Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann speaks with the team during a timeout during the Ohio State-Nebraska game Tuesday. Ohio State lost 78-70. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Nebraska freshman guard Bryce McGowens made a second-chance jumper to put the Cornhuskers up 31-30 with 5:12 to go in the first half.
Ohio State didn’t lead after that point.
The No. 23 Buckeyes were outclassed at home 78-70 against the Cornhuskers — who picked up just their third Big Ten win Tuesday — as Ohio State was left scratching its head following back-to-back losses to two of the four worst teams in the conference. The Buckeyes have had to battle through a grueling schedule and injuries to a multitude of players during their recent roller coaster stretch.
“I really can’t point to anything specific. We just got to be better at the end of the day,” senior forward Justin Ahrens said. “We just didn’t have it the past two games, letting teams score too easy, so to finish the season we just got to step up, take it personal, come up big and make plays.”
Going back to Thursday in Champaign, Illinois, Ohio State picked up its biggest win of the season at a point that it needed it most. Prior to the upset over the then-No. 15 Fighting Illini, the Buckeyes lost at home for the first time all season to Iowa Feb. 19 and had to duke it out two days later in overtime with Indiana — which currently ranks ninth in the Big Ten.
Ohio State traveled to Maryland Sunday and was outmatched by Terrapin guards graduate Fatts Russell and senior Eric Ayala who combined for two-thirds of Maryland’s 75 points. The Buckeyes’ 60 points were their second-lowest scoring output of the year.
Then came Tuesday, when Ohio State was without the efforts of sophomore forward Zed Key due to an ankle injury, and the number of battered Buckeyes piled up throughout the game.
With the seconds ticking off at the end of the first half, guards graduate Jamari Wheeler and freshman Malaki Branham collided and hit the deck hard, resulting in a loud thud and Branham needing help to get to his feet after being down for a few minutes after the halftime horn sounded.
Wheeler had to have his right nostril plugged for the second half to prevent bleeding.
Graduate forward Kyle Young — who was diagnosed with vestibular dysfunction before the season and missed two games this year — was hit in the throat in the first half and did not return in the second half due to an illness.
Even junior forward E.J. Liddell went down midway through the second half, grabbing at his left calf. Liddell remained in the game and gave the Buckeyes hope down the stretch, but not even his 27-point, 14-rebound double-double could have saved Ohio State’s hopes of winning.
Head coach Chris Holtmann pointed to the team’s defense as the root of its recent struggles. Ohio State had its worst defensive efficiency of the season against Nebraska, according to KenPom.com.
“Some of it’s buy-in. Some of it’s a collective better effort on that end. Some of it is, we’re really struggling guarding the ball right now, individually, and our team defense isn’t covering up for that enough,” Holtmann said. “If we don’t get those cleaned up, then we’ll continue to see the results we’ve seen these last two games.”
Nebraska’s 18th-fastest tempo in the country was on display early, as the Cornhuskers ran the floor while shooting 6-for-12 from 3-point range to lead 43-39 at the break.
The Huskers lengthened their lead to as many as 11 in the second half and despite multiple Ohio State comeback attempts, their ability to answer with made shots of their own sealed the improbable upset.
“Right now, we’re not getting the job done,” Wheeler said. “Teams outplaying us, playing harder than us, things like that. We just got to refocus, get ourselves together.”
The Buckeyes set their sights on impending tests against Michigan State — which upset then-No. 4 Purdue Saturday — before welcoming Michigan at the Schottenstein Center Sunday for the regular season finale.
Ohio State’s final seven games come in a 13-day span, and Ahrens said the Buckeyes have usually only had “one-day preps” between games.
Ohio State’s slip ups are reminiscent of last season in which the Buckeyes ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak before steamrolling their way to a Big Ten Tournament Championship appearance.
With the loss Tuesday, Ohio State dropped to fifth in the conference standings and no longer controls its own destiny in earning the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament — meaning the Buckeyes would get one less day of rest before playing March 10.
Ohio State will need to get healthy if it wants to make noise in the conference tournament while also cleaning up its fundamental mistakes, something Ahrens said the unit is capable of.
“Just got to figure out how to respond with our backs against the wall,” Ahrens said. “Two big games this week to finish out the regular season, so we’re looking forward to getting back to work [Wednesday] and going and getting these two, and getting on a roll into the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness.”
