Just How Long Can Ohio State Use Its Small Ball Lineup?

By Tim Shoemaker on January 28, 2015 at 10:10 am
Marc Loving is all smiles
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Ohio State head coach Thad Matta sat in his chair to address the media after the Buckeyes defeated Indiana, 82-70, on Sunday with a wide-eyed look and smile on his face.

He didn't even really listen to the first question before he offered a response. He had something to say as he was almost in a state of shock.

"I don’t know if you guys have ever covered a game like that," Matta said. "Just look at some of the performances in that game, the plays that were made by both teams. It was definitely something that was unique to Big Ten basketball, there's no question about it."

Matta, of course, was referring to the use of "small-ball" lineups by both his Buckeyes and the opposing Hoosiers. The game went up and down at a fast, hectic pace for nearly the entire 40 minutes.

Because of an injury to its most effective big guy, Hanner Mosquera-Perea, Indiana had been forced to play with a small lineup since it defeated Ohio State, 69-66, back on Jan. 10. The Hoosiers had gone 3-0 since the injury before suffering the loss to the Buckeyes in their second meeting Sunday.

Because of Indiana's lack of size, Matta elected to counter with a small lineup that mostly featured Marc Loving and Jae'Sean Tate playing the role of the "big guy" in the middle. The three "bigs" Ohio State has on its roster — Amir Williams, Anthony Lee and Trey McDonald — played a combined six minutes against the Hoosiers.

It was quite effective, too. The Buckeyes played their best game of the season.

But it begs the question: In the Big Ten, how many teams can Ohio State use its small-ball lineup against?

"Each game I think we’re going to have to piece together different parts of the puzzle," Matta said. "I know Maryland is really big at the three, four, five so I think we'll see our big guys back in that game."

The 16th-ranked Terrapins — Ohio State's opponent Thursday — are one of the Big Ten's best teams. Frontcourt players Jake Layman, Evan Smotrycz, Damonte Dodd and Michal Cekovsky give Maryland a solid rotation of big guys

The Buckeyes still have two games against Purdue, which features a pair of 7-footers in A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas. They also play Wisconsin in the regular-season finale and Big Ten Player of the Year favorite Frank Kaminsky.

Ohio State is going to need its big guys to combat that.

"We need to get consistent production out of that position," Matta said.

There's a sense of security, though, in knowing if they need to go small, the Buckeyes are more than capable of doing so. It likely won't happen every game from here on out — Ohio State's big guys will need to be productive at some point — but it's something to keep in mind going forward.

"I think when we get back Tuesday and get back in there we’ll take a look at everything in terms of what we’re doing," Matta said. "As I've told our guys, and I always say this: Tryouts are over. It's time to do your job and do your role."

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