Ohio State Basketball: Knee-Jerk Reactions to Start of Big Ten Play

Kirk Irwin/Getty Images It’s a good thing Urban Meyer is in Columbus to hold the sky up. Otherwise, it would be falling given the Ohio State basketball team’s inconsistent play early in the Big Ten season (and the season in general). You would be forgiven if you didn’t have a lot of confidence in the Buckeyes heading into the conference portion of the schedule given losses to Louisville and North Carolina in the only two nonconference games of note. Thad Matta’s bunch did nothing to change that perception when it lost to Iowa at home in the Big Ten opener and fell behind in the first half against Illinois in the next game. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, they were able to complete the second-half comeback against the Fighting Illini and prevent a crippling 0-2 start to conference play.  Things may actually be looking up after the victory. Here are some early takeaways from Big Ten play. Man-to-Man is the Way to Go Joe Robbins/Getty Images Illinois grabbed a 34-26 lead in the first half and had already made eight three-pointers when Matta finally decided he had seen enough from the zone defense and switched to man-to-man. It wasn’t just one game, though. The zone was completely exposed against Louisville, North Carolina and especially Iowa and consistently allowed wide-open three-pointers from the corner and far too many offensive rebounds (a combined 36 in the two nonconference losses). It also put too much responsibility on Amir Williams’ shoulders to cover plenty of space, which is not exactly a reliable formula for success. After the defensive switch, the Buckeyes (not coincidentally) held the Fighting Illini to 1-of-10 from deep and used a 21-2 run to secure the easy victory. Jay LaPrete/Associated Press It was clear to anyone watching that the players had more energy in the man-to-man sets as they hounded the ball-handlers and actually took the time to box out on the defensive side. For a half at least, the Buckeyes appeared to be a team that could very well challenge for a top-two or top-three spot in the Big Ten standings…

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