Ohio State senior forward Jae’Sean Tate (1) drives the lane in the second half of the game against Maryland on Jan. 11 in the Schottenstein Center. Dakich made three of four three point attempts in the first half aiding Ohio State to a 91-69 win. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Ohio State continued to ascend up the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, moving from No. 22 to No. 13 Monday. The Buckeyes have not been ranked this high in the AP poll since Dec. 15, 2014, when they were the No. 12 team in the nation.
Ohio State is one of four Big Ten teams ranked, joining No. 3 Purdue, No. 6 Michigan State and No. 25 Michigan.
Head coach Chris Holtmann extended his unbeaten streak to start conference play to eight games, leading his team to wins versus Northwestern and Minnesota, the former on the road and the latter at a neutral site. Ohio State’s win against Minnesota was the team’s 17th victory this season, matching the total from all of last season. Overall, the Buckeyes are 17-4.
With the 8-0 record in the conference, Holtmann has the longest undefeated start in a Big Ten coach’s first season since Sam Barry began his Iowa coaching career with an 11-0 start in 1923. The record is Wisconsin’s Walter Meanwell, who went 12-0 to begin Big Ten play in 1912.
The Buckeyes will hope to begin Holtmann’s tenure 9-0 when they host Nebraska at 8 p.m. Monday at the Schottenstein Center.
