Scotty Middleton back with Ohio State: Takeaways from Chris Holtmann's radio show
In need of a few resume-boosting wins with the midpoint of Big Ten play approaching, Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann held his weekly radio show Monday.
Saturday afternoon, the Buckeyes snapped a three-game losing streak by taking down Penn State, 79-67, inside Value City Arena behind a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures. It moved Ohio State to 13-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten, and it set up a week where the Buckeyes will have two chances to do something they haven’t done in more than a year: win a game on the road.
Ohio State will play at Nebraska on Tuesday and at Northwestern on Saturday. The Buckeyes’ last road win was at Northwestern on Jan. 1, 2023, and they will take a 12-game road losing streak into Pinnacle Bank Arena on Tuesday night.
"It’s amazing how quickly the season has flown by," Holtmann said. "We’re a little past halfway, but 13-5 through 18 games right now and still growing and learning. Good win over Penn State. Obviously an awesome start by our guys. You don’t typically get up 16-0 on a Big Ten team."
In case you couldn't listen, here are the highlights.
Scotty Middleton’s suspension is over
The Buckeyes played Penn State without freshman wing Scotty Middleton, who was suspended for an unspecified violation of team expectations. The Dispatch reported Saturday that it was likely to be just a one-game suspension, and Holtmann said that has proven to be the case.
“Scotty’s back,” Holtmann said. “He practiced with us (Sunday). Good to have him back. Scotty’s a really good kid. He’s got a great heart. We care about him. It was a simple internal matter.”
We’re pretty healthy right now for the most part. Typical bumps and bruises.”
Holtmann said that after the win, he received a text from Michell Liddell, E.J.’s mother. She texted him to congratulate him on his 250th career win and to thank him for all he’s done for her son, he said, and that included coaching and holding him to a high standard in all areas of life.
“She wanted him held accountable always,” Holtmann said. “The best players we’ve had have wanted that. It’s a by-product of coaching. We love Scotty. We’re glad he’s back and ready to go.”
Ohio State needs more maturity in final minutes
The Buckeyes opened the Penn State game on a 16-0 run, led by as many as 23, had it cut to 9 and then went on to win by 12. In the final minutes of the game, Holtmann said Ohio State needed to improve in a few areas both offensively and defensively when the Nittany Lions threatened to make it interesting.
“That’s an area we’ve got to grow in,” he said. “We were not as aggressive as we needed to be (offensively). There is a time we need to slow it down. The clock is your friend. The stretch from like 6-3 minutes, that’s where you’ve got to keep staying aggressive. They need to take ownership in being more alert and attentive defensively to limit some of those quick scores. The game can change in a minute, so you really have to stay on point and stay alert. I think it’s a maturity thing we have to grow in.”
As an example. Holtmann said the coaches challenged players during Sunday’s film session with opportunities where they could have attacked more on the break and earned opportunities at the free-throw line.
“It’s tough, because you can’t pull back and not be aggressive but if you’re shooting it quick and missing it fuels their transition,” he said. “There is a point as which you need to maybe walk the ball up the floor, be a little more clock friendly. In that game, we might’ve done that a little too early. It’s a thing I think we’ll grow in as a group. while we’ve had some leads at home, there’s some areas we can certainly take from growing in that.”
Tough stretch of games on tap
If you look at Ohio State’s schedule page at KenPom.com, the Buckeyes are projected to lose their next four games. After going to Nebraska and Northwestern, they will host Illinois and go to Iowa.
“Our good friend KenPom has us, close games, but losing the next few really so I don’t like him today,” Holtmann said. “The reality is you’re just focused on, we’re playing good teams here. It’s Big Ten play. I’m really excited about this challenge here and this opportunity in front of us. We played good basketball on Saturday. We’ve got some things in front of us that are great opportunities. It’s about really focusing on playing well, and then celebrating when we play well and finding areas to improve on.
“We’re really excited about the challenges that come with this stretch of playing on the road because I think our guys are ready for it.”
Devin Royal, Ohio State’s bench players shine against Penn State
Freshman forward Devin Royal didn’t play during the first half, but he finished with 8 points in a little more than five second-half minutes.
“Devin’s had some really good moments,” Holtmann said. “I wanted to get him in the first half. There were some matchups. They played small. They played four guards a lot. He played really well. Attacked their zone. Attacked the press. Played with force. Excited about his continued growth, for sure.”
Holtmann mentioned other role players such as Dale Bonner, Evan Mahaffey, Zed Key and others as being particularly critical going forward for Ohio State’s chances for success.
“That’s as critical as anything for us: can we get production defensively and offensively from our bench?” Holtmann said. “Can those guys continue to grow into their role and embrace the role at a high level? That’s as critical as anything for us. In this league, unless you have three first-team all-league guys, you can’t rely on just your best players every night. We do need other guys to step up and that’s as critical as anything.”
Evan Mahaffey’s career night comes as dad awaits heart transplant
In a game against his former team, second-year forward Evan Mahaffey put up a career-high 16 points in the win against the Nittany Lions. He did so as his father, Jamie, awaits a heart transplant at Vanderbilt’s medical center.
“Evan’s a great kid,” Holtmann said. “His dad’s going through some significant health issues right now. He needs a new heart. There’s a GoFundMe page out there. The NCAA caps how much coaches can give, which blows my mind. He’s in our thoughts.
“Basketball in a lot of ways for Evan has provided a place he can lose himself in playing and competing. He’s starting to play with more confidence on the offensive end, which we need.”
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What are Chris Holtmann’s favorite wins after earning No. 250?
The win against Penn State moved Holtmann to No. 250 for his career, and he was asked about his favorite wins.
“Here at Ohio State, I look at a couple different ones,” he said. “Always the first one, it was Robert Morris. The other ones, we’ve beaten two No. 1 teams in the country. We beat Michigan State and Duke when they were here, so both of those. The other one was, this is going to sound odd, but beating Indiana in the Big Ten tournament our second year when we were rebuilding our roster and we were fighting to get there. It was almost like a play-in game. We beat Indiana. That was big for us. Then we went on to beat Iowa State in the first round.
“Always, the tournament wins you have, whether it’s South Dakota State or Loyola, Iowa State. The Big Ten Tournament wins last year were fun as well, but those were a couple there.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Scotty Middleton is back: Takeaways from Chris Holtmann's radio show
