“Big Ten Apologizes to Chris Holtman for Unjustified Second Technical Against Wisconsin”
Less than 24 hours after a 77-69 loss in Michigan, Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtman held his weekly radio show Monday.
It’s been a rough month for the Buckeyes, who defeated Northwestern on New Year’s Day to advance to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play but have won just once since. Beginning with a Jan. 5 home loss to No. 1 Purdue, Ohio State lost five straight games in single digits, beating Iowa by 16 points on Jan. 21 and now has four more straight losses brought by the loss to the Wolverines were capped.
Ohio State will host Northwestern on Thursday to begin a series of home games. The Buckeyes play five of their next seven at Value City Arena and will follow the game against the Wildcats with a Sunday tap against Michigan State.
In case you didn’t get to hear the show, here are the highlights.
Ohio State Horse Chestnuts: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider Text Group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy
Ohio State’s injury report remains low
Zed Key continues to wear a left shoulder brace and Felix Okpara walked into the Crisler Center with a hiking boot on his right foot, but Holtmann said the team mostly struggles with regular bumps and bruises, which are common for this time of year.
“I would guess if you asked Zed he would say he doesn’t feel 100% about his shoulder,” Holtmann said. “Felix’s foot bothers him a bit. Roddy (Gayle) had an ankle injury last week. Overall, our health is fine at the moment.”
Holtmann said Key is still working on his conditioning and adjusting to a more important role in his third season.
“He’s had some very good starts and mid-seasons,” said Holtmann. “Possibly it might be physically demanding. He really needs to focus on ending this season well and on a high level. I think his condition can improve. It’s better than ever. He competes against big bodies and gets frustrated with himself when he misses a few around the basket, but there are so many ways he can influence a game.”
Horse chestnuts rarely begin to be at home
For the first time since hosting non-conference games in late December, Ohio State will play back-to-back games at Value City Arena this week. It’s a factor that Holtmann said he wasn’t particularly happy with in terms of the schedule this season.
Putting only Michigan and Indiana on the road and only having a few weekend home games are also on the list.
“I have some thoughts about the schedule,” said Holtmann. “I keep some of it to myself because I want to be careful what I say. I think there are a couple of things about this year’s schedule that we’ve voiced. Some of the teams we only play once and play on the go are games that were usually valuable and important games for us.
“Besides the fact that these are the fewest home games at the weekend since we’ve been here. Home games at the weekend are different. We’re not saying that’s why we had the moments we had. It was frustrating early on. Being backed by home games, we’ve had that before. This can be a bit frustrating. I agree with that in a way, because sometimes we managed well. Some of the games you would like to play at home and the weekend home games were frustrating.”
Big Ten called, apologizing for the second technical foul on Wisconsin
Holtmann was responding to a submitted question about the two technical fouls he suffered in quick succession in the final minute of the first half in last Thursday’s loss to Wisconsin.
“I received two calls from the Big Ten bureau basically apologizing for the second technical apology,” he said. “They felt it was unjustified and way too fast and just felt it was an error of judgment and made that known. I really appreciated those two calls.”
After the game, Holtmann said he wasn’t allowed to speak to officials during the game and said he clearly deserved the first technique. It was the second he had a problem with, especially after the block/charge call that went against the Buckeyes at that moment.
“I felt like the second one was just personal in a way,” he said. “It felt like it, and I didn’t understand why. I really appreciated that the Big Ten came forward and said that. It still cost us four points. I have to find a way to get better at that moment because those were four critical points in that game. There was really no explanation because I couldn’t speak to the officer in question.
“No problem with that (first ones), but it was good to hear from the Big Ten that what I felt at the time was validated.”
Without Holtmann, associate head coach Jake Diebler assumed leadership responsibilities.
“Jake did a great job guiding her,” he said.
Ohio State is considering changing the way it trains the flop
That year, college players were given technical fouls for flopping while embellishing contact on an attack. During the year, Holtmann said it was managed differently.
“Maybe the mistake was adding technique,” he said. “Maybe you issue one warning and the second is a technical one, or maybe just don’t call it.”
The state of Ohio is considering teaching the situation differently.
“One almost wonders whether we don’t need to teach the technology better,” said Holtmann. “The idea of taking the second hit and falling. I’m not sure if maybe we taught that well enough because they talked about it so much in the off-season that it wasn’t rewarded and at the start of the season it wasn’t. Now it’s gotten to the point where I had problems even in yesterday’s game with a similar call to a back-down where an offensive foul was called.
“Do we have to say we need to take more punches and falls and work on that technique? I’ve never actually done it, but maybe we need to do it. The guys who do it well can make it seem like you really took a hit. That’s why they introduced the rule.”
Ohio State is solidifying its rotation
A few players have moved in and out of the starting lineup, but Ohio State has settled on a rotation that includes Gene Brown III but doesn’t appear to include Tanner Holden.
“We feel like Gene can help us bounce the ball better,” said Holtmann. “He gives us length defensively. He usually plays pretty hard. We need that now. He switched to rotation. That will eventually undress someone. That’s what we decided as coaches.
“We’re now determining what our eight or nine man rotation is going to be and for the most part in this final phase we’re looking at that further and seeing what that looks like. They want everyone to be able to play.”
The decision to bring Brice Sensabaugh off the bench in Michigan was more about making sure he was available on the track after fouling Wisconsin.
“The main thing was the foul trouble he got into in the previous game and he was trying to steal a few minutes,” he said. “It will be beginner-like minutes. The reality is that it’s really about who finishes the game in the last 5-6 minutes and who starts.”
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This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Chris Holtmann Says Big Ten Apologized for Second Technical Foul
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