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Ohio State falters late against Northwestern, suffers 10th loss in last 11 games

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•02/09/23•

andybackstrom

Bruce Thornton by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
Ohio State missed 10 of its last 14 shots against Northwestern. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State didn’t have a lead in its last two games, but the Buckeyes were in the driver’s seat for most of the first half Thursday night at home against Northwestern.

And even when the Wildcats were ahead going into intermission, Ohio State quickly reclaimed its advantage early in the second period, courtesy of a 9-0 Buckeyes run. Head coach Chris Holtmann’s team maintained that lead for the greater part of the next six minutes of game time.

Then things went sideways.

Ohio State, which finished a season-worst 1-of-14 from 3-point territory, missed 10 of its last 14 field goal attempts. That all happened in the final 10 minutes of play, a span in which the Buckeyes also missed five free throws — none more costly than a pair of clankers from Justice Sueing with 2:59 to go. A single make would have made it a one-possession game. Instead, Northwestern made Sueing pay with what was effectively a game-clinching 3-pointer less than a minute later.

Sueing, who finished with his most points (19) in a month and eight rebounds, knows Ohio State shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.

“They hit 12 threes, man,” Sueing said postgame. “Those runs, there’s a point where we gotta be able to fight back and prevent them, especially around this time of the year where teams go on runs late.”

Ohio State couldn’t mount a final run of its own and fell, 69-63, losing to Northwestern in Columbus for only the second time since 1977.

The Buckeyes (11-13, 3-10 Big Ten) are now dealing with their second five-game skid this season, and they’ve lost 10 of their last 11 games, plummeting to 13th in the Big Ten. Northwestern (17-7, 8-5), meanwhile, is building toward its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

“We’ve been through it,” Wildcats ninth-year head coach Chris Collins said postgame. “I’ve been at Northwestern where we’ve lost eight, nine, 10 games in a row. And it’s a difficult thing in this league. And, really, there’s no let-up in this conference.

“When you’re not playing well or you can’t get the job done, then you’ve got somebody else coming in three days.”

Holtmann has tried a lot of things to get his team back on track the last month and a half. That’s included an array of rotations. Against Northwestern, Ohio State star freshman Brice Sensabaugh — at one point recently the Buckeyes’ top scorer in 13 straight games — came off the bench for just the third time in 16 games, but the second game in a row.

Sensabaugh had fouled out of two consecutive contests, and he didn’t get his typical starter’s minutes in Thursday night’s defeat. Rather, he got 16 minutes, and that was partly because he didn’t check in until the 12:28 mark of the first half.

When asked about Sensabaugh not playing for the first seven and a half minutes Thursday, Holtmann insisted that “it was the rotation.” The questions kept coming, though.

“I mean, that’s part of the reason,” Holtmann said, when asked if Sensabaugh came off the bench so late because of his recent foul trouble. “Brice is a freshman, and he’s being guarded by the best player, guys. Like, this is not an easy thing for a kid.”

Holtmann continued: “He wasn’t guarded always by the best player early in the year. He’s being guarded by the best player now. Freshmen have moments. We’ll help him the best we can. The young man’s fighting hard, give him credit. He’s allowed to have an off shooting night.”

Sensabaugh’s four points on 1-of-8 shooting were tied for his fewest in a game this season. He also had that many when he fouled out at Duke during an ACC/Big Ten Challenge loss in November.

As was the case much of the non-conference slate, Ohio State center Zed Key got off to a fast start. He scored or assisted on seven of the Buckeyes’ first nine points. He converted an and-one in the post and even dunked over Northwestern 7-foot big man Matthew Nicholson, helping Ohio State to a 9-6 lead.

Key finished the first half with seven points and six rebounds despite missing time after appearing to re-aggravate his left shoulder sprain that he originally suffered against Purdue on Jan. 5. Holtmann said postgame that Key is “sore” and was complimentary of his effort to return to the court after experiencing pain in the first half.

The Buckeyes were ahead for 10:22 of the opening frame after playing without a lead each of the last two games. Northwestern first seized control of the matchup with three consecutive 3-pointers: one from Chase Audige, one from Boo Buie and one from Robbie Beran.

Both teams went cold for five minutes and change during the heart of the first half. Ohio State had four turnovers, including a shot clock violation, in that sequence.

The Buckeyes were first back on track offensively, stringing together a 10-2 run that started with a Roddy Gayle Jr. floater and back-to-back mid-range jumpers from Sueing, who rounded out the night 7-of-11 from the field. That was Sueing’s sweet spot all game. 

Following that surge, the Buckeyes were ahead, 25-19. Before intermission, however, Northwestern counter punched and took a 28-27 lead into the break.

Wright State senior transfer Tanner Holden was burned while trying to help inside, resulting in a pair of Wildcats 3-pointers. Then Northwestern closed the period with a cross-court inbound, which culminated in a Nick Martinelli turnaround kiss off the glass.

A 9-0 run, which inclduded the Buckeyes’ lone 3-pointer, slingshotted Ohio State back into the lead in the second half’s infancy, but Northwestern controlled the latter portion of the period.

Sophomore guard Brooks Barnhizer got the Wildcats — who logged 12 points off six Buckeyes turnovers in the second half — out of their mini funk. Barnhizer is normally a role player, but he was tied with Buie for the team lead with 19 points. That was a career high for Barnhizer, who netted 4-of-7 3-pointers.

To put that in perspective, Barnhier was shooting sub-30% from downtown this season, and he had combined for four triples in his previous eight games. He was the flag bearer of an unusually strong outside shooting performance by Northwestern.

“We guarded them the same way in game one,” Holtmann said, referencing Ohio State’s 16-point win at Northwestern on New Year’s Day. “Their track record for shooting threes has not been as strong as it was today. Give them credit.

“Their guards are very good at getting in the lane. The hedge created some open threes. We were a little bit late on a couple rotations.”

Collins’ team came into the night 294th in 3-point percentage (31.6%), according to KenPom, but netted 12-of-29 shots, or 41.4%, from beyond the arc.

Seven of those long-range makes came in the second half. A 3-pointer by Beran turned the tide at the 10:34 mark of the period. That tied the game at 45-45.

A few minutes later, junior guard Ty Berry knocked down a triple that gave the Wildcats a four-point advantage. They didn’t relinquish their lead the rest of the way.

During their free fall, the Buckeyes have struggled with slow starts. Against Northwestern Thursday, they got off on the right foot but fell flat in the second half.

Ohio State can’t seem to piece it all together. It’s like the Buckeyes are playing a game of “Whac-A-Mole”: They fix one issue, and another sprouts.

“It’s human nature,” freshman captain Bruce Thornton said. “You’re gonna get frustrated. You’re gonna get like, ‘I’m tired of this’ to a point. But until we figure out how to do the small things, nothing’s gonna get past us.

“So we gotta figure out what to do for the small things.”

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