Buckeyes Roundball Roundup: Not a bad season opener against Navy

To begin their season, the Ohio State Buckeyes took down the Navy Midshipmen, 78-68, in the Veterans Classic in Annapolis on Veterans’ Day. It was the first time the scarlet and gray have been on the road to begin their season since 2003.

Coming into the 2016-17 campaign, point guard JaQuan Lyle was expected to be one of the team’s difference makers, but he was far from that against Navy. He started but played just 13 minutes because of his struggles on both sides of the ball. Backup point guard and junior college transfer C.J. Jackson took over the ball-handling duties while playing 27 minutes, 17 of which were the final 17 minutes of the game. He finished with four points, six rebounds, and a team-high nine assists. After just one game, there could possibly be a point guard controversy that head coach Thad Matta will have to figure out.

Following the game, Matta admitted that Jackson brought plenty of energy off the bench and was just a better point guard Friday night.

Via Eleven Warriors’ Kevin Harrish:

“C.J. (Jackson) just kept the ball moving. With the matchup they were playing, we were telling the guys, the best friend we had was ball movement. We wanted to force them into rotation, we wanted to force them into long close outs.”

Outside of free-throw shooting, Ohio State played very well offensively. They shot 57.4 percent from the floor (27-of-47) and 55.6 percent from deep (10-of-18). Although he didn’t start, Kam Williams led five Buckeyes in double figures with a career-high 23 points (7-of-9 from the floor, 5-6 from beyond the arc). Keita Bates-Diop recorded a double-double with 14 points (all of which were in the first half) and 14 rebounds.

True freshman Micah Potter got the start, but Trevor Thompson made his case for the starting nod going forward. While Potter finished with just two rebounds and an assists, Thompson totaled 11 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and three blocks. He, along with Williams, were two of the biggest reasons why the Bucks came out on top in their season opener.

At least offensively, Matta’s biggest concern going forward is the fact that his Buckeyes had 17 turnovers. They assisted on 20 of their 27 made field goals, but they can’t afford to turn the ball over that many times against a better opponent.

While they may have won the game to start their season 1-0, what might have been most important were the days prior to the actual game itself. The entire team, along with the coaching staff, toured Navy’s campus. In a tour that included observing the Morning Colors, the morning talk by the Commandant of the US Navy, being able to see the dorm rooms, the sleeping arrangements in one of the boats (which most of the players couldn’t fit in the beds), using the Ship simulator (most of which crashed the “fake” boat), sitting in a Humvee and helicopter, or hearing from Navy Seal Clint Bruce, it was a life-changing experience for all.

Coming up this week:

Monday vs. North Carolina Central, 9:00 p.m. ET

Thursday vs. Providence, 7:00 p.m. ET