Although Ohio University was established 66 years before its in-state counterpart Ohio State University, the Buckeyes are viewed as the state’s big-brother school, especially because of their athletic dominance.
Ohio State’s roster is peppered with players who are more prominent—in stature and skill—than Ohio’s, and sometimes the only way to stop someone bigger is to foul them. That was the case for the Bobcats during the schools’ first meeting in 19 years on Tuesday.
Ohio (1-1) committed 34 fouls in the contest, which is the most a Bobcats team has committed since fouling 35 times during a four-overtime contest against St. Bonaventure in December 2010.
Though many factors led to the influx of whistles, the NCAA’s new hand-checking emphasis has been a concern throughout college basketball this season. Players are unable to keep a hand or forearm on an opposing ball handler—a new rule that was put into effect to increase scoring.
But No. 10 Ohio State’s 79-69 victory was slow-paced because of the teams’ 55 combined fouls, which resulted in five Bobcats fouling out before the end of regulation.
Just 17 seconds into the contest, Ohio’s Jon Smith, a redshirt senior forward, committed the Bobcats’ first foul. It didn’t take long for the Buckeyes to get in the bonus, being that the Bobcats committed six fouls in fewer than five minutes of play.
“I think we were tentative in the first six or seven minutes of the game,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “We were so worried about getting back on defense that we weren’t going hard to the boards on offense.”
Ohio State attempted more free throws (51) than shots from the field (44) but converted less than 75 percent from the charity stripe and finished with a worse shooting percentage than Ohio did.
“The way (the referees) were calling (the game), we were in the bonus pretty early in the half, and we just wanted to be as aggressive as possible,” Ohio State senior guard Aaron Craft said. “We tried to pass the ball around and get to the lane to see what could happen.”
Nick Kellogg, an Ohio senior guard, said many of Ohio’s fouls were a result of breakdowns by the Bobcats’ guards around the perimeter, which led to fouls when the Buckeyes entered the paint.
“You have to adjust,” Christian said. “(Fouls) obviously give the offense a lot of advantages, especially for teams like Ohio State, who have four guys on the perimeter constantly coming at you.”
Despite Ohio’s foul trouble, its in-state opponent was unable to pull away because of poor second-half shooting.
Ohio began a 13-4 run with 7:33 remaining in regulation to cut Ohio State’s lead to just five points at the four-minute mark. Ohio junior guard Stevie Taylor scored six of his game-high 21 points to keep his team within reach of an upset victory.
“(Ohio) had momentum, they had courage, they thought they were going to win the game,” Ohio State junior forward Lenzelle Smith Jr. said. “You celebrate when you make shots, especially when you’re playing a team like Ohio State.”
Craft led Ohio State with a game-high 14 points from the charity stripe, including seven during the final four minutes to clinch an Ohio State victory.
“That’s what we kind of came into this year, having the understanding that’s how games are going to be called, definitely early (in the season,)” Craft said. “A lot of fouls, a lot of stoppage in play.”
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@ChadLindskog
