The Ohio State men’s basketball team huddles before tip-off against Michigan at Crisler Stadium Monday. The Buckeyes lost to the Wolverines 73-65. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes can’t quite seem to outplay road environments; it’s been that way for over a year.
Following Ohio State’s New Year’s victory on the road at Northwestern in 2023, Ohio State has yet to win a game away from home.
The Buckeyes have lost three away games this season, which have all included an Ohio State lead late in the second half. Monday afternoon was no different as the Buckeyes led Michigan 61-60 with 4:23 to play in the second half, however, the results rendered a 73-65 loss, extending their road losing streak to 12.
“We had two teams competing at the end of the day and we just fell short today,” sophomore guard Bruce Thornton said. “We are going to keep stacking days even though we lost, we’ve got to keep our heads up high.”
A common theme as of late for the Buckeyes has been their inability to get shots to fall. At the end of the first half, Ohio State was 1-of-14 from three and 10-of-31 from the field.
With 11:46 to go, Wolverine senior forward Terrance Williams ll drilled a 3-pointer, extending Michigan’s lead 55-43, its largest of the game.
Points in the paint and free throws drew the Buckeyes back within a possession, and with 8:25 remaining, sophomore center Felix Okpara made back-to-back layups, giving Ohio State its first lead since the 9:35 mark of the first half.
After forcing a Michigan turnover, Thornton nailed a 3-pointer, increasing the Buckeye lead to four as Ohio State was on an astounding 16-0 run.
Instead of continuing the run, Ohio State’s shot turned cold, and the Buckeyes only scored 6 points in the game’s final 7:58, compared to Michigan’s 18.
That was the difference, and head coach Chris Holtmann emphasized the importance of defense in crunch time late in games.
“We’ve got to rely on our defense when we’re not making shots,” Holtmann said. “They had a three that rattled in there, we had the ball a couple of possessions there right where we wanted it with a couple of those guys, and confident those guys will make plays. We’ll look at the tape and see if there’s something better we could’ve ran but I did like a couple of the looks we had.”
Thorton said the loss was tough, and it’s much harder to win tight games, especially when they can’t score efficiently. Still, they must find other ways to win, he said.
“It’s hard, I’m not going to lie to you,” Thornton said. “This is a way different ballgame when you’re making shots and when you’re missing shots.”
The Buckeyes will return home and have five days to prepare for Penn State as it comes to Columbus on Saturday to square off against Ohio State for the second time this season.
Despite blowing an 18-point second-half lead in their first matchup, the Buckeyes will look to keep the Nittany Lions down. The game will tip off at noon at Value City Arena.
