Snappy Response
The Buckeyes have seen opponents come into Value City Arena and start fast this season, most notably the Penn State Nittany Lions, who hit their first five three-point attempts in OSU’s only Big Ten loss this year.
Sunday afternoon against Illinois, the Buckeyes were once again behind a first-half eight ball with the Illini staking a 30-15 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. Amazingly, Ohio State kept Illinois off the board for the rest of the half, and took a 34-30 lead into intermission.
“That one was as tough as it comes,” Buckeye head coach Chris Holtmann said after the game. “To respond like we did being down was really important for us. We knew it was going to be a game of some runs and a game of imperfection. We kind of went into it understanding that. Having a resilient approach was really important, and the guys did that. They deserve a lot of credit.”
It’s Not You, It’s Me
After the game, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood was not happy with the way his team closed out the first half. The Illini saw early success and then they essentially fell in love with the three-pointer. Illinois missed their final nine field goal attempts over the final 10 minutes of the first half, and seven of those shots came from behind the three-point line.
Asked if Ohio State did something differently over those 10 minutes, Underwood said it wasn’t what OSU did, it was what his own team did.
“They didn’t. They didn’t. I’ll look at the film, but one or two passes and [we would] try to dribble drive it,” he said. “They’re very good defensively. We talk to our guys about we have to be early and late. We’ve got to score early [in a possession] or we have to score late. Every time we got the ball to the third side in the first half in that first run, we were great. We scored. And then all of a sudden we just quit doing it. When we get in trouble we quit passing. That’s this team’s downfall. It didn’t matter what we did or what we called. We kept breaking them off and flinging them up there.”
Thanking the Fans
Sunday’s game against Illinois featured the largest crowd of the year, at 18,743 in attendance, just 66 away from a sellout crowd. As you would expect, it was also one of the loudest crowds of the year.
“I haven’t said this as much as I’ve wanted to this year, but today, Buckeye Nation was unbelievable,” Holtmann said. “We’ve got two more home games, and I keep hearing that this team is fun to watch. Hopefully we have earned that at this point in the season. The energy the fans brought created an unforgettable environment for us today, just incredible.”
Leaders and Best
Every time Ohio State comes back from a sizable deficit this season, people point back to how a comeback just wouldn’t have been possible a year ago. The Buckeyes not only came back from 15 points down against Illinois, but they did it in a span of less than five minutes.
Why is there no panic in this team?
“I think it’s an experience thing between me, J.T. and Dakich,” said Keita Bates-Diop. “You have a lot of older guys who have seen teams come back from being down 20. We know it’s a long game and obviously if it’s not the last five minutes we feel like we can come back at any point in the game.”
Big One Up Next
Wednesday, the No. 14 Buckeyes play at No. 3 Purdue at 8:30 pm on BTN. Ohio State fans have been pointing to this game for a while, and now the players themselves can finally do the same.
“I mean it’s big,” said Bates-Diop. “Right now, the top two teams in the Big Ten. This is going to be a big game for us, and a statement to the Big Ten.”