Stifling Texas A&M Defense Hands Ohio State Hoops It's First Loss

Turnovers and missed shots severely hurt the Buckeyes' in College Station Friday.

Nov 4, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard John Mobley Jr. (0) dribbles ahead of Texas Longhorns guard Tre Johnson (20) during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Ohio State certainly felt the crowd at Reed Arena Friday night.

The No. 21 Buckeyes (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) dropped their first game of the season in a sloppy showing in College Station, losing 78-64 to a scrappy No. 23 Texas A&M squad.

After junior guard Bruce Thornton hit a 3-pointer to kick off the scoring, the Aggies simply took over. Ohio State enjoyed the lead for about two minutes, but were tied or trailed for the remainder of the half.

Texas A&M went on a 15-2 run over the next five minutes, as the Buckeyes could not buy a bucket. Although Ohio State shot lights out from deep in their first two games, they struggled to hit, finishing 5-for-17 from downtown in the first half.

This was in part due to the stifling Aggies’ defense, which recorded three big blocks, including one from junior Minnesota transfer Pharrel Payne. Free throws also heavily favored Buzz Williams’ squad — while Ohio State shot just four, the Texas A&M made 15 in the first half, highlighted by a solid 10-for-10 from reigning All-American Wade Taylor IV and Manny Obaseki.

Despite the Aggies coming off a season as a top offensive rebounding team in the country, the Buckeyes had two more in the first half. 

Senior Meechie Johnson Jr.’s night was highlighted by surpassing 1000 career college points when he connected on his only 3-pointer in the first half. Ohio State trailed by nine at the break.

The Buckeyes continued their sloppy play into the second on both ends of the floor — it remained difficult for Jake Diebler’s squad to stay disciplined with fouling. In fact, three minutes into the half, senior Micah Parrish picked up a flagrant one penalty for pushing junior forward Solomon Washington on a box out. Parrish remained on the bench for six minutes with three fouls.

Sophomore Devin Royal had an outstanding game on the glass and on the defensive end in particular, coming up with a big-time block early in the second half. However, on the very next possession, he picked up a goaltending call more than one second after the ball hit the backboard on a layup which didn’t seem to be going in.

Nov 4, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) directs a play against the Texas Longhorns during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The one bright light for the Buckeyes seemed to be freshman John Mobley Jr., who, despite not playing the first six minutes of the second, came in and immediately hit back-to-back 3's.

As much as Thornton tried to facilitate, he couldn’t find an opening amid the packed help defense from the Aggies. Beyond Mobley, there wasn’t much offense outside of the occasional bucket from Parrish.

In fact, Ohio State did a good job of moving the ball around, but still virtually could not find any source of scoring. And as if matters couldn’t get worse, Royal fouled out with four minutes remaining.

Despite solid perimeter defense from the Buckeyes all night, fouling, drive-and-dish buckets and an inability to finish around the rim cost them the game. The Buckeyes allowed 40 free throws from the Aggies.

It seems Ohio State cannot rely so much on their 3's to go in for the future — the team finished 8-for-30 from deep.

Diebler’s squad has work to do before it returns home against Evansville Tuesday at 7 p.m., streaming on Big Ten Plus.