As specter of last year looms, Ohio State insists this year will be different
The playing of “Carmen Ohio” was complete, and the few fans that remained through the postgame tradition were filing toward the exits. Customary applause for the Ohio State alma mater rippled throughout Value City Arena as the Buckeyes started to trudge their way to the home locker room.
Looming over center court was the arena’s increasingly antiquated scoreboard, the one with a few panels that seem to be permanently malfunctioning. The ones that displayed the most important detail of the night shone clear and bright, though, and they loomed over one of the most pivotal Buckeyes of the night. Standing alone near midcourt, hands on his hips, was sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr.
Gayle’s gray jersey was a darker shade all along his back, the sweat of his efforts encircling his No. 1 jersey. His white headband had been lowered to his neck, where from a distance it resembled a sweat towel.
In his most complete game in weeks, Gayle had scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting with just one turnover. He’d played all but two minutes, helping Ohio State shoot exactly 50.0% from the floor (30 for 60) and score 75 points in the team’s most effective offensive performance since a Dec. 6 win against Miami (Ohio).
None of it was nearly enough, because No. 14 Illinois poured in 87 points and led for 29:43 while sending the Buckeyes to a third straight loss and their sixth in the last seven games. Ohio State was better than in its last two losses, but it was still a third straight double-digit defeat. Since the Buckeyes won at Northwestern on New Year’s Day last year to improve to 10-3 overall, they have now gone 19-24 in their last 33 games, and Gayle has been a part of every one of them.
On this night, the Buckeyes simply weren’t good enough in a season that is taking on tones of last year’s slide. And seated next to sophomore forward Evan Mahaffey, who had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, Gayle took one final question during the postgame press conference asking what was on his heart.
It didn’t take long for a reference to 2022-23 to come bubbling out.
“Going through last year kind of put me in a point of view where that feeling, you don’t want to feel that no more,” Gayle said. “I feel like it was a big responsibility for me to be able to steer other people from not feeling the same way. I feel like mentally, I’m locked in. I’ll do whatever it takes to not be able to feel that same pain like I did last year. Especially the freshmen, trying to get in their heads, everything’s going to be all right, don’t worry, and also trying to tell them there’s a sense of urgency that we need to be better.
“We need to have more energy and effort. That’s just where I’m at right now.”
Compared to Saturday’s loss at Northwestern, where the Wildcats led by as many as 35, there was more energy and effort. The problem was that it just wasn’t enough. After the loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena, coach Chris Holtmann frequently repeated that the Buckeyes simply had to be better going forward if they wanted their season to amount to anything.
After this loss, Holtmann said his initial reaction was that Ohio State had been.
“I feel like there were stretches where we played much better, much better than the other night, but it’s not long enough to be able to beat a good team,” he said. “Did we play a little bit harder? Did we play better? Were we more crisp offensively in stretches? All those things I think ring true, but I want to validate that with the film. If it did, we’ll build on that.”
Gayle, in particular, was better. Since scoring a career-high 32 points in an overtime win against West Virginia on Dec. 30, the sophomore had scored 78 points in Ohio State’s next seven games (11.1) while shooting 32.5% (27 for 83) from the floor and a paltry 8.0% (2 for 25) from 3. Against the Fighting Illini, his 20 points came on mid-range jumpers, drives to the basket and free throws.
He looked like a more confident player, driving the basket or getting to his pull-up instead of firing up 3-pointers. He missed his lone attempt in the game.
Gayle credited his teammates for helping him feel more confident.
“They told me to shoot the next one,” he said. “Having that kind of support on the staff and in the locker room is an amazing feeling.”
On most nights this season, it would’ve been enough to lead the Buckeyes to victory. Ohio State had been 12-1 when scoring at least 70 points this season, and the Buckeyes had averaged 63.4 points in their previous five losses. Ohio State’s adjusted offensive efficiency of 115.7 points per 100 possessions was the fifth-highest total allowed by an Illinois defense ranked No. 34 nationally.
The problem was that the Buckeyes couldn’t get nearly enough stops to make their offensive effort hold up. Ohio State entered the game ranked 99th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing teams to score 102.3 points per 100 possessions. After this loss, the Buckeyes dropped 24 spots and are now 123rd, allowing 103.3 points per 100 possessions.
Against Northwestern, the Buckeyes allowed 135.2 points per 100 possessions. That’s the seventh-worst mark in KenPom.com history, dating back to the 1998-99 season. The Wildcats just pushed past the Fighting Illini, who finished at 134.2 points per 100 possessions, the ninth-worst such mark for Ohio State.
“I think it’s a lot of our details on that end,” Mahaffey said. “We go into the game with really good game plans. We execute it for stretches of the game. It’s just being able to do it consistently every single time down the floor. I think every single game we go in ready, go in prepared knowing what we’ve got to do. We do it, but we have to be able to do it every single time and make it a habit if you’re tired or not.”
Ohio State is at the midpoint of the Big Ten. In the last 10 years where an NCAA Tournament was played, nine teams have had a sub-.500 record and gone on to make the NCAA Tournament. Most recently, Iowa got there in 2021-22 after starting 4-6 in the Big Ten. In 2018-19, Ohio State was likewise 4-6 and still made it.
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It won’t get back there if it continues to defend like this, no matter how well Gayle or his teammates put the ball in the basket. As one of the primary players tasked with ensuring this year doesn’t become what last year was, Gayle expressed his belief that this is still going to turn around.
“Absolutely not,” he said when asked if this was starting to feel like last year. “I feel like we’ve got incredible guys in our locker room, which makes it not as bad as it seems. I feel like everybody’s hopes are up. Everybody brings the same energy into practice, everyday guys.
“I feel like this is not the same as last year. We are much more invested and we have the capability to go on a run.”
They have 10 more chances, starting at Iowa on Friday night.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Roddy Gayle Jr.: 'This is not the same as last year'
