Illinois State, UMass Lowell, Morehead State and Notre Dame isn't exactly a Murderer's Row but Chris Holtmann's basketball Buckeyes are more than happy with their 4-0 start to the 2020-21 season.
Last Tuesday's 90-85 win over the Irish was the team's most impressive to date but just days later, Holtmann announced his squad will be without the services of leading scorer and rebounder E.J. Liddell for an indefinite period.
Ohio State will have its first chance to take the floor following the Liddell news today at 4 p.m. as Cleveland State comes to town. The schedule heats up from there with a trip to Purdue followed by dates with ranked opponents in North Carolina and Rutgers.
Before Holtmann's guys take the court this afternoon, here are Five Things standing out in the early going.
CJ WALKER SEARCHING FOR HIS SHOT
Redshirt senior point guard CJ Walker has seen his points per game increase by nearly four compared to last season but his shots from the floor just aren't falling.
Averaging 12.7 points per game so far this year, Walker is shooting 33.3 percent from the field after shooting 42.7 percent a season ago. We're obviously talking about a small sample size here (11 for 33) but Holtmann has to be hoping Walker starts to see some shots go down.
The good news is Walker is getting to the free throw line and has been lethal once he gets there. It's wild that exactly half of his points-to-date have come from the stripe (25 of 50) including an 8-for-8 night against the Irish. Walker has hit 25 of his 26 free throw attempts through four games.
The eight free throws paced a season-high 16-point effort for Walker against Notre Dame as he shot just 3-of-10 from the floor but did connect on 2-of-4 tries from distance.
Walker's assists per game are up to 4.3 from 3.5 a season ago despite playing about the same minutes per night. There's no question Holtmann needs Walker playing at a high level if Ohio State wants to make any noise in the Big Ten race, particularly when you factor in the lack of a true backup point guard.
DUANE WASHINGTON STILL WORKING TO SHED VOLUME SHOOTER LABEL
Duane Washington leads the Buckeyes in field goal attempts through four games (49), hitting on just 39 percent of those shots after connecting at a 40 percent clip a season ago.
Second on the team in minutes, right behind Walker, Washington is stretching defenses via a 41 percent accuracy from beyond the arc.
Shot selection has always been something to watch with Washington though it's also worth noting that he is a guy that can create his own shot when the shot clock winds down and that hasn't always helped his field goal percentage but it's a role Holtmann has charged him with. Washington has delivered numerous timely shots in that role over his career.
Now a true junior with 67 games under his belt however, it's fair to assume Washington's reputation as a volume shooter isn't going to change.
To his credit, so far this year, he's looked a little more engaged at the defensive end and he's always taken care of the ball better than it feels like when you're watching live. Through four games, he has just three turnovers in 120 minutes against 12 assists.
YOUNG'S GUN READY TO FIRE?
Holtmann has mentioned more than once his desire for senior Kyle Young to feel the freedom and seize an opportunity to expand his role in the offense.
Through four games, Young looks to be a work in progress on that front. He's shooting under 38 percent after connecting on over 58 percent of his shots a season ago. As a result, he's averaging less points so far this year (6.8) than he did in 2019-20 (7.5).
Encouraged to even take an open three when the opportunity feels right, Young has hit on one of six so far after going 2-for-13 from distance last year.
I'm all for Young getting into the flow on offense but with the other four starters more adept at scoring I'm not sure Young can realistically score more than the seven or eight points per game he did a season ago.
Liddell's growth is also a factor as he clearly needs touches and he's not only an effective finisher on the low block, he's shown a solid ability to find cutters as well.
No hate on Young - far from it - I just think his greatest value is being the glue guy that's a willing defender, excellent rebounder (7.3 per game so far) and emotional leader happy to toss in some points mostly on putbacks and hustle plays. He's going to have plenty of games in low double-digit points and that's awesome. That said, Ohio State is at its best when Young is creating havoc and any elevated scoring is a bonus.
VALUING THE BALL
We all know the competition has been lackluster but a team stat I keep looking at is turnovers per game.
Last year, Ohio State stunk at protecting the ball, turning it over 12.7 times per game. That figure ranked No. 134 in the country and honestly it felt worse than that.
Through four games this season, the Buckeyes are averaging just 8.5 turnovers per contest, good for a ranking of No. 5 in the country before Saturday's games.
Similarly, Ohio State's assist-to-turnover ratio stands at 1.59 through four games, good for No. 26 in the nation after a 1.05 mark last year ranked No. 129.
Washington's noted impressive lack of turnovers despite having the ball in his hands so much is a factor while Walker is turning it over a respectable two times per game as the team's leading ball-handler.
Young has only one turnover in 101 minutes (0.3 per game) and Justin Ahrens has yet to turn it over in 55 minutes. The only Buckeye averaging more than two per game is Justice Sueing at 2.3 per night.
SUEING SIZZLING
Speaking of Sueing, the Cal transfer has been better than advertised in the early going, averaging 15.3 points per game, and there was already significant excitement about his ability to score.
Sueing averaged 14.3 per night for Cal during the 2018-19 season but shot just 43.2 percent from the floor and 30.2 percent from distance to achieve those points.
For the Buckeyes, Sueing is shooting a ridiculous 62.9 percent from the floor (22 for 35) over the small sample size. Liddell (41) and Washington (49) have taken a combined 20 more shots than Sueing to-date but with his efficiency, that pecking order could change over time.
Sueing has been outstanding scoring in traffic thanks in large part to upper body strength greater than I expected and a knack for using the glass when on the move in the paint. As Colin Hass-Hill noted upon his transfer, Sueing's always been effective at getting to the stripe and combined with his physical traits, he's creating points nearly every time he attacks the rim in the open court.
With Liddell out, Holtmann could use even more production from Sueing in the mean time.
