Jamie Sabau/Getty Images If you know any Ohio State fans in your life, now would be a good time to ask them how they feel. Good luck finding a more euphoric group of people than Buckeye Nation after their football team won the national championship in blowout fashion against Oregon and their basketball team destroyed archrival Michigan the very next day. Head coach Thad Matta’s bunch cruised to a 71-52 victory Tuesday in a game that wasn’t even as close as the final scored indicated. D’Angelo Russell led the way with 21 points, six assists and four steals, but it was a complete team effort. Here is a look at some of the biggest takeaways from that contest. Full-Court Press May Be Here to Stay Mike Munden/Associated Press Ohio State used a full-court press in the final four minutes against Indiana and almost came back from a double-digit-point deficit. Matta must have liked what he saw because he used it for most of the game against Michigan. Matta discussed the defense he used on Tuesday with The Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). “Even when we had stretches where we weren’t scoring we defended well,” he said. What is your preferable defense for Ohio State? Half-court man-to-man Full-court press man-to-man Half-court zone Full-court press zone Submit Vote vote to see results What is your preferable defense for Ohio State? Half-court man-to-man 0% Full-court press man-to-man 0% Half-court zone 0% Full-court press zone 0% Total votes: 0 Ohio State tallied 11 steals, including a ridiculous five from Sam Thompson and four from Russell, and created enough havoc to make Michigan’s guards uncomfortable for the duration of the game. That alone was key because the backcourt is the strength of this season’s Wolverines team, at least on paper. Zak Irvin turned it over four times, Caris LeVert coughed it up three times and Derrick Walton Jr. finished an abysmal 1-of-7 from the field. In fact, Michigan turned the ball over on 13 of its 65 possessions (20 percent) and allowed 19 points off those turnovers…
Continue Reading: Ohio State Basketball: Biggest Takeaways from Rivalry Showdown vs. Michigan
