Boilermakers Tower Over Buckeyes in Big Ten-Opening Loss
Ohio State knew going into its game with Purdue with a tall task - literally and figuratively.
The Boilermakers lost a couple of non-conference games that perhaps led some to believe they haven't been very good yet this year. But their massive post presence between 7-foot-4 Zach Edey and 6-10 Trevion Williams was too much for Ohio State in the Big Ten opener and the Buckeyes lost their first game of the season, 67-60.
Williams 16 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight assists. Edey only hit one foul shot, but he was a force defensively all night in his 12 minutes on the floor.
Purdue's length really bothered the Buckeyes, especially in the second half, both around the rim and on the perimeter. Duane Washington had a clean look at a layup and Justice Sueing knocked down an open 3-pointer to snap a nearly 6-minute scoring drought from the floor in the beginning of the second half.
Because of the looks Williams in particular was getting in the second half, Ohio State's double teams and over-active defense bit on some pass-fakes and shot-fakes, giving the Boilermakers lots of really solid open looks. The Boilermakers offense really settled into a good rhythm after the break. They hit 10 of their first 16 shots and Ohio State really had a rough time trying to guard Williams and Edey. Zed Key did an admirable job, but Williams had an extremely productive night.
C.J. Walker played quite well for the Buckeyes, no matter what the box score shows. He only had six points, but he finished with seven assists and played his heart out on the defensive end of the floor (especially when he was overmatched by a bigger player). But he picked up two fouls by the midway point in the second half, giving him four for the game.
It was another inconsistent shooting night from behind the 3-point line for the Buckeyes, who have been plagued by that bug several times early in the season. OSU connected on just 6-of-24 from long range.
The Buckeyes had a couple of really bad shooting spells in the second half. Early on they had the aforementioned 1-for-9 stretch that lasted for six minutes and they closed the game hitting only 1-of 10.
Ohio State stayed within striking distance late in the game, but a few missed free throws and some uncharacteristically sloppy turnovers sealed their fate.
Justice Sueing paced the Buckeyes with 14 points. Washington had 13 on 4-of-14 from the floor.
“I thought collectively we did some good things,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said on the Ohio State Sports Radio Network following the game. “We’ve got to get better in some areas, though. I didn’t think we played with enough poise late, really offensively, primarily. I thought we did some good things, though, and we just have to take this and grow from it.”
More to come from West Lafayette after Chris Holtmann wraps up his post-game press conference.
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