Duke a test of defensive rebounding, hostile environment for Buckeyes
COLUMBUS — Ohio State is 12th nationally in rebounding margin (+11) through six games this season. That alone is impressive given the No. 25 Buckeyes have a starting five man in Zed Key who is 6-foot-8.
But head coach Chris Holtmann will be the first to admit that his team has to be better on the defensive glass. The Buckeyes’ defensive rebounding percentage dipped below 70% in their final two games of the Maui Invitational, according to Sports Reference, and now they’re about to face a No. 17 Duke squad during Wednesday night’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge that is first in the country in offensive rebounding percentage (42.3%), per KenPom.
“They do have great length,” Holtmann said of the Blue Devils Tuesday. “We’re gonna have to stay out of too much rotation because that’s where you get in trouble on the glass. They do a great job pursuing the ball. And, obviously, they have good size.”
Duke is sixth in the country in average height, according to KenPom. The Blue Devils have four players who stand 7 feet or taller, namely center Kyle Filipowski who leads the team with 15.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and has a bevy of guard skills in a big’s body.
The Blue Devils have registered double-digit offensive rebounds in all but one of their eight games this season. They’ve grabbed 15 or more boards on the offensive glass four times. Only Alabama (17.00) and UT Arlington (15.88) are averaging more offensive rebounds than Duke (15.75).
It’s not a coincidence first-year head coach Jon Scheyer’s team has averaged 16.3 second-chance points per game this fall.
“That’s the main thing,” Ohio State freshman point guard Bruce Thornton said. “Getting multiple offensive rebounds, like 15 and plus is very dangerous — there’s just more opportunities. A lot of second chance, wide-open threes.
“So it can be very detrimental to our team if we don’t box out and let them get multiple offensive rebounds.”
Unfortunately for Duke, it’s struggled to make opponents pay from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils’ 3-point field goal clip of 29.1% is 303rd nationally. If it were to stay that way, it would be Duke’s lowest season 3-point percentage since Sports Reference started tracking 3-point data in 1986-87.
The Blue Devils don’t need too much outside shooting, though. They make up for what they lack in long-range marksmanship with their size. In addition to Filipowski, Northwestern graduate transfer Ryan Young — a 6-foot-10, 235-pound center — is a double-double threat. He’s second on the team with seven rebounds per game and has scored in double figures three times this season.
Holtmann noted Tuesday that Young “has really stabilized” Duke. He adds some know-how to a Blue Devils group that’s 269th nationally in D-1 experience, per KenPom.
“Obviously, they have some really talented young guys but just having a player of his caliber has helped them on the interior as well,” Holtmann said.
Duke came into the season with the top-rated 2022 recruiting class, according to On3. The Blue Devils brought in seven freshmen and three transfers, including Young. That collection boasted a trio of five stars: Filipowski, fellow big man Dereck Lively II and forward Dariq Whitehead.
Both Lively and Whitehead are averaging under 18 minutes per game right now, and Lively — the No. 8-rated player in the 2022 class, according to On3 — has scored a combined 19 points through eight games. That said, Lively has 10 blocks already. And Whitehead has been taking 6.8 shots per game, so it’s likely a matter of time before his looks start to fall.
Four star Mark Mitchell has actually given Duke a bigger lift. He’s scored 12-plus points four times this season and is shooting 46.9% from the floor. A name that’s more familiar to the average college basketball fan is Jeremy Roach, who is the Blue Devils’ top guard after blossoming in last year’s postseason.
Holtmann expects to get Duke’s best, particularly because the Blue Devils are coming off a loss to Purdue. Plus, they’re playing at home in Cameron Indoor. Holtmann has coached in hostile environments but never in Cameron Indoor.
“My wife told me last night, it’s going to be a ‘white out’ for the first time in years, which was nice of her to tell me — right before I went to bed,” Holtmann said Tuesday, jokingly.
He added: “We’re looking to see how they respond to this environment. And I think it’s going to require great poise. I don’t think we’ll be perfect in our first go-around playing in an environment like this. I just don’t think we will. I think this will be good learning for us as we move forward.”
Holtmann explained that Ohio State will be relying on more visual signaling than verbal communication at Cameron Indoor, which packs in a capacity of 9,314 fans and features the “Cameron Crazies,” Duke’s famous student section that’s strikingly close to the court.
“Being an experienced guy, I kind of know what these games are like,” West Virginia transfer Sean McNeil said. “Just trying to tell the younger guys what it will be like or at least to some degree. Just play within themselves and not getting too rattled by the atmosphere and the environment.
“I mean, it’ll be loud, and there will be a lot of people in there. It’s a small arena or smaller place to play, but it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Ohio State got the better of then-No. 1 Duke exactly a year to the day in Columbus.
Those were two completely different teams, though. Holtmann said he’s taking nothing from that game, aside from some good memories, into Wednesday night’s bout in Durham, North Carolina.
He’s more focused on the defensive glass.
