After mostly playing teams that were far below them in talent level to begin the season (other than Notre Dame, of course), Ohio State went on the road for the first time this year and laid an egg at Pitt
last Friday. The Buckeyes gave up 16 offensive rebounds, took 15 fewer shots than Pitt, and lost by one point thanks to a buzzer-beating, off-balance three-pointer from DeMarco Minor (sound familiar?).
Despite Ohio State’s 6-1 record, morale isn’t high right now for Buckeye fans. Most know that Ohio State hadn’t played anyone relevant other than Notre Dame, and even playing on the road as 5.5-point favorites, the Buckeyes weren’t able to match Pitt’s physicality. Was this loss a sign of things to come?
Last week, Connor and Justin argued about whether the game against the Panthers was a “trap game” or not. Coaches hate the term, but a “trap game” is a game where a team that is substantially favored may look over or past the opponent and end up losing. Oftentimes, a trap game is right before a substantial game on the schedule.
Ohio State was the betting favorite, and Connor said that yes, this was going to be a trap game because Pitt was desperate, and it would be tight the entire time. Justin said no, because it was a must-win game for Ohio State, and he expected them to take care of business and win by double-digits on the road.
Clearly, they did not take care of business.
Was the loss against a Pitt team that is No. 164 in the NET and No. 101 in KenPom a sign of things to come for Ohio State, or will we look back on this in three months and be impressed with how far the Buckeyes have come since losing that road game that they had absolutely no business losing?
This week’s question: Was Ohio State’s loss to Pitt a blip or a bomb?
Connor: A blip
I’m skeptical that Ohio State is going to correct the things that held them back for parts of last season and clearly held them back on Friday night, namely, defensive rebounding. Ohio State did not look like a tough team last week, nor did they look smart with their shot selection for much of the game. One of their top scorers missed most of the game, and another started but only played eight minutes. To top it off, Pitt took 15 more shots than Ohio State.
So, just to make it clear, a lot went wrong, and the Buckeyes still came up just one point short.
That shows that, even though they stunk up the joint on Friday night, there’s some space there for growth and improvement. Had Ohio State only given up 10 rebounds instead of 16, and therefore had those six extra possessions, would we even be having this conversation?
I spent some time last week when I was in Pittsburgh writing about their shortcomings, and have done so here as well. But I still believe Ohio State’s 1-4 of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley, Devin Royal, and Christoph Tilly is one of — if not the — best cores in the Big Ten. Any of those four guys can score 20 on any given night, and through seven games, each of them has done it at least once already!
Perhaps this is not the year that Ohio State makes it to the NCAA Tournament or gets a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Maybe this isn’t a year where they upset top-ranked Purdue or Michigan. But I do think that this group, with all of the offensive firepower they’ve got, is good enough to go 10-10 in the Big Ten or so, punching a ticket to the Big Dance.
As long as they make the NCAA Tournament, I think the joy of seeing Ohio State’s name on a seed line in a tournament bracket will make everyone forget about the loss last Friday to Pitt. Right now, Joe Lunardi still thinks Ohio State is a tournament team (if you care about that this early). KenPom is projecting Ohio State to go 10-10 in the Big Ten, so maybe don’t get the lifeboats ready quite yet.
Justin: A bomb
I am normally very good at seeing the positives, being a glass-half-full guy, and being able to look past just one loss. But this one really hurts in my estimation.
First of all, Pittsburgh simply is not a good team. And I know it is hard to win on the road in college basketball, but it was the day after Thanksgiving, so most of the students were not on campus, and again, it is not a good team, and the fans know that. Plus, they also had a big football game at noon the next day, so most of the fans’ attention had already turned to that.
Not to mention, John Mobley Jr. got hurt. It seems that he will be okay to play on Saturday, according to Jake Diebler’s comments on Thursday, but a hurt ankle can easily be reinjured or slow someone down, so he still needs to be careful.
Also, Ohio State had a starter, Brandon Noel, who only played nine minutes in this game. It seems like freshman Amare Bynum will be sliding into that starting role soon since he played 31 minutes, but Noel and Taison Chatman only played ten minutes total. These were two guys who were supposed to play a big role this season, and so far, they have barely been a part of the rotation.
The season isn’t over, but they will need to at least split the next four games to keep the train on the tracks. If they don’t, they will be on the outside looking in come March.
