Sophomore Devin Royal drives aggressively for two of his team-high 20 points. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
Blaring music during timeouts did nothing to spark Ohio State at home Tuesday night. But getting the ball to the paint to ignite the offense? That had a nice ring to it. Buckeyes blast Evansville to go 3-1.
Columbus, OH – The first half of basketball Tuesday night at the Schottenstein Center weighed on Ohio State’s players as they entered the locker room.
What was that? And the 9,824 fans scattered around the lower half of the arena wondered the same thing.
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Everyone with a pulse knew the Buckeyes’ 28 points and 29.2% shooting were the result of a low-energy approach to offense. Movement was minimal. The ball stuck in their hands too long. They dribbled too much.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
That the Buckeyes led by 14 points didn’t matter. They knew it was bad. That’s why they didn’t wait for the coaches before the self-assessment began.
“We were talking to each other as a group before the coaches even came in,” sophomore forward Devin Royal said. “That was helpful for us when we came out.”
No doubt what head coach Jake Diebler and his assistants had to say made a difference. But player-initiated turnarounds thrill coaches. And that’s what Diebler got as the Buckeyes went on the attack, shot 70% in the second half and kept Evansville in a defensive vise for an 80-30 nonconference victory.
Diebler said the emphasis in practice since last week’s loss to Texas A&M and out of every timeout was to get the ball into the paint. That’s where good things happen from scoring to passing out to open 3-point shooters.
OSU’s Evan Mahaffey attacks the rim over Evansville’s Joshua Hughes in the second half of Tuesday’s 80-30 win.
As the Buckeyes (3-1) began to figure out the zones Evansville employed, offense became easier. Royal started the turnaround with 10 points off the bench in the first half. Then Royal, Micah Parrish (three straight baskets in the paint to begin the half), and others continued to score at will in the second half. And the Buckeyes made 5 of 10 3-point shots.
“Give our guys a ton of credit,” Diebler said. “They adjusted extremely well. It just took a little too long.”
The byproduct of the uptick in offensive efficiency had nothing to do with scoring. The Buckeyes didn’t let that success convince them that they could relax even a little on defense. After holding the Purple Aces (1-4) to 12.9% shooting in the first half, they kept them at 25.9% in the second half and 19% for the game.
“In the A&M game, our defense let up once we got going offensively,” Diebler said. “Tonight, our defense was consistently good, and I thought that was an important, important thing to note.”
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The 30 points Evansville managed to score is the least Ohio State has allowed since a 71-31 win over Louisiana Monroe on December 10, 2014. It’s the first 50-point or more win since 97-43 over High Point on December 10, 2013.
Historically good for a night that seemed headed for historically bad for the first 14 minutes. Then the Buckeyes finished the half with a 16-2 run. Royal scored eight of those points and finished with career highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Meechie Johnson plays defense…against Evansville’s Tayshawn Comer.
“Just getting to the paint, getting to the free-throw line, being aggressive around the rim,” said Royal, who made six of eight free throws.
Royal entered the game averaging 7.3 points and 22 minutes off the bench and had shot only one free throw. He played over 25 minutes against Evansville because he took the ball to the basket and didn’t settle for as many jump shots as he had been. On a deep team, there’s a fight for minutes, so heeding the coach’s advice is important.
“We had a conversation a couple days ago, and we talked about being aggressive,” Diebler said. “I believe in the versatility of his game. And I thought he showed that. He’s such a force driving the ball. I was really proud of how he adjusted and took the conversation and went out and executed.”
When Royal, from nearby Pickerington Central, was summoned to the postgame interview area, he also showed leadership. He remembered how difficult it was to adjust to the speed of the college game last year. So when freshman Colin White from Ottawa-Glandorf played for the second time this season and made two 3-pointers, Royal decided to bring White along to face the media.
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When it was noted that they were the two most recent Ohio Mr. Basketballs, they looked at each other, smiled and slapped hands.
“My teammates believe in me, the coaching staff believes in me,” White said. “To knock down those shots – and I got some pretty good passes from some pretty good players – it’s a great feeling to see those go in.”
They spread it around…John Mobley, Jr. gets to the rim for two of his 11 points.
The challenge of earning minutes is much greater for White than it is for the now-experienced Royal, who started playing more last year after Chris Holtmann was fired. White is known for playing with great effort, which will continue to give him chances – even small ones in competitive games – with Diebler.
“I have to make the most of the minutes I get,” White said. “So going in there and being solid defensively and really getting that trust from the full coaching staff has definitely been a point emphasis since the season started.”
This is the time of the season for coaches to obsess over points of emphasis. Royal began to list them: paint touches, rebounding, defense … and then he laughed. “Pretty much everything.”
Diebler also talked about rebounding. He liked what he saw from Royal with 12, Evan Mahaffey with seven in 20 minutes off the bench and nine from starter Sean Stewart in 11 minutes before he left with an injury. He will keep drilling his team on technique and reminding them of the rules like who crashes the offensive boards in what situations.
No truer words…the slogan on the back of Evansville’s warmups confirm their struggle to shoot…just 19% shooting from the floor.
“What I’m evaluating is our fight and our intent when the shot goes up on both sides of the ball,” he said. “I think that’s been pretty good.”
And thanks to Tuesday night’s defense with hands in shooters’ faces, quick feet taking aways drives and forcing difficult shots, there were lots or rebounds to be had for the Buckeyes.
Other good things happened as well.
Point guard Bruce Thornton had seven assists and no turnovers to go with eight points. Meechie Johnson was 3-for-6 from 3-point range for 13 points. John Mobley Jr. scored 11 points off the bench and helped spark the final minutes of the first half. The bench scored 47 points.
And points in the paint: 36.
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