The Ohio State men’s basketball team has entered a four-game losing streak. Credit: Katie Good | Asst. Photo Editor
The Buckeyes are in the midst of their biggest challenge of the season so far.
Falling at Maryland Jan. 8 after nearly dethroning then-No. 1 Purdue in a 71-69 nail-biter days before, Ohio State lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Minnesota held off a comeback bid Thursday, and Rutgers got its revenge in overtime Sunday, as head coach Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes saw their losing streak extend to four.
Ohio State (10-7, 2-4 Big Ten) began the season winning 10 of its first 13 games, but now Holtmann said he and the team are looking for leadership in moments like this.
“We’re going to need them the rest of the way. I think January, February, your leadership really gets defined,” Holtmann said. “They lead the way in their unselfishness. They play for Ohio State. They come to work. They’re everyday guys. That’s what is going to be needed in these moments, and I think that’s the challenge in front of those guys.”
Ohio State gets back on the road for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Nebraska (9-9, 2-5 Big Ten) Wednesday, which will broadcast on the Big Ten Network, and search for a solution to its four-game losing streak.
It’s the longest such skid since 2020-21 during which the Buckeyes lost the final stretch of the regular season — but bounced back and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship in four games.
Forwards redshirt senior Justice Sueing and junior Zed Key, who averaged 10.7 and 5.2 points per game, respectively, during the 2020-21 season, were part of the Buckeyes team that challenged Illinois in that conference tournament game in March 2021.
Sueing said the losing streak this time around is “a little bit similar” to that season, and he’d rather challenge strike earlier in the season than later.
“I remember us just being really together and really connected,” Sueing said. “We knew what we were capable of. The guys, we never doubted each other. We stayed strong in the locker room. We didn’t let outside noise affect us, and we went on that great run in the Big Ten Tournament.”
Unlike the 2020-21 season, the Buckeyes have 10 new players who joined in the offseason of their 14 on the roster.
“We have a lot of new faces and young guys, so just trying to stay positive,” Key said. “It can be a lot on their spirits, losing four games in a row. It can take a toll, but trying to stay positive and just move on and get better the next day and try to correct our mistakes.”
Ohio State is No. 4 among college basketball teams at a 118.6 adjusted offensive efficiency, which measures points scored per 100 possessions according to KenPom.
An area where Holtmann wants to see improvement from the Buckeyes is in their ability to “make better paint decisions.” Over their four-game losing streak, Ohio State has scored 38.1 percent of its points in the paint and been outrebounded 160-138 or giving up 5 1/2 more rebounds than it’s bringing down.
Holtmann pointed to former forward E.J. Liddell, who spent three seasons with the Buckeyes and became a second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after increased roles in his final two years. Liddell, who stands 6-foot-6, played often as a power forward last season, outmatching guards outside the box and evading around taller centers while leading the team in free throw attempts.
“We’ve always been a pretty heavy dribble-drive team, this year and certainly sometimes in years past. That allows us to get to the free throw line and allows us to get to the paint,” Holtmann said. “That’s where a guy like E.J. really grew in his last year: his ability to make paint reads, paint decisions, see help and then deliver the ball on time on target. And I think that’s just where some of our guys have to grow. They’ve done a good job at creating help, but they’ve got to make better reads.”
Ohio State fell to the Boilermakers by a 3-pointer in the final minute, gave up a 39-34 halftime lead at Maryland, couldn’t pull away from the Golden Gophers and surrendered an 11-point lead to the Scarlet Knights. The Buckeyes’ average scoring margin during their four-game losing streak is a loss of four points, just enough to wonder what could’ve been if they had several possessions back.
Sueing, who’s been around college basketball for six seasons and played five, has been ramping up to the level of play he’s capable of after appearing in two games due to an injury last year. He’s Ohio State’s second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder through 17 games, and Sueing’s 35 offensive rebounds are second among Buckeyes.
Holtmann said the coaching staff is challenging Sueing with a leadership role, as he’s one of Ohio State’s captains for a second-straight season, and Sueing said he wants to “control what I can control.”
“Whether that’s just bringing my team together, being a good communicator, just those little things on details — crashing the boards — are things that I can control to help contribute to the team,” Sueing said. “So, I mean, [if] the shots aren’t falling I have a wide range of game that follows, so it’s not the only thing I depend on.”
Three of Ohio State’s next four games come outside the comforts of Columbus and on the road, including Wednesday’s matchup at Nebraska and trips to Illinois and Indiana.
Losing streaks aren’t anything new in basketball, and Holtmann and Ohio State have been here before in the middle of the season. However, this group of Buckeyes is under new pressure together, and they’re focusing on the next challenge.
“We looked at it a couple years ago after we struggled in January. But we’ve also been really good in January, last year, and struggled late. And we’ve had times where we’ve been really good late and struggled,” Holtmann said. “I don’t know if there’s a specific pattern or factors other than we just need to play better.”
