite to win the Big Ten conference opened up conference play last night, and they did not disappoint. Jared Sullinger looked healthier, the three point shots were falling, and that suffocating defense returned to dismantle the 10-2, veteran-led Northwestern Wildcats. In this week’s installment, we’ll focus on what the Buckeyes can use from the past week to build on heading into the Big Ten slate.

1. Leading off, Deshaun Thomas is turning into a star and the best pure scorer on this team. Sullinger’s injury and Buford’s scoring droughts provided a perfect storm where Thomas had to provide a lot of scoring, and in my opinion, he’s never going to look back. With his 19 against Kansas, Deshaun started a stretch where he has scored at least 15 points in six straight games. Thomas added 16 last night on 6-of-13 shooting along with 5 rebounds (4 offensive). There’s a big part of the OSU offense that remains largely untapped, and that’s Deshaun Thomas in the paint. He has shown the ability to collect garbage points around the rim, but in limited opportunities, he has shown he can facilitate high-low post action and nail that 8-foot half hook. Thomas is one of the top two or three outside threats on this team, but he is that much more effective if he is able to give Matta a second legitimate post scoring option. Thomas is no longer a black hole on offense or a liability on defense, because he has worked incredibly hard at both ends to improve.

2. Three point shooting has been a hot button issue so far this season. Last night in The Schott, the Buckeyes had their best performance in that area since one month ago against Duke (8-for-14). OSU hit 10 of their 20 treys, with William Buford (5-for-6) and Jordan Sibert (26% before the game, 4-for-6 last night) leading the way. Buford was a handful in this game for NU. He posted a career-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, adding 9 rebounds and 4 assists. He remains the key to this team’s success because of how easy he can get his points when he takes the right approach.

3. While Buford has heavy minutes locked down at one wing slot, the other spot is very much a fluid situation. Lenzelle Smith Jr., Jordan Sibert, and Sam Thompson have all seen meaningful time there. Smith, the starter, is the team’s best rebounding guard and runs the floor well, but he struggles at the foul line and isn’t the best shooter. Sibert, a contributor his freshman year, is the best three-point threat and is normally a solid defender. Thompson, the freshman, clearly has the highest ceiling with the ability to create his own shot, force turnovers, and feed the highlight reel. Before tonight’s game, I was ready to call for less minutes for Sibert and more for Thompson. Now, if Sibert can provide a consistent three-point threat, he will continue to get open looks and demand his share of time.

4. Of course, there’s one guard I didn’t mention above, and that’s freshman LaQuinton Ross, who has now played in the past two games, debuting against Miami (OH) last Thursday. Ross launched his first shot attempt in that game from three-point range and connected, finishing with 5 points. At 6’8″, Ross’s talent is intriguing, though considering he is so far behind the rest of the freshman, I’m not sure he’ll be able to carve out a consistent role until February at the earliest. I hope that Thad gives him a few minutes in each game possible so that, coupled with weeks of practice, he’s comfortable when the team needs him.

5. This Northwestern team last year gave the Bucks all sorts of trouble in Evanston and in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Tournament. Their 1-3-1 zone defense and their three-point heavy offense are tough to counter, and you don’t run across teams built like that often. The Buckeyes did do two things last night, however, that blew the doors off the Wildcats’ plan for success. First, they hit the offensive glass hard (14 offensive rebounds), and that made Northwestern pay dearly for zoning the Bucks. In fact, OSU won the battle of the boards 48-28. It’s a lot more difficult to box out in a zone, especially one that draws big men away from the basket like their 1-3-1 does.

6. The other zonebreaker was OSU’s transtion offense. The Bucks forced just 11 turnovers, but they were opportunistic, getting out to run off defensive rebounds. Ohio State simply has too many athletic players not to take advantage of fastbreak chances. It also masks some of the offensive set issues that they’re still working through, including too few touches for Sullinger in the post. As the conference season progresses, I think OSU will find success in playing a faster pace, because no one in the Big Ten has as many athletic guards and forwards as OSU does.

7. The Buckeye defensive effort is back on the right track once again too. The low point was the Kansas game (58% FG allowed, 53% 3pt allowed), and that carried into USC-Upstate and South Carolina in defending the arc (39% and 38% respectively). In the past three games, though, opponents have shot 35% (Lamar), 33% (Miami-OH), and 32% (Northwestern) from the field. Those three teams made just nine three-point shots in 46 attempts, and holding the Wildcats to 7-for-20 from deep is nothing to be ashamed of. In 14 games this season, the Buckeyes have held 9 opponents to sub-40% shooting; that is the type of vice-like pressure the Buckeyes are capable of creating.

8. My biggest concern remains a consistent fourth scoring option. That was supposed to be Aaron Craft, but he has not progressed offensively from last season as I had hoped and expected. Craft is averaging 7.8 points per game, but in 8 of the team’s 14 games, he has scored 6 points or less. His free throw percentage remains dicey (67% after 2-for-4 at the line last night), and he has failed to connect on many three pointers (six total). Craft made nearly 38% of his three point shots last season, so there’s hope that he can find his shooting touch in time for big conference matchups.

9. Thad Matta must have got my Christmas card. Matta played 13 players last night, but he also played 10 in the first half, adding Shannon Scott (18 minutes, 4 assists), Amir Williams (8 minutes, 6 rebounds), and J.D. Weatherspoon (8 minutes, 3 points) to the regular Sibert and Ravenel bench duo. Scott has been in double digit minutes the last three games, and he looks to be making himself a regular member of the rotation. My hope is that Matta can extend the rotation to at least nine by the end of the conference season.

The Buckeyes head to Bloomington on New Year’s Eve to face the resurgent Indiana Hoosiers in a big-time matchup against a ranked conference opponent.

(Photo: Terry Gilliam/AP)