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New Year’s Resolutions: Ohio State Buckeyes

Aaron Craft, Todd Mayo

Ohio State’s’ Aaron Craft (4) drives to the basket past Marquette’s ‘s Todd Mayo (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, in Milwaukee. Ohio State defeated Marquette 52-35. (AP Photo/Jim Prisching)

AP

Over the course of the holiday week, we at College Basketball Talk will be detailing what we believe will be the New Year’s Resolutions of some of the nation’s most talented, most disappointing, and thoroughly enigmatic teams. What can we say, we’re in a giving mood.

Who else made Resolutions? Click here to find out.

WHAT DOES OHIO STATE PROMISE TO DO MORE OF?: Better three-point shooting from Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott


  • Why it will happen: One of the biggest reasons that Ohio State’s offense gets bogged down is that the Buckeyes’ starting back court has been awful from beyond the arc this season. Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott are hitting 27.8% and 29.7% from three, respectively. But Craft has never shot this poorly in his collegiate career, and while Scott has never been a great shooter, he’s not a guy with poor form. He should be better than he is. More importantly, they are going to get some open looks as defenses slough off of them.
  • Why it won’t happen: Craft has consistently gotten worse every year in college. He shot 37.7% from three as a freshman, numbers that dipped to 36.9% as a sophomore and 30.0% as a junior. Entering the season, Scott was 12-for-51 from three on his career. Take away the 4-for-7 that Scott shot in the season-opener against Morgan State, he’s 23.3% from three. Those two should be better than they are, but there’s not a lot of reason to be optimistic.

WHAT DOES OHIO STATE SWEAR THEY WILL DO LESS OF?: Inconsistency from LaQuinton Ross


  • Why it will happen: The Buckeyes are really good defensively. How good? They are No. 1 in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings and they have one of the best defensive back courts in recent memory in Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott. Where they struggle is scoring the ball. The Buckeyes jut don’t have a ton of offensive weapons. Ross is the best, but he can be inconsistent. Through the first five games of the season, Ross averaged 6.2 points and shot 22.7% from the floor. That included a three game stretch where he scored seven points and shot 2-for-20. The last eight games, Ross is averaging 17.1 points and shooting 53.1% from floor and 48.5% from three.
  • Why it won’t happen: Ross is quite talented, but he’s never been a modicum of consistency. In fact, I don’t think that it’s crazy to say that the last eight games has been the longest stretch of consistently high-level basketball that Ross has ever played.