Chris Holtmann admits he feels pressure to win

Ohio State is in the midst of a poor stretch having lost five of their last six. It’s a skid that’s turning up the heat in Columbus even though, according to Chris Holtmann, there’s always pressure throughout a season.

Holtmann addressed any feelings of duress around the Buckeyes during his press conference on Monday. He said he certainly does feel it at the moment, much like he does during the rest of the season, and especially because of their recent run of losses.

“I think you always feel pressure to perform and to get your team playing their best, whether it’s early in the year, late in the year, this time. November, December, January, February – you always feel that,” said Holtmann. “For sure.”

“You certainly can feel it too when you’ve struggled a little bit,” added Holtmann.

The first 14 games of Ohio State’s season went about as well as they could’ve hoped at 12-2. One loss came to a ranked team in Texas A&M while the other, although to a so-so opponent in Penn State after blowing an 18-point lead, came on the road and by only three points.

Since then, the Buckeyes’ season has come apart a bit within the Big Ten. They did make up for their original loss to the Nittany Lions with a dozen-point victory over them. However, besides that, they’ve lost at Indiana, to Wisconsin, and at Michigan in a three-game losing streak. They’ve since followed that Penn State win up with losses at Nebraska and Northwestern over their last two.

Those five defeats have come by an average of 12.8 a loss. Their latest one, an 83-58 decision in Evanston, was the worst of their season thus far. They were down by as much as 35 to the Wildcats after Northwestern shot 57.7% from the field and 52.6% from deep.

Ohio State, at 13-7, still has plenty that they can still accomplish if they can get back on track. They will need to right the ship soon, though, and do it with another challenge ahead of them with Illinois coming to Value City Arena tomorrow.

Gene Smith not making decision on Holtmann’s future right now

Ohio State AD Gene Smith isn’t making a decision on Chris Holtmann’s future right now according to The Columbus Dispatch.

“We have a lot of this season left to play. We have coaches and players that are focused on winning every day,” Smith told The Dispatch. “I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out.”

Ohio State is 13-7 but only 3-6 in the Big Ten. That ties the Buckeyes for 11th in the league standings.

“When you lose by double figures in two games and lose by 25 tonight on the road? It’s certainly got to be a real situation that is gonna grab your attention,” Holtmann said after Ohio State lost 83-58 on Saturday at Northwestern. “You got to figure out why that’s the case. What we can do as coaches and players to be much better. That’s what we’re going to be spending 24/7 in the next few days figuring out.”

“I believe it’s fixable and it’s our job to fix it, Holtmann added. “I definitely think it’s fixable. We’re gonna work like hell to find a way to fix it and certainly be better than what we were tonight.”