Junior guard Bruce Thornton (2) looks to pass the ball during Ohio State’s’ 70-49 loss to the Wildcats Thursday at the Schottenstein Center. Credit: Matthew Wu | Lantern Photographer
Ohio State needed to beat a depleted Northwestern team to continue to build its resume ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Instead of taking care of business against the Wildcats — who were down two of their top three leading scorers — the Buckeyes got embarrassed on their home floor.
In a game in which Ohio State only had one more made shot than turnover, the Buckeyes were blown out by Northwestern 70-49. They posted a season-low in points and field goal percentage, shooting just 32% from the floor.
Like fans in attendance, head coach Jake Diebler was also left looking for answers.
“I woke up this morning and felt ready,” Diebler said. “For whatever reason, it didn’t carry over.”
It looked suitable for a couple of seconds, though, as guard Micah Parrish made a 3-pointer on the Buckeyes’ first offensive possession. In 19 attempts from beyond the arc after that, Ohio State only made three 3-pointers.
The Wildcats feasted low, as their first 14 points came inside the paint. Interior dominance was a trend for Northwestern, as they outscored the Buckeyes — who were without forward Aaron Bradshaw due to the flu — by 18 down low and out-rebounded Ohio State by nine.
“I don’t think you can expect to be 100% this time of the year,” Diebler said. “There’s no excuse when you step between the lines.”
Guard Bruce Thornton ended just over a six-minute scoring drought in the first half for the Buckeyes to make the score 10-7. The All-Big Ten guard scored the next two baskets for the team and was the only Buckeye to score for a stretch that lasted over 11 minutes.
Desperately needing a spark, Parrish knocked down an and-1 3-pointer, which gave life to the withering home crowd for the first time all night and pulled Ohio State within five.
The Buckeyes went into the locker room trailing by seven and had more turnovers than field goals.
Needing adjustments, the Buckeyes came out of the break looking even worse than when they went into the locker room.
The team failed to score for the first five minutes and fell behind by 20 points after a Wildcats 3-pointer.
And after yet another uncontested layup for Northwestern to extend its lead to 23, Diebler called a timeout as a slew of boos reigned down from an agitated home crowd.
Northwestern continued to dominate on both sides of the ball. With 10 minutes to play, Ohio only tallied as many points as minutes played and Wildcats led by at least 20 for all but two seconds after that to seal their first conference road win of the season.
Ohio State will travel out west to play UCLA at 3:45 p.m. Sunday, a game the team knows is crucial to keeping its tournament hopes alive.
“It’s a must-win game,” Parrish said. “I expect us to come out and play hard, play like our lives are on the line.”
