Ohio State outclassed Marquette 74-63 on Tuesday night on the back of a terrific shooting performance. Ohio State opened the night 6-7 from beyond the arc, and never looked back. Marquette's Steve Taylor Jr. poured in 20 points and seven rebounds in an attempt to keep Marquette in the game but at the end of the day it wasn't enough.
The Golden Eagles showed some promising flashes, especially in the first half. They looked great defensively, and it was only because Ohio State shot the ball so well from beyond the arc that they were leading at the half. As a team, the Buckeyes turned the ball over 18 times and they had done so nine times in just the opening 11 minutes of the game.
Early on, it felt as if Ohio State was alternating possessions; one possession they would have an ugly turnover but on the next make a three. Nearly 10 minutes into the game, when State had built up a 22-17 lead they had nine turnovers but were 6-7 from beyond the arc.
These open looks were coming from guard Shannon Scott, who finished with 14 assists and only three turnovers. He dominated the game, and dictated the play throughout. Freshman D'Angelo Russell looked good early on in the game, but spent the majority of the second half on the bench as coach Thad Mata preferred the older head of Scott. Russell showed flashes of fantastic potential but also finished with seven turnovers.
The first half ended with Ohio State on a run, and at the break they led 33-26. By the 16 minute TV timeout, that lead had ballooned to 46-33. Marquette went through long periods where they didn't score, and didn't shoot the ball well at all. As a team, they shot 46% but when Taylor's 9-14 performance is taken out that number plummets to 38%.
Taylor and the perimeter defense were really the two bright spots for the Golden Eagles in this one. Marquette have two things going against them early in the season; Taylor is their tallest player at 6'7" and they only have four players on their bench.
As such, it was not surprising to see them have a hard time defending Amir Williams and Sam Thompson as they dominated down low. However, Taylor did a very good job of holding Williams to just 12 points and four rebounds. Then down at the other end Taylor continued to find the soft spot in Ohio State's zone in spite of playing center at 6'7".
He was Marquette's one consistent offensive weapon, and although Matt Carlino and JaJuan Johnson did not shoot well from three-point range it was because of Taylor that they had looks available. He was a real game-changer in this one, and it is an enticing thought to imagine what he could do when paired alongside Luke Fischer come December 14th.
In addition to the terrific play from Taylor, Marquette were great defending in the first half. It appears that coach Steve Wojciechowski is going to combat their lack of size by not giving any perimeter player an inch of space. Derrick Wilson, Carlino and Johnson all played terrific on-ball defense and were the main reasons for those 18 turnovers. Expect to see a lot more of this in the next few weeks to come, especially as match-ups with Michigan State and Wisconsin approach.
For Ohio State, the performance tonight should be very encouraging. While Russell struggled holding onto the ball, he is undoubtedly a superbly talented young player. He will have to learn what he can and can't do in college ball, but his scoring capabilities look as if they will be important for the Buckeyes in conference play this season. In addition, Kam Williams put in a terrific performance when he replaced Russell. A three-headed monster of Williams, Russell and Scott at the guard positions is a backcourt that could compete with any in the conference, even Wisconsin.
As the game continued to wear on, Ohio State really turned the screw. The lead grew to 20 points before Marquette ended the game on a 12-3 run to make the final score more respectable. However, there are plenty of things for them to fix as they look ahead. They will take on Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday and next week will travel to Orlando for the Orlando Classic. Keep checking with us here at VAVEL USA for the latest Marquette coverage.