Chris Holtmann Says Ohio State Is “Not Where We Need To Be Defensively” Following Big Ten Tournament Loss To Penn State

The Nittany Lions used a 19-7 second-half run to beat the Buckeyes, who went nearly seven minutes without a basket.

Ohio State was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday evening, with Penn State overcoming a 13-point first-half deficit to win, 71-68, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

It was a familiar sight for the Buckeyes, who have now lost five of their last eight games, as the Nittany Lions were more physical down the stretch and were able to take advantage of issues on the defensive side of the ball.

“Hard-fought game. A really, really tough and physical game,” head coach Chris Holtmann said during his postgame press conference. “Give Penn State credit. Just made a few more plays down the stretch. Thought it was a really hard-fought game. I don’t fault our guys’ effort at all.”

Ohio State played without sophomore forward Zed Key (ankle) and fifth-year senior forward Kyle Young (concussion), who had a significant impact in the first two meetings between the teams this season, as he finished with 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting from three-point range in a 76-64 road win on Dec. 5 and hit several clutch free throws down the stretch in a 61-56 win at Value City Arena on Jan. 16.

“We beat this guys two times earlier, and if you remember, Kyle Young played a major role in both those games,” Holtmann said. “He made four threes at their place and then we played through him late at our place to beat them, so I think – especially as loaded up as teams are – we do need another scorer or two.”

The Buckeyes were leading 49-40 when freshman guard Malaki Branham knocked down a jumper with 12:24 remaining in the second half and then did not score from the field for nearly seven minutes, allowing the Nittany Lions to take a 56-64 lead with 5:59 left – their first of the game.

Extended scoring droughts have been a theme for Ohio State this season, and Thursday’s couldn’t have come at a worse time, as Penn State scored on 22 of its 30 second-half possessions to storm ahead.

“I thought we got some good looks,” Holtmann said. “I thought we played as hard tonight as we’ve played in a couple weeks. I really do, and I thought we were a pretty connected group, which was really good to see. I think just in general we’ve got to be able to make a few tougher plays or get a couple offensive rebounds.”

“I do think when your defense isn’t as strong as it needs to be, that really eliminates runs because your offense is going to be fluid. I think our better defensive teams (in the past) have been able to eliminate runs from teams and we’re just not where we need to be defensively.”

Even so, the Buckeyes were still in a position to win the game late. But an offensive rebounds and put back from fifth-year senior center John Harrar with 1:24 left on the clock ultimately sealed the win for the Nittany Lions.

“I thought we wore down a little bit,” Holtmann said. “I had to play (sixth-year senior center) Joey (Brunk) 30 minutes. That’s a rough assignment for the amount of minutes that he needs to play going against a guy that physical. I probably played (junior forward) E.J. (Liddell) and even Malaki a few too many minutes. I thought we wore down a little bit.”

After the game, a dejected Liddell was asked how things have fallen apart so quickly for Ohio State, which entered the final week of the season in contention for the Big Ten regular season title before losing three of its next four games, including to last-place Nebraska at home.

“I wish I could tell you,” said Liddell, who finished with a team-high 25 points and eight rebounds. “I wish I could address it. If I knew, I would address it with the team and we’d try to fix it, but I don’t know.

“No excuses for tonight, honestly. I’m not going to make any excuses, saying we need to play harder. I feel like if we don’t know that by now, something’s wrong. We’ve got a week to get better. This is our longest break in a while. Hopefully we can get healthy and come out and play (better).”

If there’s a silver lining in the Buckeyes’ second-round loss, it’s that they’ll have roughly one week to get healthy and iron out some of their defensive issues before the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. But regardless of seeding or opponent, another early exit is likely if they continue to play like they have over the last two weeks.

“We’ve got a week to prepare and get ready for whoever we play,” fifth-year senior guard Cedric Russell said. “Next week is going to be a very tough and talented team, so just go back home and get ready. We’ve got to adjust things that we need to adjust. We did some stuff very well tonight but one thing that keeps reoccurring is being tougher on the ball. Just go back, be prepared for that and hang our hat on the defensive side of the ball.

“It’s just bringing a consistent effort on that end and being tougher. When we do that, it’s a different outcome. It’s just being able to be more consistent on that end, and we’ve shown that in games this year, so it’s not like we can’t do it. Just the approach of actually doing it and getting it done. We’ll go back to the drawing board and figure it out and be ready for next week.”

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