Ohio State junior guard Duane Washington Jr. (4) moves through the Riverhawks’ defense during the OSU v UMass-Lowell game on Nov. 29. Ohio State won 74-64. Credit: Christian Harsa | Assistant Photo Editor
After a key win against then-No. 15 Rutgers, the Buckeyes returned to the AP Top 25, checking in at No. 21. Now, they are coming up on their second matchup against Northwestern, who came out on top against the Buckeyes just three weeks ago.
Ohio State (9-3) is looking to start up a Big Ten win streak against Northwestern (6-4), who currently is on a three-game losing streak since its win against the Buckeyes on Dec. 26. The Wildcats won by just one point in the previous meeting and went on to fall to what Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said were three unique teams and games.
Holtmann said the Buckeyes are coming into this game looking to perform better than their last meeting.
“I think that’s our challenge; can we be better than what we were last time we played them,” Holtmann said Tuesday. “That’s our focus right now is trying to see if we can play more quality basketball.”
When Ohio State and Northwestern met in December, the game came down to a clanked layup attempt by junior guard Duane Washington Jr. in the contest’s final seconds. Throughout the game, the Northwestern defense was able to score 20 points off 10 giveaways from Ohio State.
“We turned it over a few too many times and that led to easy scores for them,” Holtmann said. “They’ve got really good positional length across the board.”
Although the Buckeyes only had two turnovers in the second half, the Wildcats were able to knock down key shots that led to their victory. Northwestern was led by junior forward Miller Kopp, who had 23 points and went 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Buckeyes sophomore forward E.J. Liddell put up 15 points and eight rebounds.
Ohio State’s senior forward Kyle Young also grabbed eight rebounds along with 14 points. Liddell and Young have been key components to this Ohio State team’s success, and Holtmann said they compliment each other and have great chemistry when sharing the floor.
Rebounding has been a key to this Ohio State team’s play, and Holtmann said it has to remain a point of emphasis.
“We’ve got to get better on the defensive glass,” Holtmann said, “We’ve got to continue to emphasize the offensive glass just being an important part of our overall offensive efficiency.”
Redshirt senior guard CJ Walker will be out for his second game due to torn ligaments in his right hand. Walker was replaced by senior guard Jimmy Sotos in Ohio State’s last game against Rutgers. Sotos came out at the end of that game with a shoulder injury, so Holtmann mentioned putting in freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. if Sotos is out.
“I’ve got confidence in Meechie. It’s a lot to ask a young man who just joined your program to play in a Big Ten game of this caliber,” Holtmann said. “We do expect him to play for sure.”
The team has been preparing Johnson for what Holtmann said is a unique situation that just requires everyone to respond the right way. He added that Johnson is a confident guy which helps in this situation.
Regarding all the recent events going on in the country over the last couple weeks, Holtmann said his first responsibility is to his players in these tumultuous times.
“What impacts them, what concerns them, what bothers them and obviously dating back to the summer and all the conversation and dialogue that happened back in the summer, that’s my responsibility,” Holtmann said. “I didn’t get into this profession just to be a basketball coach, I got in the profession to help young men grow in whatever way we can as a staff.”
