Despite poor shooting, No. 8 Ohio State rolls past Ohio University 86-56
ATHENS, Ohio — In mid-November, the early part of a basketball season that ideally stretches until at least mid-March, Kevin McGuff wants to see his team get better in every game.
Though No. 8 Ohio State easily dispatched Ohio University 86-56 Thursday evening at the Convocation Center, the 30-point final margin disguises a poor shooting night for the Buckeyes that left their coach frustrated.
"I thought (Ohio) did a good job tonight," McGuff said. "They played really hard and had a good plan. We played hard. I’m not so sure we got better. Whether we’re playing a game or we’re practicing, this time of year it’s always about getting better. ... Tonight, we just weren’t real efficient on offense."
It's only three games into the season, so season-low marks are ranked within a small sample size, but Ohio State made just 30 of its 79 shot attempts and went 6-of-26 from the 3-point line. Thirty made shots, an overall shooting percentage of 38%, six made threes and a three-point percentage of 23.1% are all season-lows for the Buckeyes.
Their free-throw shooting, which has been below McGuff's expectations in the first two games, did show improvement at 20-of-26 for 76.9%, but the offense struggled to convert open shots in the half-court.
"I thought we got good shots," McGuff said. "We just didn’t make them. I told them, I said, ‘Hey, I’m not a coach that scrutinizes every shot, but I do think if people are going to take the amount of shots they take, they take the responsibility to step up and make them.’ Especially when it’s people who are capable."
Senior guard Jacy Sheldon led the team with 16 points, followed closely by Taylor Mikesell with 14 points, but the duo combined to shoot just 11-of-33 from the floor. Sheldon didn't mince her words when asked if the poor shooting was caused by the Bobcats' defense.
"No," she said. "No. We just had a bad shooting day. … To be honest, nobody had a great shooting day. We don’t really dwell on that too much. We all get in the gym and get a lot of shots up. I always tell everybody, law of averages. You miss 10 in a row, you’re going to make the next 10. Having that mindset, which we all do, is going to help us."
The Buckeyes are steadfast in their message of not looking ahead beyond the next game, but it's less than two weeks until they travel to Louisville for what's poised to be a top-10 matchup — by far their biggest test of the early season. The season-opening win over then-No. 5 Tennessee raised the expectations for Ohio State, but going on the road to another top-10 team will be an even bigger challenge.
These early-season games against non-Power Five opponents are designed to prepare the Buckeyes for games like Louisville, and the offense has three more games — against McNeese State, Wright State and North Alabama — to find its footing before facing the Cardinals.
Thursday, the defense was able to fill the gap left by the challenges Ohio State had shooting the ball. The Buckeyes forced 29 turnovers, bringing their season average to 32.7 per game, and held the Bobcats to 20 made shots on 50 attempts. McGuff said after each of the first two games that Ohio State couldn't expect to continue making their opponents turn the ball over at that rate, but so far, the full-court pressure has been a problem for every team they've faced.
"Our defense is kind of the backbone of our game," Sheldon said. "Good defense leads to offense, so I think just having an emphasis on that every night, no matter who we’re playing, is important. Just kind of flying around out there. ... I think we all know how each other play and we play off each other. That definitely helped us out tonight."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State Buckeyes beat Ohio University Bobcats 86-56
