Ohio State offense hits rock bottom in lopsided defeat at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — Zed Key couldn’t believe himself, but the senior center’s double dribble in the final seconds of the first half Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena pretty much summed up the last month of Ohio State basketball.

Headscratching.

That turnover extended a half that couldn’t end quicker for the Buckeyes, who were already down by double digits, continued to struggle from the field and continued to struggle defending the 3-point line as their January woes extended to the outer rim of Chicago, where Ohio State’s last “true” road win came on New Year’s Day 2023.

The drought is at 391 days, and counting.

The Ohio State offense hit rock bottom at Northwestern, as the Buckeyes shot a season-low 34.1%, and the Wildcats rolled to an 83-58 win, improving to 11-1 at home this season.

For the third game in a row, Roddy Gayle Jr. scored the first Buckeyes bucket. But, a minute and a half later, he committed a bad pass turnover that led to a Ryan Langborg 3-pointer.

That was one of three first-half turnovers for Gayle. What’s more, Northwestern (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten) added three more points soon after, courtesy of a trio of free throws from Ty Berry. Those were by virtue of the first of two bad fouls from Evan Mahaffey, who also fouled Northwestern backup center Luke Hunger on a putback attempt toward the end of the period.

The Wildcats maintained a comfortable cushion for most of the first half, during which Ohio State (13-7, 3-6) had more free throws (12) than field goals (seven). Actually, Northwestern matched the Buckeyes’ field goal total in 3-pointers, as head coach Chris Collins’ team went 7-of-13 from long range in the first 20 minutes of action.

Langborg was responsible for four of those triples and had all 14 of his points in the first half. Two of those occurred in the span of 1:12 after Gayle pulled Ohio State within three, 23-20, thanks to a steal and 3-pointer.

The Buckeyes entered the night having shot 24.3% from deep over the last five games. They were 4-of-11 on 3-point attempts in the first half. Jamison Battle, Bruce Thornton and even Bowen Hardman — who checked in at the 8:57 mark after his 11-point, late-game outburst at Nebraska — chipped in long-range field goals.

But Northwestern always had an answer for the Buckeyes in the opening period. A no-look pass from Brooks Barnhizer to Nick Martinelli set up a 3-pointer that gave the Wildcats a 12-point lead, their largest in the first half. Ohio State went into the break down, 41-30.

Northwestern added two more 3-pointers before the first media timeout in the second half: one from Berry and one from star guard Boo Buie.

Ohio State’s offense looked out of sorts all night, and even on the few possessions when it flowed, its shots rarely fell. Other times, the Buckeyes were too hesitant, like when they had three paint touches on the same possession early in the second period, only for Gayle to miss a 3-pointer.

Nothing seemed to go right for head coach Chris Holtmann’s squad. Sandwiched in between a pair of Barnhizer baskets, Thornton was called for a carry violation. The second of those two Barnhizer field goals, by the way, saw the do-it-all junior send Ohio State freshman wing Scotty Middleton flying with a spin move. That highlight-reel, and crowd-igniting, play lifted Northwestern to a 59-39 advantage.

Then came the gut punch to the Buckeyes: an 20-1 Wildcats run. At one point, Northwestern made seven straight field goals, including a Martinelli and-one with Key guarding him and a Barnhizer layup created by Buie intercepting Thortnon.

The surge was only interrupted by a Holtmann timeout. The seventh-year Ohio State coach had some red-faced words for his team, and then Battle — a fifth-year transfer from Minnesota — took over in the huddle trying to light a fire under his group.

But, out of that timeout, Northwestern quickly added three more points: first a Hunger free throw and then, moments later, a layup from the Wildcats big man, following a Battle turnover that stemmed from the veteran stepping out of bounds on a baseline drive.

To make matters worse, Mahaffey then missed three straight free throws — two on a shooting foul, one on the front end of a one-and-one — and Northwestern, conversely, cashed in on four shots at the charity stripe.

Center Felix Okpara ultimately ended the Buckeyes’ scoring drought that nearly spanned seven minutes. But it was only a matter of time before that blip of life from the Ohio State offense was drowned out by the MVP cheers for Buie, who finished with 19 points, five assists and five rebounds before fouling out.

Northwestern has a Big Ten star and momentum building toward back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Ohio State has an offense that looks lost in late January with the clock ticking on what could be its second straight season watching March Madness from home.