Ohio State knows it let one slip away Wednesday night.
"We just couldn't close it out," freshman center Micah Potter said.
The Buckeyes were there, on the road with No. 6 Virginia on the ropes, and came up just short of an upset victory. A 16-point first half lead evaporated quickly in the second half and in a tie game with three minutes to play, the host Cavaliers out-executed Ohio State down the stretch.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairleigh Dickinson (2-4) | Value City Arena | 4:30 p.m. | BTN-plus |
It was a missed opportunity, for sure, but it was also a game that showed the Buckeyes might just be capable of playing against some top competition this season. Ohio State now must learn how to finish.
Saturday, the Buckeyes have a chance to bounce back when they host Fairleigh Dickinson at Value City Arena 4:30 p.m. For Ohio State, it's the first of two "tune-up" games before back-to-back contests against Connecticut and UCLA.
“I’m very excited to see how we play [Saturday] in terms of where the energy and the focus is channeled," Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta said. "Is it in the things that we didn’t do well in Wednesday night’s game? Being aware of that and making a better judgment. If we do that, and we play with the same intensity on the defensive end, then we’re heading in the right direction.
"If we take a step backward then it becomes problematic.”
Opponent Breakdown
Fairleigh Dickson enters Saturday's contest with Ohio State sporting just a 2-4 record this season. Just one of those wins for the Knights, who play in the Northeast Conference, came against a Division I opponent.
Junior guard Darian Anderson leads the way, averaging 19.7 points per game. Sophomore forward Mike Holloway (14.7 ppg.) and junior guard Stephan Jiggetts (11.7 ppg.) also average in double figures for Fairleigh Dickinson.
Matta said Friday the Knights are very "guard heavy."
“We’re going to see a team that’s going to try and push the basketball," he said. "We’re going to see a ton of ball screens, we’re going to see handoffs. They’ll change up defenses, they’ll press a little bit, pressure and take some chances. This will be a good gauge for us to see how we take care of the basketball.”
Fairleigh Dickinson ranks just 294th nationally in Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistical ratings. Ohio State's only opponents so far this season ranked lower are Western Carolina (No. 320) and Jackson State (No. 310).
Buckeye Breakdown
Ohio State led Virginia for 35 minutes, 38 seconds Wednesday night, so yeah, it's fair to say the Buckeyes let one slip away.
The 20 turnovers committed by Ohio State were a big part of that, and after the game, sophomore point guard JaQuan Lyle said he took "full responsibility" for the eight he was responsible for. Still, the Buckeyes were right there on the road without Keita Bates-Diop against a top-10 opponent with a chance to win.
“After watching the film, in the first half, our pace on offense was really, really good," Potter said. "We were executing our offense, executing our defense, following the system like Coach Matta always says and then in the second half, Virginia obviously stepped up."
"They have the top defense in the country and it’s really hard to do anything against but I thought in the first half we did really well and in the second half they stepped up a little bit and our pace on offense kind of went away and our execution kind of went sub-par."
That lack of execution is ultimately what doomed the Buckeyes, and while no team likes to lose, Ohio State feels it learned something by falling to the Cavaliers.
“Obviously, we were disappointed that we lost and with the way we lost. We gave up a 16-point lead and you don’t ever want to do that," sophomore point guard C.J. Jackson said. "But I think guys are ready to play [Saturday]. We’ll be encouraged. It’ll be a 40-minute complete game instead of playing maybe 32 like we played Wednesday night.
"I just feel like we’re encouraged as a team and we know how much better that game made us and how much closer we got. That’s really the most important thing: We kind of connected more than we have ever since I’ve been here and it was kind of good to see.”
How It Plays Out
If Ohio State was looking to take out some frustration after its first loss of the season, the Buckeyes might have the right opponent in town Saturday afternoon. On paper, this game shouldn't be all that competitive.
Matta wants to see how his team responds to a defeat, and that's really what to watch for here. Ohio State should come out and dominate and overwhelm the undermanned Knights in all areas of the game.
KenPom gives the Buckeyes a 99 percent chance of winning this game and projects a final score of 84-60. We're thinking it's awfully close to that.
Tim's prediction: Ohio State 82, Fairleigh Dickinson 58
