Bucks look to bounce back with week to prepare
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Zed Key was as sure with his answer as he is with a wide-open rim and the ball in his hands.
Moments earlier, Ohio State had taken an 83-80 loss at Penn State on Saturday evening to snap a seven-game winning streak. That in itself was tough to swallow, but the Buckeyes had led this one by 18 points with 15:31 to play only to lose to a Nittany Lions team that hadn’t won in more than three weeks. Ahead, the calendar was surprisingly light given the season to this point: Ohio State would have Sunday off and then a full week of preparation before its next game, a Saturday date with UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta.
Given the nature of the loss, was the weeklong layoff a good thing or a bad thing? Key was as unequivocal as he was prompt with his answer.
“Oh it’s a great thing,” the fourth-year center said.
The reasons he gave were obvious ones. The time in between games will allow the Buckeyes to get a few guys healthier while also preparing for a Bruins that has underachieved relative to preseason expectations but still promises to bring plenty of physicality and defensive tenacity under coach Mick Cronin.
On Monday’s radio show, coach Chris Holtmann said two primary rotation players figure to miss some time this week. Sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. has been dealing with both an ankle and a wrist injury that hasn’t forced him to miss any time, while freshman wing Scotty Middleton injured his left ankle during the second half at
Penn State.
“We had such a bangbang-bang stretch of games for about 15 days of a lot of practice and games,” Holtmann said. “I think there was some level of fatigue for sure (at Penn State), but certainly our guys need a couple days here this week to take off. They need to get their bodies right. We also really need to practice and get better in some areas.”
Chief among those areas are defensive rebounding and late-game execution. The loss after leading by double digits is the 11th during Holtmann’s tenure (Ohio State is 112-11 when leading by double digits), but the Buckeyes are 7-3 in games after losing such a lead. Two of the losses came during last year’s 16-19 season, but only two of the games have featured more than four days of preparation.
After losing to Penn State 71-68 after leading 20-7 with 9:05 left in the first half of a Big Ten Tournament game on March 10, 2022, the Buckeyes beat Loyola Chicago in a first-round NCAA Tournament game eight days later. During the regular season, it’s only happened once, and the second game was a big one: Having lost 71-68 to Florida in the title game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off despite holding a 47-37 lead with 12:47 to play on Nov. 24, 2021, the Buckeyes came home and beat No. 1 Duke 71-66 four days later.
Key is the only Buckeye on this year’s team who was part of either of those situations, and he was there for both. Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton, a captain last year and a shoo-in to reprise that title this season, said this week will reveal a lot about what this team is about.
“We’re going to see how we respond, but that’s really up to me and to the leaders because this team is player-led this year,” he said. “If I don’t come up with the right response and show the team not that it’s OK, but we have to move on … even though we lost, we can’t really dwell on it because that’s not who we are as a team. We’ve got to keep our head down, stay humble, work on ourselves each and every day and everything will take care of itself.”
Holtmann has been consistent in praising his team’s approach to games and focus in practice, helping the Buckeyes start 8-2 (and tantalizingly close to 9-1). Saturday night, Thornton said the week will be like any other one during his career: focus on the day at hand, try to get better and work with his teammates and coaches to help bring everyone along. Gayle said there will certainly be an emphasis on defensive rebounding and better focus on the details.
This time, though, they’ll have the lingering taste of disappointment flavoring everything.
“I’m not doubting this team,” Key said. “Everyone’s seen we can go on the road and beat big teams. We’ve been playing really good basketball so far. I’m not going to let the team take this ‘L’ and have them get down on themselves and think we’re bad, because we’re not a bad team.”
The next chance to prove otherwise looms Saturday.