It's no secret that the Buckeye offense, led by the NCAA's second leading scorer in Kelsey Mitchell, was one of the best in the country last year. It's also no secret that their defense was one of the worst.
During the 2015-16 season, Ohio State had the third-best offense in the country, averaging 86 points per game – a program record. As good as the offense was, the defense was nearly just as bad. The Buckeyes gave up 74.6 points per game last season which is 331st out of 344 NCAA Division I teams.
Of course, those numbers don't tell the whole story; Ohio State plays a very uptempo style of basketball, meaning opponents get more possessions per game than usual. For this reason, opponents should be expected that the Buckeyes give up more points than average.
Still, 331st out of 344 is nowhere near where you want to be if you're a top-10 team with title aspirations. Ohio State simply must be better; the Buckeyes can't simply outscore every team they play.
Thankfully for the Bucks, all signs point to a much-improved defense this season. Here's how Ohio State will address some of its defensive woes this season.
More Size
Ohio State as a team was quite small last year, partly by design and partly by circumstance. The Buckeyes had few post options outside of Alexa Hart, who is still not quite a large as a typical center, and it hurt them in both defending the rim and pulling down defensive rebounds.
"A lot of our defensive issues at times were around the basket where we had a lack of size or we didn't get the ball back from a rebounding standpoint," said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff. "People were getting offensive rebounds a foot from the basket – it's hard to guard."
This season, Ohio State added Stephanie Mavunga, a 6-3 transfer from North Carolina who is eligible this season, as well as Tori McCoy, a 6-4 freshman who is a five-star McDonald's All-American out of high school. Both will join Hart, with Mavunga likely earning the starting nod, to add much needed size to this Buckeye team.
More Bodies
Depth was a major issue for the Buckeyes last season. During conference play, Ohio State ran about an eight player rotation. That rotation grew even tighter late in the season when injuries plagued the Buckeye backcourt.
A deeper bench in 2016-17 will solve a number of problems the Buckeyes had on the defensive end last season.
For starters, the players were exhausted. Ohio State plays uptempo on both offense and defense and without much depth, players were playing massive minutes and the defense suffered as a result. Players weren't moving their feet, fighting for loose balls or transitioning like they otherwise would. More depth means fresher players, particularly in tournaments.
Going along with the addition of more size, the lack of depth last season often forced players to play out of position. Players like Shayla Cooper and Cait Craft, who were more suited for a perimeter game, were forced to play inside causing mismatches. That should not happen this year with plenty of depth at each position.
A deeper bench also allows for Ohio State to play more aggressive defense without foul trouble being such a concern. With such a short rotation, the Buckeyes could not afford for a player to foul out last season. Obviously, you never look to have a player foul out, but it's a reality the team will face at one point or another, particularly in overtime games. This season, Ohio State will be able to handle that sort of adversity.
Key Additions
Ohio State graduated two of its best defenders last season in Ameryst Alston and Cait Craft, but the additions of Stephanie Mavunga and Linnae Harper are key to improving Ohio State's defensive woes.
As discussed earlier, Mavunga adds a much needed inside presence to this Buckeye team. She'll help the team with rebounding as well as defending the rim.
Harper will be a massive addition to the Ohio State backcourt, as she's a phenomenal perimeter defender. The Kentucky transfer led the Wildcats with 69 steals her sophomore season and is also a tenacious rebounder. At just 5-8, Harper led the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game and was the only player in the nation to stand at 5-8 or under and average more than seven rebounds per game
Mavunga will be eligible to play for the Buckeyes immediately, but Ohio State will have to wait just a little longer for Harper's services. Since she transferred before spring semester, Harper won't be eligible to play for the Buckeyes until fall semester ends December 15th – just in time for the team's matchup with four-time defending NCAA Champion Uconn.
At the start of the season, the Buckeye defense may still be a work in progress as players gel, rotations are worked out and the team gets to full strength, but McGuff expects his team to be better defensively from the start.
"I think personnel-wise, on day one it will make our defense better," McGuff said. "But we are committed to that and working on it."
“We’re still working on it," Ohio State forward Alexa Hart said of the defense." It’s not going to be perfect, but we’re trying to get it there.”
