Chris Holtmann considers whether Ohio State can bounce back this season

For the second straight season in Columbus, Ohio State has unraveled in the midst of conference play. Now, with his task being to somehow put it back together, Chris Holtmann has a lot of work to do and several answers to find.

Holtmann spoke about the outlook on the Buckeyes’ season moving forward after their latest, 76-73 loss to Indiana, a game in which the Hoosiers came back from 18 down to win inside Value City Arena. With the past month going as poorly as it has, he noted how this outcome was obviously one that was as difficult to take as any.

“I think it’s a tough one for all of our guys – not just me,” Holtmann said. “It’s a tough one for everybody who’s a part of the program.”

After it being close early, Ohio State opened it up to a 13-point lead at the half. That then grew to their largest margin of 18 within the first few minutes of the second half and sat at double digits for most of the time from then on. However, with a 12-point lead with under eight to play, the Hoosiers closed the game with a 23-8 run. They got in front with just under three minutes to go before five points, including a three that put Indiana up for good, from G Anthony Leal ended it.

With the defeat, Ohio State has now lost five straight and dropped eight of their last nine. After a 12-2 start, their postseason hopes look far more bleak than they previously with eight games to go. They now sit at 13-10 and in a current tie for last place in the conference.

Again, the Buckeyes had an oddly similar collapse at this same point of last season. They dropped 14 of 15 at this time last year to go from 10-3 to a record of 11-17. Even so, they managed to win two of their final three in the regular season and then three straight in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago before their season ended in the seminfinals.

Is that kind of turnaround on the table for the Buckeyes again? No one knows, especially with how they’re still sliding. It’s not out of the question but it will require an answer from them no later than in their next outing this weekend.

“I mean I think we’ll see how we respond,” said Holtmann.

Holtmann addresses Ohio State’s difficulty holding leads

Ohio State squandered another lead on Tuesday against Indiana.

Following their 76-73 loss at home, Chris Holtmann addressed the media in but appeared to have a few questions of his own on his team’s struggles. When asked about the Buckeyes’ difficulty holding late-game leads and whether or not they could turn things around this season, Holtmann had this to say.

“I just think we weren’t aggressive enough, really, on either end,” said Holtmann. “We’ll see. We will see.”

One reporter proceeded to question whether or not Ohio State’s late-game offensive sets were to blame for their struggles. To that, Holtmann pushed back on the notion by highlighting that his team did have some success.

“We executed a couple of late-game sets. I’m not sure. The last one? They just jumped it. But the ones we got? We wanted. We wanted the baseline out of bounds. But, the last one? They jumped it.”