Six-day break important as Buckeyes look to reset from 3-game skid
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Following a mid-season surge to No. 4 in the AP Poll and a seven-game win streak, the Buckeyes have dropped three games in a row and are in need of a chance to reset.
Fourth-year head coach Chris Holtmann said following Sunday’s loss to the Hawkeyes that the Buckeyes “did not have the emotional juice” they’ve typically had come game time.
“I don’t think, defensively, we’ve been great in any of the three games; these last couple games our offense has really been poor,” Holtmann said. “I think we just haven’t been where we need to be physically, both with our health and overall energy.”
Sunday’s 73-57 loss to No. 9 Iowa was one of Ohio State’s most out-of-sync games this season. The Buckeyes scored just 11 points in the opening 11:57, even making just one field goal over a length of eight minutes between 15:45 and 7:40 in the first half.
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Ohio State came out of the break on a 14-2 run, but didn’t sustain it and committed nine turnovers in the second half. Holtmann said the Buckeyes played “as sloppy as we’ve been all year,” and ultimately finished with 13 turnovers, its most since Jan. 27 against Penn State.
The Buckeyes will now go six days between games, tying their season’s longest-such period since Jan. 3-9. That stretch saw Ohio State lose a top-25 matchup at then-No. 21 Minnesota before bouncing back with a win at then-No. 15 Rutgers.
“We could use the rest, we need it,” Holtmann said. “We’ve got some guys that are struggling a little bit, little bit fatigued, struggling with maybe a little bit of confidence right now. Hopefully we can get that figured out.”
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As it stands, six Buckeyes currently have missed action due to injury. Redshirt-senior guard C.J. Walker missed four games in January due to torn ligaments in his hand and, more recently, senior forward Kyle Young missed Thursday’s game at Michigan State due to a concussion.
It took his first four games back to recapture his rhythm, but Walker has reached double-digit scoring in his last six games in addition to recording at least three assists. Holtmann said Young was not his normal self upon his return against Iowa, and the 6-foot-8 forward only scored three points in 25 minutes on Sunday.
Holtmann has brought up the fact the Buckeyes are a bit banged up at points in February, and said some players, like graduate forward Seth Towns and Young, have had some inconsistent practice time in exchange for extra opportunities to heal.
“I’d like to be able to have practices where we can have a full team, we just haven’t had that; I don’t know that that’s necessarily possible the rest of the year,” Holtmann said. “I do think that would help if we didn’t have three or four guys out for multiple practices or were out for large segments of practice.”
| Player | Injury |
|---|---|
|
Ibrahima Diallo |
MCL, knee |
|
Musa Jallow |
ankle |
|
Jimmy Sotos |
shoulder |
|
Seth Towns |
knee |
|
C.J. Walker |
torn ligaments in hand |
|
Kyle Young |
concussion |
Ohio State has pushed through, however, and it had done so up until it fell five points short Feb. 21 against No. 3 Michigan. Holtmann said the areas that the coaches and players can own are the ones where they have to get better during their current three-game losing skid.
“Nobody likes to lose games,” Walker said Thursday. “I took it upon myself to be better as a leader. Go back and watch film, practice, get better, brush it off from there and move on.”
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Holtmann said a lot depends on what the Ohio State medical staff will tell him throughout the week in terms of each player’s overall health. The next stretch of off days quite possibly couldn’t come at a more opportune time, especially with another top-10 team in No. 5 Illinois awaiting on Saturday and the Big Ten Tournament looming thereafter.
For now, the Buckeyes will press the reset button and look to come back recharged.
“We’ve got to get back to work,” Holtmann said. “Get some guys rested up and healed up and get moving forward.