After Thad Matta made the decision to remove freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle from the starting lineup prior to Ohio State’s game against Penn State on Jan. 25, the Buckeyes’ head coach admitted he was curious to see how Lyle would handle the situation both mentally and from an on-court perspective.
Lyle scored six points that night against the Nittany Lions, then scored two points the following game at Illinois and had just one point three days later in a loss to Maryland. He took just nine shots over that three-game stretch and made only two. Lyle’s response, on the floor, wasn’t exactly ideal.