West Virginia fell short to Ohio State 78-75 in overtime during their Legends of Basketball Showcase matchup on Saturday in the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Mountaineers played it close but were unable to come out victorious which statistics may explain.
Points in the Paint
WVU scored 36 points in the paint (48% of their total points), including 10 dunks.
The Mountaineers struggled from the arc, but had a 42.6 field goal percentage compared to Ohio State’s 35.6%.
Josh Eilert’s squad converted two-pointers into 48 points (64% of the total), keeping the game close throughout due to their inside scoring and the mid-range game.
Three Point Shooting
West Virginia shot 5-22 (22.7%) from three with RaeQuan battle making three of the five, He shot 3-8.
Ohio State shot 11-34 (32.4%) which totaled 42% of their points.
With a game as close as this one, each shot opportunity makes that much more of a difference. With the Buckeyes having 12 more three-point attempts and six more made, this was the most clear factor leading to WVU’s nonsuccess.
First Half Run
Ohio State was up 24-10 with just under eight minutes left in the first half when the Mountaineers began to close the gap.
West Virginia would score 11 points before the next OSU point making the score 24-21 before Zed Key made two free throws for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State went eight minutes and two seconds without a FG before half.
Roddy Gayle Jr.
Roddy Gayle Jr. the second-year guard from Niagara Falls, New York had a career nights for the Buckeyes.
Gayle had 32 points, shooting 11-21, 3-7 from three with seven rebounds, six assists and a steal.
Without Gayle, OSU would have only shot approximately 28.85% from the field, a number hard to draw a victory from.
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