Games against unranked foes test players' focus
The statistic is impressive, even if many of the opponents that contributed to it were not.
In 14 home games this season, all wins, the Ohio State men's basketball team's margin of victory is 26 points.
The Buckeyes have won three of their five Big Ten home games by 20 or more points.
But with less than two minutes to play Wednesday night, they led Penn State, winless in conference play, by just three. A 10-0 run to the finish made the final 13-point margin misleading.
"We didn't come out with enough intensity," Jon Diebler said, "... and we can't have that."
Sustaining their intensity through these dog days of the schedule is crucial for the No. 13 Buckeyes, who, after losing three of their first four Big Ten games, are tied for second place and two games out of first.
After playing ranked teams or on the road -- or both -- five times in their first six conference games, they have faced unranked opponents in their past three. They have won six consecutive games in the Big Ten.
Unranked Iowa visits Value City Arena today. The Hawkeyes are 8-15 overall and 2-8 in the conference. But less than two weeks ago in Iowa City, they led Ohio State by seven points with less than seven minutes to play before David Lighty and Evan Turner rallied the Buckeyes.
"This is the tough part" of the season now, center Dallas Lauderdale said. "If you're not a player, you won't survive it right now. This is the time where you don't feel like getting up and going to practice, you don't feel like doing the extra drill, you don't feel like watching the extra film.
"But that's how you get better and that's how you succeed. This is when you really push your mind to the limit and you see how far your mind can go."
Ohio State's offense ranks as one of the most efficient in the nation because of its high field goal percentage (.500) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3-1).
In the past two games, though, Minnesota and Penn State shot nearly 50 percent against the defense. That's 10 percentage points higher than the Buckeyes gave in their previous six Big Ten games, dating to Turner's return from a back injury Jan. 6.
Coach Thad Matta said maintaining intensity on defense is one of the toughest things for a team to do during this stretch of the season.
"We've got to keep hammering it home that challenging shots, not giving up wide-open shots, is vitally important," he said.
"Rebounding's a big key in that because people make, I think, 48 percent of their first attempts and 70 percent of their second attempts. Trying to shrink those numbers down is very important to us."
Lighty said regaining the edge on defense is just a matter of "mental toughness just being mentally sound and mentally focused on getting the job done."
Some wonder whether the Buckeyes will become fatigued, mentally or physically, as February wears on. Diebler, Lighty, Turner and William Buford are averaging more than 34 minutes apiece.
"(Matta) gives us off a lot of reps (in practice), and we only practice like an hour and 15 minutes a day," Turner said.
"I think if anyone's sitting around saying they're tired, they're mentally weak and they shouldn't be on the basketball court. None of us is complaining about it at all."
The statistic is impressive, even if many of the opponents that contributed to it were not.
In 14 home games this season, all wins, the Ohio State men's basketball team's margin of victory is 26 points.
The Buckeyes have won three of their five Big Ten home games by 20 or more points.
But with less than two minutes to play Wednesday night, they led Penn State, winless in conference play, by just three. A 10-0 run to the finish made the final 13-point margin misleading.
"We didn't come out with enough intensity," Jon Diebler said, "... and we can't have that."
Sustaining their intensity through these dog days of the schedule is crucial for the No. 13 Buckeyes, who, after losing three of their first four Big Ten games, are tied for second place and two games out of first.
After playing ranked teams or on the road -- or both -- five times in their first six conference games, they have faced unranked opponents in their past three. They have won six consecutive games in the Big Ten.
Unranked Iowa visits Value City Arena today. The Hawkeyes are 8-15 overall and 2-8 in the conference. But less than two weeks ago in Iowa City, they led Ohio State by seven points with less than seven minutes to play before David Lighty and Evan Turner rallied the Buckeyes.
"This is the tough part" of the season now, center Dallas Lauderdale said. "If you're not a player, you won't survive it right now. This is the time where you don't feel like getting up and going to practice, you don't feel like doing the extra drill, you don't feel like watching the extra film.
"But that's how you get better and that's how you succeed. This is when you really push your mind to the limit and you see how far your mind can go."
Ohio State's offense ranks as one of the most efficient in the nation because of its high field goal percentage (.500) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3-1).
In the past two games, though, Minnesota and Penn State shot nearly 50 percent against the defense. That's 10 percentage points higher than the Buckeyes gave in their previous six Big Ten games, dating to Turner's return from a back injury Jan. 6.
Coach Thad Matta said maintaining intensity on defense is one of the toughest things for a team to do during this stretch of the season.
"We've got to keep hammering it home that challenging shots, not giving up wide-open shots, is vitally important," he said.
"Rebounding's a big key in that because people make, I think, 48 percent of their first attempts and 70 percent of their second attempts. Trying to shrink those numbers down is very important to us."
Lighty said regaining the edge on defense is just a matter of "mental toughness just being mentally sound and mentally focused on getting the job done."
Some wonder whether the Buckeyes will become fatigued, mentally or physically, as February wears on. Diebler, Lighty, Turner and William Buford are averaging more than 34 minutes apiece.
"(Matta) gives us off a lot of reps (in practice), and we only practice like an hour and 15 minutes a day," Turner said.
"I think if anyone's sitting around saying they're tired, they're mentally weak and they shouldn't be on the basketball court. None of us is complaining about it at all."
