The last time Ohio State won on the road, it was in Welsh-Ryan arena over a year ago.  This time, the fortunes were not the same as the Buckeyes dropped their 14th straight road game, and 5th loss in their last 6 overall as the host Wildcats drilled the visiting Buckeyes 83-58. The loss dropped Ohio State to 13-7, 3-6, while Northwestern improved to 15-5, 6-3. This loss was as embarrassing as any of the previous 12 as the Buckeyes just lacked any intensity or fight. Anything that could go wrong for Ohio State did, and on the flip side, Northwestern was able to do anything they wanted and seemingly converted on every opportunity and the Buckeye frustration clearly showed. Northwestern hit 58% of their shots overall and 53% from three in an incredible offensive display, while the Buckeyes struggled to hit just 34% which included just 5 of 21 from deep. Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 18 and Roddy Gayle added 15 as the duo combined to hit 17-18 from the line, while Northwestern put 6 in doubles, led by Boo Buie’s 19, 15 in the second half. 

The Wildcats deliberate offense and active defense kept overall scoring to a minimum in the early going. Ohio State opened the scoring with a Roddy Gayle leaner from 10, but on the other end, the Northwestern possession ended with an alley-oop dunk to even the score. Ohio State took the lead back with a pair of Jamison Battle free throws, but a Northwestern triple gave the Wildcats a 5-4 lead at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Northwestern hit the stripe for 3 free throws and all dropped as the ‘Cats were doubling up the Buckeyes 5 minutes into the game. The Buckeyes stopped the 6-0 WIldcat run when Evan Mahaffey penetrated and dished to Zed Key for a lay-in. After Northwestern got a scoop shot to drop, Gayle drilled a pair of free throws to pull Ohio State back to within 2. Northwestern, who was able to create a second opportunity with a long rebound, took advantage, hitting a corner 3 to increase the lead. The Buckeyes crept a little closer after Mahaffey split a pair of free throws and Battle hit a triple from the right wing, but a floater by Northwestern dropped to stop the mini Ohio State run and at the under 12 media timeout, Northwestern led 15-12. Northwestern scored 5 straight out of the timeout to increase their run to 7-0, to grab an 8 point lead. A Bowen Hardman triple from the right wing stopped the run and cut the lead to 5., but a Northwestern three answered and at the under 8, Northwestern had matched their largest lead, 23-15. Bruce Thornton hit the stripe out of the timeout where he banged down two and after Gayle picked the pocket of a Wildcat, heading the other way, Gayle drilled a three from the right point to get the Buckeyes to within 3. Another ‘Cat triple stopped the Ohio State run, but a Thornton scoop and score off the window cut the Buckeye deficit back to 4. Unfortunately, the hot Northwestern shooting continued.  After a triple from the left wing, a bucket in the paint put the ‘Cats up 9. Thornton stopped the run with a left corner three and at the under 4 timeout, Northwestern’s lead sat at 31-25. A Wildcat old-fashioned three point play bumped their lead back to 9 and after a Buckeye miss, a runner put Northwestern up 11. Gayle, fouled while attempting a dunk, went to the stripe and knocked them both down to trim the lead, but another WIldcat triple dropped to answer. A pair of Thornton free throws cut the lead back to 10, but Northwestern continued to answer every Ohio State score, and Ohio State took a timeout with 28.6 seconds left in the half, trailing 41-29. Key split a pair of free throws to complete the scoring and send the team’s to their respective locker rooms with Northwestern leading 41-30. It was the same story, different opponent as hot Northwestern shooting from long range, hitting 7 of 13 from beyond the arc, 54% overall helped the Wildcats to get out to a comfortable half time lead. Ohio State was held to just 35% and 4 of 11 from deep, but avoided being blown out of the building in the first 20 minutes due to 12 of 14 from the line. Ryan Langborg led the Wildcats with 14 first half points, including 4 of 6 from 3 point range, while Ohio State was led by Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle who had 9 apiece. 

Northwestern opened the second half, hitting a pair of threes and out-scoring the Buckeyes 9-3 over the first 4 plus minutes to open up a 50-33 lead at the first media timeout as Ohio State’s shooting woes continued. The Buckeyes’ only points came on a pair of Gayle free throws and one by Felix Okpara. The ‘Cats kept pouring it on, adding a bucket to increase the lead to 19. Mahaffey split a pair of free throws and Ohio State got their first field goal of the second half when Thornton lobbed to Gayle who finished off the glass, cutting the lead to 16. Back came Northwestern, hitting a three to put Northwestern back up 19, but Ohio State answered with a three of their own when Scotty Middleton found the bottom from the right point. 4 straight Northwestern points had the Wildcats firmly in control and at the under 12 media timeout, Northwestern was all over the Buckeyes, leading 59-39. The Northwestern lead increased to 13-1 with Ohio State’s only point coming from a Thornton free throw and Chris Holtmann took a timeout with 9:08 to play and the Buckeyes being embarrassed, trailing by a whopping 68-40 score. Northwestern bumped the lead to 71-40 prior to the under 8 media timeout and coming out of the timeout,  The lead grew to 75-40 before an Okpara dunk broke a 6 minute drought without a field goal for Ohio State. The Wildcats scored again before Thornton got a runner to fall. A pair of Northwestern free throws and a driving layup sandwiched another Okpara dunk and at the final media timeout, it was all over but the final score as Northwestern led 81-46. Out of the timeout, Thornton hit a pair of freebies on three straight possessions and a steal and dunk by Gayle had the Buckeyes on an 8-0 run but with just 2 minutes to play. Northwestern hit a heavily contested shot mid-paint to stop the run, but a Dale Bonner to Devin Royal interior pass led to a Royal dunk. Two Royal free throws ended the scoring in the resounding Wildcat win. 

It’s a sad, but true tale. After being blown out in back to back road games, the constant message we continue to hear is, “these are tournament teams.” Well, shouldn’t Ohio State be a tournament team?  The easy answer to that question at this point is unquestionably NO. Their deficiencies are clear. They have no go-to player when the opponent makes a run, and they have zero offense on the interior to take pressure off the perimeter shooters and if they aren’t hitting, they are in big trouble and that has been the common theme in this recent stretch. On top of that, the defense has made things way too easy on their opponents. They are way too comfortable and getting whatever they want in their half court sets. Right now, this team is not playing with any bite on both ends. I have constantly pushed back on the calls for Chris Holtmann’s job, but we are getting to that point. There is no end in sight to the misery and this game was a microcosm of all their issues. They are clearly a better basketball team than they played tonight, but it’s not getting better. Changes need to be made quickly if they want to make anything out of this season.  What those changes will be, remain to be seen, but they can’t continue to head down this road or the season will spiral out of control in a hurry if it hasn’t already. 

Ohio State returns home on Tuesday night, hosting Illinois in the Schott for a 7PM tip airing on Peacock.

-Jason Harris