Halftime Analysis: Ohio State Struggling Against Xavier

Here are some first half thoughts as the Buckeyes trails Xavier at the break.

Author:
Brendan Gulick
Nov 18, 2021 7:20 PM EST

Halftime Score: Ohio State 26, Xavier 35

What is the best way to describe the atmosphere so far tonight?

"14.5 years we've been waiting for tonight" were the first words out of the emcee's mouth during the first media timeout.

It's very clear this game means a lot to the Xavier basketball community.

All in all, it was an occasionally frustrating first half offensively for the Ohio State Buckeyes, but they largely made up for it on the defensive end (after five sub-standard minutes defensively at the outset).

Xavier got way too many good looks at the rim early in the shot clock. 14 of its first 17 points have come in the paint, and nearly all seven of those baskets were fairly easy layups.

E.J. Liddell seemed to take that personally, playing his heart out on the defensive end of the floor the next 10 minutes. He finished the first half on the bench with two fouls, but he also had six blocked and the Buckeyes forced seven turnovers.

Jamari Wheeler had a couple steals and looked tough as usual on the defensive end.

Unfortunately, the first 20 minutes featured a number of pretty frustrating offensive moments for the Scarlet and Gray. In the last ten minutes of the half, Ohio State never made baskets on consecutive possessions.

They missed their first 5 shots to start the game and hit just 1-of-9 over the first five minutes. Xavier's length is a problem. Dieonte Miles and Jerome Hunter were really active to start the game and Ohio State struggled to get good looks at the rim. Several times in the first ten minutes, Chris Holtmann and Ryan Pedon were telling their guys to slow down and take a deep breath.

The raucous environment seemed to bother the Buckeyes early on before they settled down. But even as the looks got better, baskets weren't exactly falling like crazy.

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