Entering Ohio State's tilt with Minnesota on Saturday, the Buckeyes were riding a six-game winning streak. During that stretch however, freshman center Kaleb Wesson had hit a bit of a rough patch.
The Westerville, Ohio native had failed to record double-digit points in four out of the six wins for Ohio State, and was coming off a game against Northwestern in which he shot just 3-of-9 from the floor. In that game, his Wildcat counterpart Dererk Pardon dominated the post, recording a game-high 10 rebounds and four blocks.
After a rough patch though, the freshman put together one of his best performances of the season in a 67-49 win over Minnesota in the most famous arena in the world, Madison Square Garden. The former Westerville South Wildcat shot 7-of-9 from the floor, including a deep three-pointer, accounting for 15 points and eight rebounds in the victory.
Following the win, Chris Holtmann said that Wesson's struggles are part of being a freshman, but that the big man also has to work on building consistency around the basketball.
"Kaleb has been good really all year for us. He has struggled here a little bit late with his finishing around the basket and it is something we have got to continue to work with him on," Holtmann said. "He's a freshman so that is going to happen. He was shooting at one point 58 percent, and that went down a little bit."
The percentage numbers were helped Saturday in the Big Apple, as Wesson gave Ohio State a New York City-sized boost, especially in the first half.
Wesson scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting, while also collecting a steal in the first 20 minutes. For the game, he recorded a plus-minus of plus-24, tying classmate Musa Jallow for the most productive minutes against the Golden Gophers.
Holtmann was pleased with Wesson's performance, adding that even the shots that didn't fall for the freshman were positive plays.
"He wants to get better. He is dealing with Big Ten, big bodies right now and we just have to continue to work with him on finishing," Holtmann said. "I thought he did a really nice job (today), even the couple ones around the basket that he missed. He just has to keep staying focused on finishing plays. He made some nice post moves tonight."
Wesson will likely play a critical role in Ohio State's upcoming game against Nebraska, a team that ranks near or at the bottom of the Big Ten in rebounds, but is coming off of a 20-point rout of No. 23 ranked Michigan on Thursday night. The Buckeyes and Cornhuskers are set to tip on Monday at 8 p.m., capping a stretch of four games in eight days for Holtmann's squad.
