It took a while but Thad Matta is finally getting through to his basketball team. In the losses to UT-Arlington, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Virginia and Connecticut, Ohio State learned valuable lessons that would serve them well against Kentucky.
Obviously no one expected OSU's play to improve dramatically over the course of a week. With the talent level on this team, perhaps we shouldn't have been so shocked. Also, given the youth of the team and the inevitable let down of playing a lesser opponent, it's not surprising they struggled against Mercer early.
All it took Saturday was a little more discipline on the defensive end and some inspired offensive play, particularly early in the shot clock.
Breaking the Press
Following the example set by UConn, Kentucky sent a variety of backcourt pressure at Ohio State. John Calipari called for a one-on-one press of Buckeye point guards consistently throughout the game.
It worked – in OSU's favor. NBA teams are more efficient when initiating offense early in the shot clock. It stands to reason that college teams are too, on the whole.
JaQuan Lyle had issues against the Huskies' press, but his ability to break into the frontcourt quickly against the Wildcats accounted for some of his team's best offensive plays.
Even off a made basket, Lyle created a good look for Keita Bates-Diop. Ideally, Bates-Diop gets the shot off a little earlier:
It was a rare first-half miss for the Buckeyes from beyond the arc.
Tyler Ulis' presence did little to affect Lyle on his way to initiating Ohio State's sets. To cap a 9-2 run and extend the lead to double-digits, Lyle executed a dribble hand-off to Bates-Diop who found a red-hot Kam Williams coming off Jae'Sean Tate's outstanding screen:
In the second half, Calipari kept sending Ulis over 80 feet away from his basket to guard Lyle. The Buckeye guard frequently used his size to work his way up the court.
On this play, Tate immediately cut towards the hoop and Lyle worked it around to Marc Loving. From there, Bates-Diop and Trevor Thompson set a pair of screens to free up Tate:
Kentucky finally adjusted to this by sending the 6-foot-3-inch Isaiah Briscoe out to press Lyle:
That turnover combined with more sloppy play caused Matta to quickly remove Lyle and run with A.J. Harris at the point. Harris was effective in breaking UK's press earlier in the game, so Matta felt comfortable with him attacking Ulis.
It paid off at a huge juncture in the game. Up six with just under a minute left, Harris burned by Ulis – who slipped – and it led to a Wildcats foul:
Containing Jamal Murray
No doubt, Kentucky is talented and I fully expect them to figure things out by March. Their offense is severely limited by a lack of playmakers and spacing at this point.
Jamal Murray was the only one capable of hitting shots against the Buckeyes and he didn't fully hit his stride until the second half. Bates-Diop was a big reason why.
In the first half, Bates-Diop consistently fought through screens to contest Murray's shots. He forced Murray into a long two, here:
UK didn't set solid enough screens to keep Bates-Diop off Murray and he did a fantastic job anticipating them. Plus, he didn't over-pursue Murray in either direction on this play and prevented a three-point attempt:
His defensive prowess did not make it past halftime.
Here, Bates-Diop loses Murray for a second and doesn't recover in time to run him off the three-point line:
This ignited Murray, who scored 12 of Kentucky's next 15 points.
Perhaps Bates-Diop wore down because he wasn't getting around screens like he did earlier in the game:
Well before that, OSU should've considered switching screens to prevent Murray from catching the pass. Doing that would allow Ohio State to run him off the three-point line at the very least.
Later in the game, Giddens stepped out on Murray and did exactly that. The Buckeye big man didn't recover quickly enough to contest the floater, but it was a tough make and certainly preferable to an open three:
Defensive Versatility
Bates-Diop wasn't the only one to get a crack at defending Murray. With a lineup featuring Lyle, Tate, Bates-Diop and Thompson or Giddens, Ohio State can afford to switch frequently. It doesn't happen often but when it does, it's not exactly a mismatch for the opponent.
Case in point, when Thompson guarded Murray on the in-bounds pass and didn't immediately switch off him. Not a good shot on Murray's part, as he wasn't able to create separation:
Thompson was fantastic on the defensive end all game long partially because of how the Buckeyes utilized him. From the tip, it was clear OSU was not threatened by UK's big men. Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress – save for the uncharacteristic three he hit late in the second half – aren't great jump shooters, so they're not going to stretch any defense by stepping out on the perimeter. Skal Labissiere can but he's still too inconsistent to be reliable in that area.
With that in mind, Ohio State decided to "ICE" Kentucky's pick and rolls when Thompson was involved. Essentially, Thompson dropped back to or below the free-throw line extended while the on-ball defender angled the ball handler towards Thompson.
The result of this play was a mid-range shot, which not ideal for Murray:
Another Matta defensive wrinkle came on the Wildcats' post-entry feeds. Naturally, the Buckeyes did not have much respect for their opponents' three-point accuracy – Kentucky is one of the nation's worst from beyond the arc. Outside of Murray, whom OSU did cover for part of the game, UK does not have a credible threat from that area.
Factoring in their big men's tendencies to mishandle the ball when double teamed, Ohio State had a perfect formula to force turnovers – ignore the shooters and swarm the post:
The Buckeyes ran into problems in the second half when they started to foul Kentucky on post entries rather than stripping them of the ball.
Still, it was a well-executed game plan on defense, proving they're capable of applying a strategy to exploit what they see on film. On the offensive end, they adapted to what were previously considered weaknesses. It's no wonder the team has new-found confidence.
