Given the strengths of each team, a low-scoring defensive struggle figured to favor one side only on Friday. And on paper, that shouldn’t have been the Buckeyes.
No. 10 seed Loyola entered the NCAA Tournament with a top-25 defense in the nation, per KenPom, while the Buckeyes’ own ranked 128th in the same category. Sure, the respective level of competition faced by each team may not have been comparable, with Ohio State playing in the Big Ten and the Ramblers in the MVC. But Chris Holtmann’s constant criticism of the Buckeye defense in recent weeks didn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence on that side of the ball, at least from the outside looking in.
As Ohio State said all week leading up to the contest, though, being the tougher and more physical team would only result in positive outcomes, and it was not misled in that assumption. Holding the Ramblers to just 41 points on 26.8 percent shooting, it was the Buckeye defense that shined in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, which few saw coming outside of those closest to the program.
“I think it really comes down to ownership with them. And obviously as coaches we're constantly seeking ways we can do a better job at putting our guys in position defensively,” Holtmann said after the 54-41 first-round win. “But I think ultimately the effort piece comes down to ownership on their part. And they were as bought in and as owned as they've been all year for sure on that end. It was the best defensive performance we've really had in a couple years.”
In the first half at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Ohio State held Loyola to just 18 points as the Ramblers shot 7-for-30 (.233) from the floor and 3-for-13 (.231) from 3-point range. Ohio State didn’t have an awe-inspiring half on offense either, scoring 23 points while shooting 0-for-9 from three, but the Buckeyes’ defense was the difference.
EJ Liddell said NO @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/P5lPnaDocr
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 18, 2022
“I'm not surprised. I feel like when we start out, the first four minutes, that determines the game. We set the rules,” E.J. Liddell said. “And I felt like we came out here and did a great job on the defensive end, great communication. And we played with an edge tonight. Played like the underdogs. We gotta keep playing like that because people have been counting us out big time. We've got to have that same mindset next game.”
That trend didn’t change in the second half.
The Ramblers played better on offense in the final 20 minutes, but only marginally. Loyola scored 23 points in the period, hitting 30.8 percent of its shots and hitting five of its 15 3-pointers. But after Ohio State scored the opening six points of the half to take an 11-point lead at the 17:29 mark, the Buckeyes never led by any fewer than eight points.
Ohio State finished with 17 turnovers, its most since Nov. 24, and hit just one of its 15 3-point attempts. The Buckeyes had just two second-chance points and received only seven from bench contributors. But none of that mattered in the end, because Ohio State’s defensive effort was just that good.
“A credit to our players. They were locked in on the game plan at a high level … We knew we were in for a rock fight, and that's very much what it was,” Holtmann said. “So our guys deserve great credit. They really competed on both ends and were able to break away just when we needed to. Players win games, and those guys did a great job with that.”
Ohio State’s defensive efforts were buoyed by a couple of key returning contributors, chiefly fifth-year forward Kyle Young, who had missed the past three games due to a concussion. Although it had been over two weeks since his last game appearance, Young was inserted into the starting lineup for just the third time all season, and his impact was felt without doubt.
Young, Liddell and Zed Key, who also returned from missing three of the past four games for Ohio State, combined for 24 rebounds as the Buckeyes took advantage of their edge in size to outboard the Ramblers, 41-31. Young also came up with a number of loose balls, as is his calling card, and gave the Buckeyes a level of physicality they had been missing.
“For us, that's our mentality going into every game. We try to hang our hat on being the more physical team, setting the rules,” Young said. “So when you have a team coming in that's going to do the same thing, it's just that much more of a challenge. So we love that type of challenge, and we just have to respond. So it was just about who is going to play more physical and tougher with 50/50 balls and things like that.”
Loyola star guard Lucas Williamson finished with just four points on 1-for-10 shooting, and the Ramblers' 41 points were the fewest Ohio State has given up in an NCAA Tournament game since 1946.
Loyolas 41 points are the fewest Ohio State has allowed in an NCAA Tournament game since 1946 when the Buckeyes beat Harvard 46-38.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 18, 2022
Ohio State forced Loyola into 14 turnovers, and freshman guard Malaki Branham alone had four steals, leading to multiple transition dunks on the other end. In the end, the Buckeyes trailed for just 2:07 of game time and punched their ticket to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years.
For the Buckeyes to make an even deeper run in the tournament, and perhaps get past the second round for the first time in Holtmann’s tenure at Ohio State, the scarlet and gray will likely have to put together a complete performance on both ends. But Friday’s showing was impressive in its own right, due in large part to the hardships Ohio State faced on defense over the past several weeks.
“We felt like our defense really – we could hang our hat on our defense right now. And we did that,” Holtmann said. “And when we've struggled closing games, it's because our defense has not been sound enough for long enough.”
