3 things we learned from Ohio State basketball vs. Western Michigan

That was more like it for the Ohio State basketball team.

After looking a little clunky through the first two or three games and the first half against Notre Dame, the Buckeyes seem to be rounding into form, and that took another step on Thursday night in a 91-58 victory over Western Michigan.

The tentativeness on the offensive end we saw at times against Notre Dame and Purdue Fort Wayne changed dramatically inside Value City Arena against the Broncos. And while some of it can be a product of the competition, you can see this team making progress.

We like to look back on each OSU basketball game and try to pull out some things we observed as takeaways, and there were plenty of positives in what was an easy and productive win.

Here are three things we learned from Ohio State basketball's win over the Western Michigan Broncos on Thursday night.

Ohio State players are getting more comfortable with each other

Sharing is caring -- or at least that's what I was brought up with as a life lesson. It can pertain to team sports as well, but sometimes being uncomfortable can take away from reacting and playing together. The Buckeyes moved the ball around a lot more tonight, and that's because they are getting more comfortable with personnel groupings and playing together in a real, live game environment.

You can also look at the energy level ramping up when players stop thinking and react in a team setting to what others are doing in the flow of the game, and you can often point to hustle stats as proof. The Buckeyes had 40 rebounds -- 17 of them on the offensive end, went to the free throw line 23 times, and forced six steals. Those are all good stats and show that this team is slowly beginning to come together.

Balanced scoring continues for Ohio State

We saw guard Bruce Thornton kind of take the game over against Notre Dame last weekend. This team will need that at times, and that game definitely called for it, but outside of that, Ohio State has shown that it has multiple players who can score in many different ways and from many different spots on the floor.

Whether it be Thornton getting into the lane for a quality shot, John Mobley Jr. hitting a deep three, or Christoph Tilly doing some of his best work in the paint, there are more than two or three players that can contribute in the scorebook on any given night. Brandon Noel, Devin Royal, and Amare Bynum can also fill it up at times when needed, and that's all good for being kind of recession-proof on the offensive end.

Now, we'll see if that continues against the better competition, but so far, so good on that front.

The Ohio State defense is coming along

At least in this one, the defensive effort was much, much better. Ohio State scored 118 points in its season opener, but it also gave up 102. Against Notre Dame, defensive players were often trailing dribble penetration into the lane without much help, allowing easy opportunities.

That began to change in the second half, and it looked a lot better in this one. The energy level on defense was much better with guys communicating, switching, and helping out much more than we saw through the first four games. Ohio State appears to be able to score the basketball, but it'll only go as far as its defense takes it when the well undoubtedly runs dry on offense in the rough and tumble Big Ten at times.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 3 things we learned about Ohio State basketball vs. Western Michigan