It took Bruce Thornton all of four words to sum up what sunk Ohio State on Friday night.

“Rebounds and free throws,” the sophomore guard said after a 73-66 loss to No. 15 Texas A&M.

It’s laid out in black and white in the final statistics from the game. Although the Buckeyes led for 17:42 and never trailed by more than what the final margin proved to be, there were two statistical categories that allowed the Aggies to lead for the final 7:16 inside Value City Arena.

Known for its tenacity on the glass at both ends of the court, Texas A&M pulled down 16 of its 36 misses (41.0%). The Aggies turned them into a 19-9 advantage in second-chance points and, also importantly, delayed the Buckeyes from getting the ball back with their own opportunity to score. Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said the team’s emphasis on rebounding is woven into the fabric of most everything they do in practice and that the Aggies specifically recruit players with rebounding in mind.

That doesn’t necessarily translate to offensive skill. Andersson Garcia, a 6-7, 215-pound forward, played 26:23 off the bench and finished with 4 points on only 1 of 3 shooting with no assists. And yet, he grabbed a game-high seven offensive rebounds, consistently extending possessions while directly contributing to just one field goal.

Call it grit, toughness, whatever, but it was an all-out assault that eventually overpowered the Buckeyes on a second cold-shooting night to open the season. That extended to the free-throw line, where Ohio State finished 10 for 17 (58.8%) from the line after having made just 1 of 5 (20.0%) during the first half.

Texas A&M drew 21 fouls and went a modest 16 for 23 (69.6%) from the line, but those six extra points at the line and a 19-9 advantage in second-chance points gave the visitors a 16-point cushion in a seven-point win.

“One thing we probably could’ve done better was get on the offensive boards more,” Ohio State fifth-year senior forward Jamison Battle said. “I think in the second half we had an emphasis on that but I think that was the difference in the game. Defensively we fouled a little bit too much and ultimately their free throws led to them winning.”

Two games in, here are four top takeaways from Ohio State’s first loss of the season.

The defense does not appear to be fixed quite yet

The numbers have been dissected six ways from Sunday, but Ohio State has trended in the wrong direction defensively for several seasons now. Last year, the Buckeyes bottomed out at 101.6 points allowed per 100 possessions according to KenPom.com, the program’s worst number since the 2003-04 season.

Two games in, the Buckeyes are at 98.1. Friday night, Texas A&M’s experienced backcourt of Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford tied for the team lead with 21 points apiece. Taylor was 8 for 21 from the floor and Radford 8 for 17, but they went 1 for 9 and 1 for 5, respectively, from 3-point range. Inside the arc, Taylor and Radford were 14 for 24 (58.3%) and frequently got downhill against the Ohio State defense.

It had a direct impact on Texas A&M’s ability to rebound so effectively.

“A lot of it was their guards got loose (on) us so we had a secondary defender come and make a play on the ball, so we’re leaving one of their better rebounders open,” coach Chris Holtmann said. “That was a significant part. We had a hard time guarding the ball and when you can’t guard the ball it puts your defense in jeopardy and it begins right there. We had trouble guarding the ball, the secondary guys had to come over and make plays.

“We were able to block some shots but we also gave up some offensive rebounds.”

The Buckeyes blocked 10 shots, their most since they blocked 10 at Wisconsin on Jan. 12, 2017. Ohio State lost that game, too, 89-66.

But trouble guarding the ball sounds…troubling for Ohio State.

“We had trouble directing the ball in our ball-screen coverage at times and then we had trouble in isolation situations keeping the ball in front of us,” Holtmann said. “(Radford and Taylor) hit some tough shots, but there were other times when there were too many straight-line drives and when you do that, your secondary defenders are gonna have to commit and when they commit, you leave good rebounders at the basket open. On top of that, they’re sending three or four to the glass.

“There were a couple long rebounds where we didn’t hit guys, but a lot of them came from just keeping those two guys in front.”

Ohio State is not shooting the ball well

Thursday afternoon, Holtmann said it was an open question as to what kind of 3-point shooting team this would become. In Monday’s opener against Oakland, Ohio State went 7 for 25 (28.0%) from 3. Friday, against a Texas A&M team that will allow teams to shoot open 3s, the Buckeyes went just 4 for 19 (21.1%).

Two games in, Ohio State is 11 for 44 (25.0%) from deep. Freshman Scotty Middleton is 2 for 5 (40.0%) and Thornton (5 for 15) and Battle (4 for 12) are both at 33.3%. Roddy Gayle (0 for 7), Dale Bonner (0 for 4) and Devin Royal (0 for 1) are all wanting.

“There’s slumps in basketball,” Battle said. “You’ve got to keep at it. We’re going to be out here shooting every day and stay confident. That’s the biggest thing: can’t lack confidence when it comes to that stuff. If you let that happen, that’s when it starts creating a snowball effect.”

Holtmann said he was mostly fine with the 3s his players took against the Aggies.

“We had some guys take a couple loose ones that I did not like,” he said. “Some of it was a couple new guys. We had a couple that I didn’t like but for the most part I liked our shot quality, I really did.”

For comparison: last year’s Buckeyes were 9 for 46 (19.6%) from 3 after two games and finished the year at 36.8% (239 for 650).

Bruce Thornton is being asked to do a lot

Both Oakland’s Greg Kampe and Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams raved, unprompted, about Ohio State’s sophomore guard. Through two games, he’s been Ohio State’s heaviest lifter, leading the Buckeyes in points (41) and shots (31).

According to KenPom, Thornton’s is taking 33.5% of his team’s shots while he’s on the court. Last year, Brice Sensabaugh led the team and was seventh in the nation at 34.9%. Ohio State’s overreliance on him through two games is as much a credit to his development as it is a lack of help from some of his supporting cast.

Thornton scored 16 of Ohio State’s 33 second-half points and took 12 of its 33 shots while drawing seven of its 11 fouls.

“We felt comfortable with the ball in his hands,” Holtmann said. “With the way they play he was able to get to the line and get to the basket at times. We do need some other guys to be able to make plays and score the ball. We need some guys that have played well in stretches for us earlier in the season that aren’t playing quite as well right now. We need those guys to grow into what we believe they can be.”

Bonner was scoreless against Oakland and had 4 points against the Aggies, two of which came on a goaltending call. After scoring 13 in the opener, Middleton had 2 points on 1 of 5 shooting against the Aggies and hit the side of the backboard on one shot. Classmate Devin Royal is scoreless in 13:02 of playing time and has not seen any second-half action. Felix Okpara has 9 points on 4 of 7 shooting.

All four entered the year expected to help contribute offensively.

“I still have the same faith in my teammates as I was saying earlier (in the preseason),” Thornton said. “(The Aggies) were switching out a lot so it gave me a lot of room in the gaps to get downhill. Me, Rod (Gayle), Jamison missed a lot of bunnies. Felix too, I feel like we missed a lot of floaters, missed a lot of bunnies we usually hit.

“That shouldn’t dictate us from winning or losing. I’m thinking about the rebounding and the free throws that really put us behind the 8-ball.”

Thornton also finished with five assists and no turnovers.

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Roddy Gayle showing signs of a growing playmaker

Thornton has handled a lot of the scoring, but his fellow sophomore guard leads the Buckeyes with 11 assists. Against Texas A&M, Gayle played a team-high 36:29 and flirted with a triple-double with 9 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Against Oakland, it was Gayle who finally drove some of the gaps in the defense and went on a personal run of nine straight points to help the Buckeyes finally claim the lead in the second half. In the second half against Texas A&M, Gayle missed all four shots he took but pulled down five rebounds and had three assists.

“They’re physical and they play through their guards and their guys know their roles well,” Holtmann said of Texas A&M’s backcourt. “I thought it was a physical game and at times they beat us to a couple things but we were physical throughout the stretch of the game and I thought our reads when we drove the ball were really, really good. We had some exceptional one-mores and reads when they collapsed defensively.”

@AdamJardy

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 4 things: What sunk Ohio State basketball in loss to Texas A&M?