Freshman guard Malaki Branham (22) drives to the basket during the Ohio State-Nebraska game. Ohio State lost 78-70. Credit: Gabe Haferman | Assistant Photo Editor
Despite returning to their home floor Tuesday, the Buckeyes couldn’t muster momentum to earn a win to begin their final home stand of the regular season.
No. 23 Ohio State (18-9, 11-7 Big Ten) continues its three-game home stretch against Michigan State Thursday, trudging through a compressed schedule that’s tested its physical health. Graduate guard Jamari Wheeler said the Buckeyes don’t pin their recent challenges on any one area and hope to come out on the right foot against the Spartans.
“We just got to stay together, come together even stronger in times like this, especially when we’re down two bad losses back to back,” Wheeler said. “Just come back together and figure it out.”
Michigan State (19-10, 10-8 Big Ten) reached as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25 this season before losing eight of its last 13 games. The Spartans upset then-No. 4 Purdue 68-65 Saturday before falling 87-70 at Michigan Monday.
Ranking near the middle of the Big Ten in both scoring offense and defense, the Spartans have struggled to finish games, seeing three of their last five games decided by five points or fewer. Michigan State is No. 1 in the conference and holds opponents to just a 31 percent clip from 3-point range and fourth in rebounds.
Senior forward Gabe Brown leads Michigan State with an average of 11.7 points per game and 91.4 percent rate at the free-throw line. Four additional Spartans average more than eight points per game, and senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. shoots 54.3 percent from the field while leading the team in blocks and rebounds.
After back-to-back outings of shooting performances worse than 38.6 percent, head coach Chris Holtmann said he wants to see more connectedness when the Buckeyes possess the basketball.
“We’ve got really good guys,” Holtmann said. “I think we’re searching a little bit, and I think we’re pressing too much right now, certainly on the offensive end.”
Holtmann also added that he’s still waiting on the statuses of forwards sophomore Zed Key and graduate Kyle Young.
The duo’s injuries in the last two games, an ankle injury for Key and illness for Young, have been just two of the latest developments in Ohio State’s recent stretch. Last week, junior forward E.J. Liddell was hospitalized with the flu, and at least half a dozen Buckeyes have missed a game this season due to injury.
“This is the worst season of injuries I’ve ever had,” Holtmann said. “I thought last year was bad, and this has been, now, worse with some of our season-ending injuries.”
After holding eight teams to less than 48.3 percent shooting in 10 games, the Buckeyes have allowed their last three opponents to shoot at least 46.4 percent from the field and over 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Ohio State is seventh in the Big Ten in scoring defense, giving up at least 75 points in each of the last three games after doing so just once from Feb. 6-21. With difficulties finding a rhythm as the season nears the Big Ten Tournament, Holtmann said the Buckeyes’ issues guarding opponents are “bleeding into” their offensive abilities.
“The bottom line is, is we’re not connected enough on either end right now,” Holtmann said. “We did not play together enough on either end. We just did not. That’s my fault.”
Two games remain on Ohio State’s schedule before the conference tournament Wednesday. Postseason positioning has fallen out of the Buckeyes’ command, but senior forward Justin Ahrens said they must take ownership of correcting their mistakes.
“We just control what we can control, just give maximum effort every day, every game, every time when you’re on the floor,” Ahrens said. “Let the results handle it for themselves.”
The Buckeyes and Spartans will tip off at 7 p.m. in the Schottenstein Center. ESPN will broadcast.
