Ohio State Buckeyes: 3 takeaways from Buckeyes close victory over Akron
By Jay Wilhelm
Ohio State Basketball escaped with a close win over in-state opponent Akron and 3 things stood out after game one of their 2021/22 season.
19th-ranked Ohio State Basketball opened at home against the Akron Zips and the game was closer than we thought it would be and closer than they would have liked. At the end of the day, they escaped with a 67-66 victory in Columbus to open the season.
Although there are many questions we still have for this team, here are three things we took away from the Buckeyes‘ opening night last-second victory.
Quality frontcourt
EJ Liddell and Zed Key are going to be a force down low on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor. Both finished the game in double figures as Liddell led all scorers with 25 points and brought down 11 boards. Key finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds and they both finished with 2 blocked shots apiece. Liddell is their best player as expected, but we now see Zed Key will be a great compliment to him.
Go-to guy on offense?
The Ohio State Buckeyes will need to find that “go-to” guy that can get a bucket when the offense is struggling and breaks down that can create his own shot when needed in a tight game. Liddell is great, but he usually gets his in the flow of the offense. They survived Akron without that person, but against a better opponent, it will be needed. Who can step into that role?
Backcourt play
Reps and minutes are of the utmost importance for Ohio State’s new backcourt. They are new and young alike, and these early season battles and minutes are invaluable. Meechie Johnson Jr is a Freshman who finished with four points and five rebounds in 23 minutes. His counterpart in Jamari Wheeler is a senior, but he spent his previous years at Penn State so he’s new to this equation.
Wheeler finished with just two points, two rebounds, and an assist in 29 minutes against Akron. Having new and young come together will take some time to gel with each other and the rest of the lineup, and getting these minutes will be crucial as the Buckeyes get later in the season.
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Ohio State did what they needed to do no matter how close the game was and got the victory to open their season. The Buckeyes’ next game is at home in Columbus on Friday night November 12th with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm against the 0-1 Niagara Purple Eagles. It will give us a second look at OSU and which questions get answered early and what new questions arise.