Bob Hunter: Young Bucks misse the mark

It would be a mistake to say that Ohio State shot itself in the foot against Kansas on Saturday, because it obviously would have missed.

The Buckeyes lost 74-66 because they put on an impressive display of poor shooting in the second half, missing open shot after open shot after open shot, much as they did in the only other high-profile game of the nonconference season, a 73-68 loss at Duke.

At one point in the second half, OSU was 2 of 17 from the floor and hadn’t scored a field goal in more than 10 minutes. It went from 2 of 18 from 3-point range after halftime, an indelible reminder that whatever offensive success this team achieves down the road likely will come from transition baskets created by good defense and not from its pure shooting skills.

Is this an overreaction? Maybe. This is what happens when the schedule has more clunkers than a junkyard. The Buckeyes have shot the basketball well at times, but you draw conclusions from good shooting displays against Albany, Savannah State or UNC Asheville at your own risk.

It explains why coach Thad Matta was asked whether this team would have to find other ways to win during the Big Ten season, and why he first cracked a joke in response.

“I asked Santa for Christmas to improve our jump shooting,” he said. “So we’ll find out.”

He flashed an awkward smile, as if he knew that the joke might ultimately be on him. Did he make that request after the game?

“Yeah,” he said, sheepishly. “I changed my list.”

This is an interesting Ohio State team, a talented one that also remains very much a work in progress. When most of his teammates are missing shot after shot — Lenzelle Smith Jr. was 3 of 13, Aaron Craft 2 of 9, Sam Thompson 3 of 10, LaQuinton Ross 1 of 5 — scoring machine Deshaun Thomas finds life increasingly crowded. Saturday, he went more than 10 minutes at one point without taking a shot — he finished 4 of 11 from the floor and scored 16 points, four below his average — which he explained as “trusting” his teammates to make their open looks.

Sophomore guard Shannon Scott took OSU from seven down to eight up in a 5-minute period in the first half when he rebounded, scored and added assists in an inspired effort. He ended the day with 5-of-12 shooting, 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore center Amir Williams also had one of his best games, getting eight rebounds, six points and two blocks in 20 minutes off the bench.

That would lead you to conclude that the two sophomores are going to see increased playing time once Big Ten play begins, which would seem to say that this team is less settled at this stage than those in Ohio State’s recent past.

Remember that earlier assertion: This is an interesting Ohio State team.

And then again, maybe this was just one of those games and Craft is just in one of those slumps, and this will all seem like an aberration later.

“If you told me they were going to shoot 51 and we would shoot 31 (percent), I thought it would be like (Kansas’) their last three games (36-, 29- and 28-point blowouts),” Matta said. “That gives me hope. Maybe this isn’t as bad as I think it is right now.”

Maybe. Or maybe not.

Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Columbus Dispatch. Write him at bhunter@dispatch.com.