Ohio State didn’t get in the paint nearly enough
The Buckeyes had a decided advantage down on the blocks today because of the lack of length and girth from Oral Roberts. Despite that, 23 of Ohio State’s 67 field goal attempts were from beyond the arc. Some of that came when the Buckeyes needed a 3-point attempt at the end of the overtime, but that doesn’t account for the large majority of shots from deep.
The recipe for this team all year has been to get points heading towards the rim while accenting that attempt with open looks from deep. E.J. Liddell only had six opportunities in the first half, and that’s a head-scratcher at best. He ended up with more in the second half, going 10-of-15 from the floor for 23 total points, but it could have been much more. OSU was 5-of-23 shooting the 3-pointer and 24-of-44 elsewhere. That tells you all you need to know.