Published Nov 24, 2021
What Ohio State can take from its buzzer-beating loss to No. 23 Florida
Colin Gay  •  DottingTheEyes
Managing Editor
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@ColinGay_Rivals

Ohio State took a page out of Seton Hall's book Wednesday night, falling to No. 23 Florida in the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament final, 71-68, on a buzzer-beating 3 by guard Tyree Appleby.

Here's a few takeaways from the Buckeyes' latest loss.

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Ohio State struggles from deep

Ohio State didn’t have the touch from 3 like it did against Seton Hall.

In the semifinal of the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament, the Buckeyes hit 11-of-22 from deep, including a 3 to win it from freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr.

But the success didn’t carry over.In the first 20 minutes of the championship game against Florida, the Buckeyes hit only two of its 11 tries from deep, including four misses from Johnson. In that span, the Buckeyes hit nine of its 12 tries from within the 3-point line.

The Buckeyes relied a bit more on mid-range tries and layups the rest of the way, hitting three of their eight tries from deep in the final 20 minutes while making 14-of-24 attempts from the field.

But the marginal improvement from deep didn’t help the Buckeyes, falling to Florida on a buzzer-beating 3 to secure the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament title, 71-68.

Much of that had to do with the Buckeyes’ lack of success with holding onto the basketball

With a pressure that forced the Buckeyes outside on the perimeter, Ohio State — a team that came in averaging just over 11 turnovers per game — recorded 10 turnovers in the first half, just one less than the number of field goals Ohio State had in the first 20 minutes,

That number decreased a bit Florida still forced eight turnovers in the second half, ending the game with 22 points off turnovers in its three-point victory.Junior forward E.J. Liddell struggled to hold onto the basketball, leading the team with five turnovers. Freshman guard Malaki Branham brought in three as did freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. and redshirt senior guard Jimmy Sotos.

Ohio State showed consistency from inside the 3-point line, hitting 20-of-28 attempts from midrange or in the paint. But with the size disadvantage, the 3 is something that the Buckeyes will try and get going each and every game.

If it can get hot, that’s the way the Buckeyes win. But it needs to find a way to consistently find a way to the hoop, getting physical inside, something that Johnson does extremely well, along with Jamari Wheeler, Liddell and Zed Key.

Read the rest of the takeaways here.