Justice Sueing, Sean McNeil share key to Ohio State's hot start against Wisconsin

Ohio State is finally getting hot when it matters. The Buckeyes struggled mightily in conference play this season, at one point losing nine in a row and 14 out of 15 to put them out of the NCAA Tournament discussion entirely. However, as it is in college hoops, every team in the country still has a shot to make the Big Dance in their conference tournaments. OSU got off on the right foot Wednesday evening by beating a Wisconsin team that desperately needed a win for their own NCAA Tournament hopes.

Don’t look now now but the victory over the Badgers makes it three wins out of their last four. Plus, Ohio State will face Iowa today, who was the one team they beat during their 14 out of 15 losing streak. Maybe there’s hope for the Buckeyes yet.

After the Wisconsin win, veteran players Justice Sueing and Sean McNeil spoke on the better energy level OSU played with yesterday and over the last couple weeks.

“Yeah, we had a good kick to us to start this week,” said Justice Sueing. “We knew we had to come out with aggression and execute our game plan. We were able to get a comfortable lead. Obviously we need to work on maintaining that as we continue on in the tournament, but a couple months ago, you couldn’t have said that we’d have been able to stay as poised as we were today.

“I’m proud of my guys to pull it through, but props to Wisconsin. They played really hard and give us a run for our money. But just proud of our guys for being able to get this thing through.”

McNeil also noted that the Badgers gave them a good game, and says Ohio State is just having more fun on the court now than when they were losing every night.

“First thing I’ll say is Wisconsin is a really good team. As of — I said this a little bit earlier, but the last month and a half, we’ve been playing a lot better even though the results really haven’t shown. We’ve won 2 of 3 late. Even though we dropped one to Michigan State, we’re playing better, playing more of the right way.

“So we had momentum going into the tournament. We’re having a lot more fun. When you’re playing this way, the game is a lot more fun to play. So just momentum going into this tournament.”

It’ll be Iowa this afternoon and Michigan State tomorrow if the Buckeyes are able to pick up the victory. Still four wins in four days to go for Ohio State if they want to nab the Big Ten title and the auto-bid that comes with it.