ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Internal finger pointing is acid on the wound of a struggling team. And make no mistake, the Ohio State men's basketball is struggling, having lost three consecutive games after Monday's 73-65 loss to a Michigan team that was reeling until the Buckeyes came to town.
But so far, at least the way sophomore point guard Bruce Thornton sees it, this 2023-24 version of OSU hoops bears little resemblance to last season's crew that during one horrendous stretch lost 14 of 15 games on the way to missing the NCAA Tournament.
"It's a whole new team, a whole new feeling," Thornton said, the din of Crisler Arena's anti-Ohio State cheers undoubtedly still ringing in his ears. (No surprise, but Michigan fans want the Buckeyes to go NC-17 themselves).
Thornton put the kibosh on any notion OSU could spiral into a bad mental place reminiscent of last year's mind melt, where players stop trusting teammates and coaches. He even has the blueprint for how not to let that happen.
"Going against each other. Not being on the same page. Trying to point the finger," he said, listing three no-nos. "We're a team. We've got to figure it out."
That's the internal view. The external view? Lots of finger pointing, especially at coach Chris Holtmann, which happens when your team has lost 12 consecutive road games, all in the Big Ten, and your offense too often resembles TreVeyon Henderson trying to run up the middle. Nothing there.
Michigan felt like a must-win game for the Buckeyes, not because a loss would ruin their season, but because it was a chance for Holtmann and his team to prove they are better than a UM team that had lost five in a row. That they could take care of business when the business is outplaying the Big Ten's last-place team.
Instead, the Buckeyes proved they aren't better, and, to be perfectly blunt, it's hard to see how things improve enough to change the minds of a growing percentage of the fan base that is tired of the same old, same old.
The same old spiel about a young team needing time to learn how to keep leads and close games out. The same old story about "If only we had made more shots." And the same old line about the defense just needing to pay attention to the details.
Enough already. In a results business, Buckeye Nation is right to want to see results. We're not even talking about winning the Big Ten or advancing to the Sweet 16. At this point, simply making the NCAA Tournament would be a step in the right direction. For that to happen, the Buckeyes likely need to win 20 games minimum, which means finishing the regular season 8-6. Or advancing deep into the Big Ten tournament, which at the moment seems unlikely, though not impossible (Recall that OSU reached the conference tournament semifinals last season even after its disastrous 13-18 regular season; how's that for being positive?).
Rosters change yearly. Coaches do not. Holtmann's detractors know that all too well. Something must change at some point, they insist, and that point feels like a dark cloud on the horizon moving this way.
Don't think the players are unaware of the frustration festering outside the walls of the program.
"They were saying, 'Fire Holtmann' before I ever got there," Thornton said. "So we don't look at it at all, to be honest, because they're not in the locker room. They're not running with us. They're not going to meetings and going over film. They're not lifting with us. It's bad energy, and it's not good for the soul. So we need to stay close during these times, because we're all we got."
What do they have? In a word: issues. Thornton is a tough competitor who is reliable with the ball, but not when the ball is in the air. The point guard was 2 of 7 from 3-point range against Michigan, which was an improvement on what he's been shooting from long range. He's not alone in struggling to make shots. Roddy Gayle was 0 for 3 on 3s, making him 10 of 52 (.192) over his past six games.
It's easy to conclude things will improve when the shots begin to fall. Of course they will, but it's not as easy to conclude the shots will begin to fall, not in an offense that too often looks stuck in neutral, with lack of movement resulting in players not getting clean looks at the basket.
But poor shooting is not the only trouble spot. I love Thornton's energy and ball skills, but he tends to put his head down and drive to the hoop come hell or high tops, sometimes scoring but just as often passing late in the shot clock.
Why pick on Thornton when he's the best thing OSU has going? Because if the best player has hiccups, what does it say for his teammates? Of course, that raises the question of whether it's the players or coaching staff who are the bigger problem?
I know this much: Michigan honored the Fab Five during the game, and despite those "champions" never having won a Big Ten or national title – you'd never know it from UM's history of hyping the quintet – the Buckeyes would love to have even a Fab Three. I look at this roster and don't see it.
Does that mean the season is lost? Not at all. Holtmann remains positive despite the criticism caving in around him. He said he knows what is real and what is unhelpful noise.
"When you're in it you just focus on improving," he said. "People who are in it know how hard it is, who have been through it. And your focus is just on improvement."
Fair enough, but improvement also is the fans' focus. And they're not seeing it.
"I've got a lot of faith in this group … and their ability to grow and get better," Holtmann said.
Faith is defined biblically as belief in things unseen. In that way, Ohio State fans are showing the faith of Job. But still they wonder, do the Buckeyes and their coach have a prayer of turning this thing around?
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State men's basketball loses must-win game at Michigan
