Ohio State sophomore guard Jr. (4) attempts a shot in the first half against Maryland Feb. 23. Ohio State won 79-72. Credit: Cori Wade | Lantern File Photo
For the third time this season, Ohio State failed to obtain a winning record in the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes (8-3) dropped to 2-3 in Big Ten play following a 77-60 loss to No. 21 Minnesota (10-2). Minnesota junior center Liam Robbins proved too much for Ohio State underneath the basket, and the 7-footer poured in a game-high 27 points.
“I just felt like we were supposed to come out, use our mobility and quickness against [Robbins] and just be very physical with him and wear him down throughout the game,” Sophomore forward E.J. Liddell said. “We just didn’t do that, we weren’t physical enough.”
Despite Ohio State’s struggles throughout the game, junior guard Duane Washington Jr. found a rhythm for one of the few times this season in the first half.
Entering the game shooting 35.8 percent from the field on the season, Washington would pair production with efficiency in the opening frame. The Michigan native poured in 13 points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting.
Washington finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
However, the Buckeyes were not efficient as a team in the first half. Outside of Washington, Ohio State starters shot 25 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
“Good step forward for [Washington], but across the board we’ve got to collectively be much better offensively and it’s on all of us,” head coach Chris Holtmann said Sunday.
The Buckeyes ended the game with a field goal percentage of 31.1 percent.
Although the Buckeye offense struggled from the field in the first half, they shot 5-of-10 from three. However, their hot 3-point shooting ran out in the second half, as they were limited to 2-of-17 in the final 20 minutes.
Sophomore forward E.J. Liddell was largely held in check Sunday, finishing with 10 points on an ice cold 3-of-11 from the field.
The Buckeye defense locked down Minnesota’s leading scorer and redshirt junior guard Marcus Carr in the first half. Carr did not make his first field goal until less than a minute to go in the opening frame and finished with just 5 first-half points.
Carr finished with 15 points on 3-of-12 from the field.
“[Carr] was a big part of what we were trying to do in terms of our gameplan,” Holtmann said. “I think when you have a guy like him, who’s a tremendous talent, I think it opens up some other things.”
Despite the low scoring output from Carr in the opening half, the Gopher offense still shot 52 percent in the first half — led by Robbins who added 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while adding 4 blocks on the defensive end in the first 20 minutes.
Aside from his 27 points, Robbins added value on the defensive end — finishing with 14 rebounds, 5 blocks and 2 steals.
With Robbins at the helm of the Gopher offense, Minnesota finished the game with a sweltering 43.6 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc.
“We’ve got to do some things better, there’s no ignoring that. We got outplayed and outcoached tonight,” Holtmann said. “We need to be better to beat a team of this caliber.”
Ohio State continues conference play against Penn State Wednesday at 6 p.m.
