February is prime time for flu season in Columbus. Ohio State head coach Thad Matta is worried that's extended to his basketball team.
But not in terms of the nasty sickness that keeps many bedridden for days. Matta is referring to the Buckeyes' performance at the free-throw line of late.
"I’ve always said shooting can be contagious and unfortunately we’ve got the flu right now,” he said Monday on the Big Ten coaches weekly teleconference.
He's not far off, either.
Something has happened to Ohio State at the charity stripe since league play began. In their non-conference games, the Buckeyes shot 71.9 percent as a team from the free-throw line. In Big Ten play, however, Ohio State is converting on just 62.7 percent of its attempts at the stripe.
The Buckeyes rank 13th in free-throw percentage in Big Ten play and their 67.5 percent on the season is just 11th.
Ohio State has just three players — Kam Williams, Marc Loving and D'Angelo Russell — who shoot better than 70 percent from the free-throw line. Four of its starters — Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson, Jae'Sean Tate and Anthony Lee — shoot below 65 percent from the stripe.
| PLAYER | FTM | FTA | FT PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kam Williams | 15 | 17 | .882 |
| Marc Loving | 51 | 64 | .797 |
| D'Angelo Russell | 82 | 106 | .774 |
| Keita Bates-Diop | 19 | 28 | .679 |
| Shannon Scott | 21 | 33 | .636 |
| Sam Thompson | 42 | 67 | .627 |
| Amir Williams | 40 | 65 | .615 |
| Trey McDonald | 13 | 22 | .591 |
| Jae'Sean Tate | 37 | 68 | .544 |
| Anthony Lee | 10 | 19 | .526 |
| TEAM | 330 | 489 | .675 |
"We’ve got to find a way to shoot a better free-throw percentage," Matta said. "Earlier in the year we were shooting a very high percentage and I’m not exactly sure what’s happened.”
The poor performance at the free-throw line has proved costly for Ohio State in some of its recent games.
At Indiana on Jan. 10 — in a 69-66 loss — the Buckeyes shot just 17 for 27 from the stripe (63 percent). In its 60-58 loss at Purdue on Feb. 4, Ohio State was just 6 for 9 (66.7 percent) from the stripe. And most recently, in Saturday's 59-56 loss to Michigan State in East Lansing, the Buckeyes were a dismal 5 for 13 (38.5 percent) at the line.
Three losses, all by one possession and all with poor performances on the free-throw line. It's hard not to look there first as a reason why the Buckeyes came up short in those closely-contested games.
“I think that definitely plays a part in it, without a doubt," Matta said. "I know the other day we were 5 for 13 and it’s hard to win on the road like that."
Ohio State's struggles certainly haven't come from lack of effort. Matta said recently his team is shooting more free throws in practice than it usually does because of the sudden wall it has hit from the line in Big Ten play.
So, what gives?
“I think it's probably more on the mental side," Matta said, "but I really don't know what happened."
Whatever it is — a mental problem, a fundamental issue or just a sheer inability to knock down free throws — the Buckeyes need to figure it out before it bites them again.
