Matchup an EJ Liddell specifically asked.
Sunday hangs in the balance for Ohio State, a calendar date between a 13-point home loss to Iowa on Saturday and Monday's rematch with the Indiana team, which handed the Buckeyes a 16-point loss on January 6. This left Ohio State. Very little time and even less time to prepare, but this prompted Liddell to request the coaching staff.
When he was on the court with Kyle Young, Liddell wanted to defend Indiana go-to center, Trace Jackson-Davis, who averaged 18.0 points and 8.3 rebounds on the night. In the first matchup of this season, he finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in four games against Ohio State to bring his career averages to 15.8 and 7.8, respectively.
Liddell wanted, and got, Jackson-Davis for a long time throughout the game. The 6-9, 245-pound sophomore ended with only three scored field goals, 13 points and nine rebounds, but Liddell made his presence felt most when the end result was in the balance.
With 1:23 remaining and Ohio State's 63–59 deficit, the Hoosiers called a timeout when a Malachi Branham missed a 3-pointer and created a play that would never be realized. As Reus Thompson attempted to feed Jackson-Davis to the left elbow, Liddell jumped in front of his man and came up with a steal.
From that point on, with 1:11 to play, the Buckeyes defeated the Hoosiers 21-6 to convert that four-point deficit into an 11-point victory, 80-69, in overtime. Throughout, freshman Malachi Branham carried the load, finishing with a game-high 27 points.
But look for a turning point in the final minutes, and Liddell has the theft — just as he wanted.
"(Sunday) I asked the coach if I could (Jackson-Davis) guard whenever Kyle and I were in the game," Liddell said. “I felt like they were going to him at the end of the game because he has been their favorite. I used extra-effort plays to get that ball. Our defense took offense for us.”
Did it from there. Following Liddell's steal, Branham fouled on the drive with 56.1 seconds and hit both free throws to pull the Buckeyes within two. Then, when Tamar Bates missed a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, Ohio State coach Chris Holtman had the option of calling a timeout or relying on his men on the court to make a play.
He went with the latter, and Branham fed Liddell with 5.4 seconds remaining to tie the game for a dunk that would send the game to overtime.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson drowned Liddell's steals and his team's defense at different points each game during his postgame press conference.
"When we're four up, we throw the ball out of timeout," Woodson said. "We didn't get any of it, and we came down and fouled. You're two up with 15 seconds left, you've got to get a stop and we give up a lay-up. They're two of the biggest assets of the night." Huh.
"If they're going to make a shot to tie the ballgame, it certainly can't be a layup."
For an Ohio State team left lamenting both their offensive and defensive performances at the loss of the Hawkes, the dunks seemed just the prize for digging into the other end of the floor. The Buckeyes posted their second-worst-adjusted defensive efficiency performance on Saturday and responded with their eighth-best of the season against the Hoosiers.
There were still too many nits to choose from. Indiana pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and converted them into 17 second-chance points, and the Hoosiers attempted 10 more shots than Bucky, while reducing the 11-point second-half deficit in the final minutes of regulation to a four- Converted to point lead.
But it wasn't that surprising, as during a press conference by Liddell and Branham that lasted about seven minutes, Liddell apologized twice for feeling he was talking too much about the defense.
When it mattered most, he stepped up and was followed by his teammates.
“E.J. did a great job,” said coach Chris Holtman. “I love E.J. Credit because E.J. Tracey asked to defend and I figured he might give her different angles and put a body on her. Trace is such a phenomenal player who might have pulled out a lot and swayed EJ's offense, but it was a big time deflection. ,
Blasting Concept of Malachi Branham Freshman Wall
It's that time of year when coaches openly worry about the toll the Big Ten season will take on first-year players. In recent weeks, Holtman has said so by relying heavily on Branham, whose star continues to rise.
Branham played at least 30 minutes in the eighth game in a row. He logged 39:09 in it, and averaged 15.5 points per game during that stretch and 49 in his last two games. They both appeared on the television broadcast with former Buckeye Jim Jackson, the player whose retired number 22 jersey he now wears.
So when Holtman invoked the concept of the freshman wall when discussing Branham after the loss to Iowa, he pushed back against letting it exist on Monday.
"If there's no wall, I'm good with it," Koch said. “If there is no wall, don't build a wall. I'm fine because there are no walls at any point. All I know is that I am playing a young boy with young legs and now we are asking him to do more in the year than before. ,
Branham's 27 points came on only 13 shots. He was perfect in eight free throws.
"I don't think I hit it," Branham said of the Wall. "I still have to condition myself to play minutes like that, but I feel good. Just take a little ice bath and that's it."
In the first matchup of this season, Branham had 13 points for 13 shots.
"Branham is a good player," said Indiana's Parker Stewart. "We wanted to force him to his left hand. That was the game plan. In the second half we had to adjust our pick-and-roll coverage on him, to switch, to try to keep him from going downhill . He made some hard shots, and we also made a few mistakes to keep him from going on our right hand. I take the blame because I guarded him all night."
Holtman credits Branham's ability to reach his place and make plays, saying it is the best he has ever seen. This can put him out of a challenge.
"I want to keep him fresh, but we need every minute of him," Holtmann said. “His ability to play-make and have ball skills and read and get in his place. With our team this year, sometimes Cedric can do that. We have other guys who can do it sometimes, but they can certainly do it at the highest level right now."
Branham has emerged as the playmaker and go-to role that was envisioned for Justice Suing, whose return this season looks unlikely on the day as he works to recover from a groin/abdominal injury that has caused He was knocked out two games in the season.
This begs the question: Would Branham have been developing at this rate if Sooing had been healthy?
"It's a good question, but I want to see how it was," Holtman said. “If you are giving me a choice, I want to put Justice in there and see if Malki figures it out. I think he probably will.”
Indiana, Ohio State both cite fatigue levels in sports
Both teams entered the game at different levels of preparation. Thanks to the scheduling snafu created when the February 6 game against Iowa was postponed due to travel issues and winter weather, the two schools worked with the Big Ten to set a make-up date. . That wound was Saturday, leading the game to Monday.
When the ball was tipped, it was Ohio State's second game in three days. Indiana, which had lost four while entering straight games, had been locked in a home loss to Wisconsin since February 15.
Nevertheless, both the coaches cited fatigue during their press conferences. Ohio State hasn't been a fast-break team this season, but it finished with zero points through the break.
"We didn't really have the legs to pull it off Miss," Holtman said. "Normally I'd like some freedom and get it off the defaults, but we just didn't have the speed or the legs to do it."
Meanwhile, Woodson watched the final minutes and wondered about his team's fitness levels, especially without a trio of injured rotation players including Rob Phineas and new guards Christian Lander and Trey Galloway.
"I don't know if it's fatigue coming down the stretch, but we just couldn't find the stop we needed," he said. "We got lost in the back and there were two guys leaving the rim and one of the guys that was open was Liddell. It was something that shouldn't have happened. You're tired of it or not getting used to being in this position. But it's a drama you have to stop."
Ohio State Fights Streak Losing Chance
Twenty-four games in the season, Ohio State has seven losses but no losses. It was another close call, but the Buckeyes found a way to avoid it.
When asked why this team has not been able to skip games in a row so far, Holtman dropped the question.
"EJ, Kyle (Young), Justin (Ahrens), Jamri (Wheeler)," he said. "Our captain. Justice (litigation). Those five people. Your captain is the one who sets the tone for him after the loss. Those guys set the tone in the locker room after the loss.
Quotable
"We just have to make sure we're doing as good a job as we can get the ball to our playmakers. Sometimes it turns out. E.J. was struggling to get into his place tonight , and our playwrights have perfect reading. 22 Tonight was a brilliant playwright, both for myself and for others. I give a lot of credit to Malaki. I thought we did exceptionally well in the last two minutes. I want to give lots of love to you." - holtman
"I'm just looking for the right game. I'm not the kind of guy who really forces a bad shot. I read the game. It's slowing down for me so I took my time and EJ wide open I threw him and he did the rest." —Branham, on his assistance in binding Liddell to overtime
"I've said before the season started that he's a bucket-getter. He'll get better and better as the years go by. I think he's looking at the game a lot better and it's slowing down. He had a good night around." — Liddell, on Branham