Defense keeps Buckeyes rolling
For PISCATAWAY, N.J. — nearly three-quarters of Sunday night’s game, the events on the court at the Rutgers Athletic Center looked like a broken video game.
Rutgers, known equally for its stout defense and ugly offense, found itself without important swingman Mike Williams after he injured his ankle during Saturday’s practice. But even factoring in all of that, what Ohio State did to the Scarlet Knights for much of the 68-46 win bor- dered on the absurd.
At the half, Ohio State (15-4, 6-0 Big Ten) held a 13-point lead despite only having 28 points because Rutgers had 15. The Scarlet Knights (11-8, 1-5) were 6 for 31 (19.4 percent) from the field and 1 for 10 on 3-pointers. Ohio State was 11 for 29 (37.9 percent), and Keita Bates-Diop’s four field goals had him only two behind the entire Rutgers roster despite needing 10 shots to get there.
Until Geo Baker h it a 3-pointer with 13:13 to play, Rutgers had 18 points. And Rutgers needed a strong finish just to get to 28.8 per- cent shooting for the game. How did this happen? “I think we were just contesting their shots,” BatesDiop said. “We knew their kind of game plan and how they play so we scouted really well and made them take tough shots. And we rebounded out of that.”
That latter part was certainly true. Ohio State finished with a 46-30 rebound- ing advantage, the sec- ond-worst effort of the year for a Rutgers team that had the fifth-best rebounding margin in the conference.
“It was a little odd because you’re not used to that, but we knew they were going to make a run eventually,” junior guard C.J. Jackson said. “They’re in their home gym and used to the rims. When they did make the run we just had to keep grind- ing and play the full 40 min- utes.”
Coach Chris Holtmann gave the credit to his assis- tants and in particular Terry Johnson and Mike Schrage, who primarily oversee the defense.
“Ryan (Pedon) does a fan- tastic job with the offense, and Terry and Mike really coordinate the defense,” Holtmann said. “I think our guys have embraced that. I think you’ve got to have a group that believes in it and buys into it and your coaches have to do really good, detailed work and I think all three of those guys do a fantastic job.”
It helped, too, that Ohio State was strong with the ball. Although their string of games with single-digit turnovers ended at three, the Buckeyes only had 11. That’s the second-fewest by a Rutgers opponent all season.
Jackson led the way with six assists and just one turnover. He said the coaches allowed the scout team to foul more in preparation for this game and that the Buckeyes practiced against defenders holding extra-long sticks to simulate what Rutgers can do.
“Just being poised,” he said. “We work on every day just handling pressure, guys getting into us. We knew that it was going to be a tough game because a lot of teams that came in here had ot grind it out or weren’t able to win, so we just wanted to stay calm and poised under the pressure.”
Holt m ann took credit for the final turnover of the game, a charge called on Jae’Sean Tate with 3:48 to play that fouled him out of the game. Otherwise, the game marked a sign of growth for a stable of guards that continues to distance itself from its early-season struggles.
“For C.J. to only have one (turnover) and six (assists), that’s a major step forward for him,” he said. “I’m just so pleased for him, because those guys can really hawk the ball.”