You’re Nuts: Has John Mobley’s dominance left Bruce Thornton in an odd spot?

Happy Friday once again, and happy Wisconsin eve!

Ohio State (14-6, 6-4) heads to The Badger State tomorrow to take on Wisconsin (15-6, 7-3) in a nationally televised showdown on FOX. Like Ohio State, Wisconsin only has one Quad-1 win on their resume – a road win over Michigan on Jan. 10.

Ohio State’s Quad-1 win isn’t as impressive, as it’s a road win at Northwestern in December. Regardless, both teams are looking to add another quality win to the resume tomorrow afternoon.

Last week, Connor and Justin debated what Ohio State absolutely needed to do, no if’s, and’s, or but’s, if they wanted a chance to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Connor said Christoph Tilly needs to re-learn how to shoot three-pointers, because he would get open looks against the Wolverines. Justin said Ohio State in general needed to “shoot the lights out” because in their only loss of the season, Michigan gave up 15 three-pointers.

In a way, both guys were right. Tilly hit multiple three-pointers for the first time all season, and Ohio State was competitive in this game until the final six or seven minutes. But as a team, Ohio State was 8-for-27 from beyond the arc, which was only 30%.

They didn’t shoot the lights out, and they did not win the game.

The biggest thing fans are talking about right now is the recent hot stretch from sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. Over Ohio State’s last four games, the Buckeyes are 3-1 and Mobley is averaging 25.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, while playing 38.5 minutes per game.

Mobley is shooting 46.5% from three, and has hit at least four three-pointers in each of Ohio State’s last four games. If he does it against Wisconsin, it will tie Jamison Battle’s 2024 record of five consecutive games.

At the same time, Bruce Thornton has taken somewhat of a Robin role to Mobley’s Batman over the last two weeks. Four games is a small sample of a much longer season, but Thornton has been less productive and less efficient than Mobley over the past few weeks.

Thornton only took six shots against Penn State to Mobley’s 14. Has Mobley becoming the hot hand suddenly put Thornton in a weird spot?

This week’s question: Has John Mobley’s dominance put Bruce Thornton in an odd spot?

Connor: No – Thornton is part of the reason Mobley has been so productive

Both Thornton and Mobley have both become the type of player that opposing teams need to send multiple defenders to at times, because they’re just too skilled offensively to be stopped by one player.

At 215 pounds, Thornton has a low center of gravity but is strong and stocky, making it tough for opposing guards to stop him from getting to his spots on the floor to hunt the shots he wants. At the same time, he’s selective with how and when he utilizes shot fakes and jab steps to create space for himself on the perimeter.

It’s tougher for a guy whose best attribute is three-point shooting to be so good that he demands attention from multiple defenders, but halfway through his senior season Mobley has gotten there. He’s shooting nearly 46% from three in the month of January, so teams are beginning to swarm him a bit more when the ball is in his hands.

Part of the reason Mobley has gotten as many good looks as he has lately is because Thornton exists on the floor at the same time as him. Even if he’s not taking shots, teams don’t want to leave Thornton alone, and they certainly don’t want the ball in his hands. That pulls a defender away and creates more 1-on-1 opportunities for Mobley, who only needs one quick screen at that point to create enough space to let it rip.

Mobley has taken 64 shots over the past four games, 20 more than Thornton, who has taken 44. Thornton only took six shots against Penn State to Mobley’s 14, and scored a season-low nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.

I think at times Thornton has been deferring to the hot hand, and if Mobley continues to hit shots, you can’t criticize anyone for passing the ball to the guy who can’t miss. But eventually Mobley is going to come back down to earth a little bit, because defenses will shift around their priorities. At that point, Thornton will have more avenues to score.

Additionally, Thornton has skills that Mobley just doesn’t have. Bruce is one of the best guards in the country finishing within six feet of the basket and is a maestro in the mid-range. He also gets to the free throw line roughly 24% more than Mobley.

As long as Ohio State keeps winning, I don’t think it really matters who is scoring the most or the second-most. But generally speaking, the basketball season is long, and Thornton is going to return to his more standard performances soon.

Justin – Yes, who is the guy right now?

To be clear about this point, this is a good problem to have. Mobley has been so good in January that it has taken some of the scoring pressure off of Thornton, and has allowed him to take some plays off.

Earlier in the season, it felt like if Thornton did not score 25 points, the Buckeyes would lose. As long as Mobley is playing at this level, those days are gone.

However, it does make for an interesting arrangement on the court, and it showed up during the Michigan game. Against Michigan, Mobley was playing very well and Thornton was struggling a little, at least by his standard. In spite of this and Mobley having the hot hand, the Buckeyes still ran the offense through Thornton at the end of the game.

I don’t even disagree with this. He is the guy for Ohio State and the best player overall, so in close games late in the game the ball should be in his hand. There is an argument, though, that some were making that Mobley should have had the ball in his hands late in that game more.

For the first time this season, it was a question of who should be the primary ball handler down the stretch.

It is not an issue as long as they can answer that question. If they can’t, it is an interesting thing to watch as the season progresses.