Ohio State freshman guard Luther Muhammad (1) dribbles the ball in the second half of the game against Purdue on Jan. 23. Ohio State lost 79-67. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor
This was Ohio State’s opportunity to break the losing streak.
After dropping five straight games for the first time in 21 seasons, the Buckeyes came in with a real chance to end it, facing a Nebraska team that had lost four of its past six games.
Both teams came in looking for a win to help find momentum, but it was Ohio State who ended up finding it, defeating Nebraska 70-60 for its first Big Ten win since Dec. 5.
Ohio State took a 12-2 run to end the first half and held the lead for the majority of the final 20 minutes, outscoring Nebraska 41-36 en route to its third conference victory of the season.
After shooting 16.7 percent from 3 in the first half, Ohio State made 7-of-15 from deep in the second half, leading to the 5-point road victory.
Following Wednesday’s loss to the Boilermakers, head coach Chris Holtmann said his team would not be one that will get to the free-throw line frequently, but can improve on preventing its opponents from doing the same.
Against the Cornhuskers, the teams combined for a single free throw attempt in the first half, one make by Ohio State junior forward Andre Wesson.
The teams finished with a combined 30 free throw attempts — 18 for Ohio State and 12 for Nebraska. The Buckeyes connected on 72.2 percent from the charity stripe.
Freshman guard Luther Muhammad came up big after struggling in recent games for Ohio State.
After shooting 6-of-22 in his past three games, Muhammad finished with a career-high 24 points and six rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting, helping defensively with three steals.
Sophomore forward Musa Jallow earned his second start of the season for the Buckeyes after scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in his past game against Purdue.
Jallow finished the game with five points and four rebounds.
Sophomore forward Kaleb Wesson continued his recent struggles, committing three turnovers in the first half, forcing Holtmann to send his leading scorer to the bench for the majority of the opening 20 minutes.
Ohio State led 29-24 in the first half despite making 2-of-12 attempts from 3 and committing nine turnovers. This was thanks in part to a 25-12 rebound advantage, as well as holding Nebraska to 34.5 percent shooting in the half.
The Buckeyes finished with a 45-31 rebound advantage against Nebraska.
Ohio State finished the first half on a 12-2 run to take the five-point lead, stopping the Cornhuskers from scoring in the final 2:47 and forcing them to miss nine of their final 10 shots from the field.
Redshirt senior guard Keyshawn Woods led the Buckeyes with seven points in 10 minutes during the opening half, but scored two points in the second, failing to connect on four attempts from the field.
Ohio State takes on No. 2 Michigan on the road at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
