Why there’s such a vast difference in Ohio State basketball shooting efficiency in home and away games

OSU

Ohio State's Duane Washington, left, tries to shoot over Rutgers' Paul Mulcahy during the first half of Wednesday's 72-66 victory by the Buckeyes in Columbus. AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State basketball won another home game on Wednesday night with a 72-66 win over Rutgers.

That’s the 12th time the Buckeyes have left the Schottenstein Center with a positive outcome with its two losses being by a combined nine points. Finding success in Columbus hasn’t been their problem this season. Like most of the Big Ten, OSU’s issues reveal themselves on the road.

The Buckeyes become a different team away from its backyard. In six Big Ten home games, it’s shooting 47.9 percent from the field. Until Wednesday night, no opponent had shot better than 45.2 percent in the Schottenstein Center. The Scarlet Knights accomplished that with a 31-16 run in the second half which trimmed the Buckeyes’ 20-point lead to three with 27 seconds left to play.

“A win is a win in the (Big) Ten,” Kaleb Wesson, who finished with a team-high 16 points, said. “They’re not going to look pretty in the (Big) Ten. You saw it (Tuesday) with Illinois and Michigan State.”

Wesson may be right. In the Big Ten, where 12 of the 14 teams are essentially a three-game winning streak from first place and a three-game losing streak from 12th, a win is a win. The Buckeyes welcome Purdue on Saturday with the opportunity to get their conference record to .500. Their offensive success at home may be the deciding factor.

“We have the luxury of being able to practice on our main floor for two days in a row before games,” Wesson said. “That really helps. Our coaches preach getting shots after practice when you’re staying in your home gym. You see the rims, the background is different away, and at home, you get to practice that shot a lot with that same background in a shooter’s gym.”

When they play at home, the Buckeyes are a tournament team.

But then there’s that team that plays on the road. Those Buckeyes are shooting a lowly 39.1 percent from the field through seven conference games. It’s best shooting night came in a 71-59 win over Northwestern, at 44.1 percent. Its worst was 31.3 percent in a loss to Maryland, which has hovered around the top 10 for most of the season. That was one of four times that the Buckeyes have failed to shoot at least 40 percent in a game, each time leading to a double-digit loss.

“Teams play harder defensively typically at home, although we had too many lapses today,” head coach Chris Holtmann said Wednesday night. “Generally, if you look at it, teams are more comfortable at home. The environment’s different, and they typically defend better at home on their own floor.”

Being more comfortable in your surroundings is an understandable excuse. But to have an almost 10-percent difference in shooting seems extreme. It’s why the Buckeyes are in the bottom half of the conference in overall shooting percentage at 42.9 percent.

The good thing is that Ohio State has more home games than road games left on its schedule. A trip to Nebraska on Feb. 27 should be a sure win. But Ohio State’s recent history suggests it would be wise to mark down that win with a pencil that easily erasable. Then there are games against Iowa and Michigan State that could end up having a similar result to trips to Maryland, Minnesota and Wisconsin early this season.

If Ohio State can’t find a way to resolve that problem, then it must take advantage of the games in its building. Holtmann and his players cite a comfort level at home. If that’s the case, don’t waste those opportunities to get much-needed wins for a team still trying to solidify its tournament spot. Even if the win is as ugly as the end of a home game against Rutgers.

“We have to continue work on our execution in what we’re doing,” Holtmann said. “I’m sure those numbers are consistent everywhere. We just have to keep working on it.”


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