Ohio State took a page out of Seton Hall's book Wednesday night, falling to No. 23 Florida in the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament final, 71-68, on a buzzer-beating 3 by guard Tyree Appleby.
Here's a few takeaways from the Buckeyes' latest loss.
Ohio State struggles from deep
Ohio State didn’t have the touch from 3 like it did against Seton Hall.
In the semifinal of the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament, the Buckeyes hit 11-of-22 from deep, including a 3 to win it from freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr.
But the success didn’t carry over.
In the first 20 minutes of the championship game against Florida, the Buckeyes hit only two of its 11 tries from deep, including four misses from Johnson. In that span, the Buckeyes hit nine of its 12 tries from within the 3-point line.
The Buckeyes relied a bit more on mid-range tries and layups the rest of the way, hitting three of their eight tries from deep in the final 20 minutes while making 14-of-24 attempts from the field.
But the marginal improvement from deep didn’t help the Buckeyes, falling to Florida on a buzzer-beating 3 to secure the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament title, 71-68
Much of that had to do with the Buckeyes’ lack of success with holding onto the basketball
With a pressure that forced the Buckeyes outside on the perimeter, Ohio State — a team that came in averaging just over 11 turnovers per game — recorded 10 turnovers in the first half, just one less than the number of field goals Ohio State had in the first 20 minutes,
That number decreased a bit Florida still forced eight turnovers in the second half, ending the game with 22 points off turnovers in its three-point victory.
Junior forward E.J. Liddell struggled to hold onto the basketball, leading the team with five turnovers. Freshman guard Malaki Branham brought in three as did freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. and redshirt senior guard Jimmy Sotos.
Ohio State showed consistency from inside the 3-point line, hitting 20-of-28 attempts from midrange or in the paint. But with the size disadvantage, the 3 is something that the Buckeyes will try and get going each and every game.
If it can get hot, that’s the way the Buckeyes win. But it needs to find a way to consistently find a way to the hoop, getting physical inside, something that Johnson does extremely well, along with Wheeler, Liddell and Key.
Defense shows spurts
Ohio State showed a level of defensive pressure that matched Florida’s intensity for the majority of the contest.
The Gators shot only 36.7% from the field, missing 10 of their 14 attempts from deep along with 10 of 33 attempts from the free-throw line. The Buckeyes forced 11 turnovers with five steaks — three by Branham and two by redshirt senior guard Jamari Wheeler — and recorded seven blocks: five by Liddell.
However, size remained a huge disadvantage for Ohio State.
While Florida recorded only two more rebounds than the Buckeyes, the Gators brought in 16 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points at the rim.
Florida forward Colin Castelton recorded 13 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass. Anthony Duruji and CJ Felder each brought in three offensive boards.
It also led to foul trouble for many of Ohio State’s post players, including Kyle Young, who was incredibly efficient offensively — scoring 11 points on five-of-seven shooting and a team-leading six rebounds — but fouled out after 14 minutes of play. Sophomore forward Zed Key also brought in four fouls and three turnovers with only four rebounds, while Sotos also brought in four fouls.
While the Buckeyes were able to disrupt the Gators in the paint, making eight of 26 layup tries, the Buckeyes couldn’t retain possession, something that’s going to be a huge mismatch and a huge problem come Big Ten play.
Liddell looks human
Heading into the 2021-22 season, Liddell wanted to be the face of Ohio State’s success. Wherever he went in his junior season, the Buckeyes would follow.
And early on this year, that has proved to be true, which Liddell showed again at points Wednesday night in Fort Myers
He was Ohio State’s leading scorer, hitting 23 points on an efficient 7-11 with eight makes on 12 tries from the free-throw line. He made magical plays near the rim with five bollocks and recorded five rebounds and an assist.
But he looked human too.
Liddell led the team with five turnovers, including two on back-to-back possessions in the middle of the second half that allowed Florida to work its way back.
Ohio State can’t be a one-man team, which it has been over the course of these early-season contests. Liddell’s 11 tries from the field were four more than anyone on the roster with two more field-goal makes than Young.
When Justin Ahrens or Meechie Johnson Jr. are not hitting 3s, there really doesn’t seem to be much more Ohio State can do than just get the ball to Liddell and try and make a play.
Branham hasn’t gotten there yet, making only one of his four attempts from the field with three rebounds, three steals and two assists, along with two fouls and three turnovers.
Ohio State really doesn’t have too many other players to trust offensively at this point, something that will continue to hurt it until Justice Sueing finds his way back into the fold or a player like Branham, Ahrens or Johnson find more consistency.
Quick takes
Ohio State center Joey Brunk started his second-straight game, but only played six minutes, putting together a much more efficient four points on 2-2 shooting with two rebounds and a block
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann played 10 players within the first seven minutes against Florida, ending the game with X players recording more than 10 minutes.
What this means
Ohio State is not a lights-out 3-point shooting team every night. And while the Buckeyes can shine defensively and keep Florida at bay, the Buckeyes haven’t really shown its ability to get past an aggressive defense, especially on the perimeter, turning the ball over and giving teams too many second-chance and fast break options.
What’s next
It gets harder for the Buckeyes, hosting No. 5 Duke in the Big Ten/ACC challenge at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night on ESPN.
Here's a few takeaways from the Buckeyes' latest loss.
Ohio State struggles from deep
Ohio State didn’t have the touch from 3 like it did against Seton Hall.
In the semifinal of the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament, the Buckeyes hit 11-of-22 from deep, including a 3 to win it from freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr.
But the success didn’t carry over.
In the first 20 minutes of the championship game against Florida, the Buckeyes hit only two of its 11 tries from deep, including four misses from Johnson. In that span, the Buckeyes hit nine of its 12 tries from within the 3-point line.
The Buckeyes relied a bit more on mid-range tries and layups the rest of the way, hitting three of their eight tries from deep in the final 20 minutes while making 14-of-24 attempts from the field.
But the marginal improvement from deep didn’t help the Buckeyes, falling to Florida on a buzzer-beating 3 to secure the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament title, 71-68
Much of that had to do with the Buckeyes’ lack of success with holding onto the basketball
With a pressure that forced the Buckeyes outside on the perimeter, Ohio State — a team that came in averaging just over 11 turnovers per game — recorded 10 turnovers in the first half, just one less than the number of field goals Ohio State had in the first 20 minutes,
That number decreased a bit Florida still forced eight turnovers in the second half, ending the game with 22 points off turnovers in its three-point victory.
Junior forward E.J. Liddell struggled to hold onto the basketball, leading the team with five turnovers. Freshman guard Malaki Branham brought in three as did freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. and redshirt senior guard Jimmy Sotos.
Ohio State showed consistency from inside the 3-point line, hitting 20-of-28 attempts from midrange or in the paint. But with the size disadvantage, the 3 is something that the Buckeyes will try and get going each and every game.
If it can get hot, that’s the way the Buckeyes win. But it needs to find a way to consistently find a way to the hoop, getting physical inside, something that Johnson does extremely well, along with Wheeler, Liddell and Key.
Defense shows spurts
Ohio State showed a level of defensive pressure that matched Florida’s intensity for the majority of the contest.
The Gators shot only 36.7% from the field, missing 10 of their 14 attempts from deep along with 10 of 33 attempts from the free-throw line. The Buckeyes forced 11 turnovers with five steaks — three by Branham and two by redshirt senior guard Jamari Wheeler — and recorded seven blocks: five by Liddell.
However, size remained a huge disadvantage for Ohio State.
While Florida recorded only two more rebounds than the Buckeyes, the Gators brought in 16 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points at the rim.
Florida forward Colin Castelton recorded 13 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass. Anthony Duruji and CJ Felder each brought in three offensive boards.
It also led to foul trouble for many of Ohio State’s post players, including Kyle Young, who was incredibly efficient offensively — scoring 11 points on five-of-seven shooting and a team-leading six rebounds — but fouled out after 14 minutes of play. Sophomore forward Zed Key also brought in four fouls and three turnovers with only four rebounds, while Sotos also brought in four fouls.
While the Buckeyes were able to disrupt the Gators in the paint, making eight of 26 layup tries, the Buckeyes couldn’t retain possession, something that’s going to be a huge mismatch and a huge problem come Big Ten play.
Liddell looks human
Heading into the 2021-22 season, Liddell wanted to be the face of Ohio State’s success. Wherever he went in his junior season, the Buckeyes would follow.
And early on this year, that has proved to be true, which Liddell showed again at points Wednesday night in Fort Myers
He was Ohio State’s leading scorer, hitting 23 points on an efficient 7-11 with eight makes on 12 tries from the free-throw line. He made magical plays near the rim with five bollocks and recorded five rebounds and an assist.
But he looked human too.
Liddell led the team with five turnovers, including two on back-to-back possessions in the middle of the second half that allowed Florida to work its way back.
Ohio State can’t be a one-man team, which it has been over the course of these early-season contests. Liddell’s 11 tries from the field were four more than anyone on the roster with two more field-goal makes than Young.
When Justin Ahrens or Meechie Johnson Jr. are not hitting 3s, there really doesn’t seem to be much more Ohio State can do than just get the ball to Liddell and try and make a play.
Branham hasn’t gotten there yet, making only one of his four attempts from the field with three rebounds, three steals and two assists, along with two fouls and three turnovers.
Ohio State really doesn’t have too many other players to trust offensively at this point, something that will continue to hurt it until Justice Sueing finds his way back into the fold or a player like Branham, Ahrens or Johnson find more consistency.
Quick takes
Ohio State center Joey Brunk started his second-straight game, but only played six minutes, putting together a much more efficient four points on 2-2 shooting with two rebounds and a block
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann played 10 players within the first seven minutes against Florida, ending the game with X players recording more than 10 minutes.
What this means
Ohio State is not a lights-out 3-point shooting team every night. And while the Buckeyes can shine defensively and keep Florida at bay, the Buckeyes haven’t really shown its ability to get past an aggressive defense, especially on the perimeter, turning the ball over and giving teams too many second-chance and fast break options.
What’s next
It gets harder for the Buckeyes, hosting No. 5 Duke in the Big Ten/ACC challenge at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night on ESPN.
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