Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State looking to respond in face of adversity at Northwestern

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Ohio State looking to respond in face of adversity at Northwestern

Well, Ohio State is back to where it started: the 391-day drought without a “true” road win has come full circle.

The Buckeyes’ last victory in an opponent’s arena came on New Year’s Day last year at Northwestern’s Welsh Ryan Arena. Since, they have lost 13 straight road games.

Brandon Bailey, a longtime NBA assistant who joined the Ohio State staff this summer, wasn’t there for the first nine of those games. But he’s been around basketball at all levels and has seen streaks like this before.

“Number one, you always have to be forward thinking and be present in where you’re at,” Bailey said Friday. “We’ve got to focus on getting better today. But then when we’re watching film, when we’re reviewing a past game acknowledging those moments when we feel like we’ve had adversity, and we haven’t responded well — then it’s trying to come to some type of conclusion of like, ‘Well, how are we going to respond the next time?'”

“Next time” is Saturday night against a Wildcats squad that just beat No. 10 Illinois in overtime earlier this week.

Northwestern is 10-1 at home this season, 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten play.

The Wildcats are led by fifth-year guard Boo Buie, the “head of the snake,” according to Buckeyes wing Jamison Battle. Buie averages 18.5 points but also 5.3 assists per game, the third most feeders per game of any player in the Big Ten.

“He can affect you in a lot of different ways,” Bailey said. “Not just in pick-and-roll, but he can hurt you off some off-ball screening actions, isolation. And then he has really good players around him.”

Brooks Barnhizer does a little bit of everything for Northwestern. The 6-foot-6 junior is posting 14.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals per outing.

Buie and Barnhizer are two of four Wildcats shooting north of 35% from beyond the arc. Northwestern, as a team, is shooting 37.4% from long range this season, a clip that’s tied for second in the Big Ten.

The Wildcats — who also downed then-No. 1 Purdue at home back on Dec. 1 — are on track to make the NCAA Tournament back-to-back years for the first time in program history.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Ohio State to start building its resume. The Buckeyes have only one Quad 1 win and zero Quad 2 wins so far. They’re 13-6 overall but only 3-5 in league play and have lost four of their last five games while shooting just 24.3% from deep in that span.

Coming off its first losing season since 2003-04, Ohio State is at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row — the last time that happened was 2015-17.

Battle isn’t thinking that way.

He said the Buckeyes had a “different jump” and “different life” to them in practice this week after their blowout loss at Nebraska Tuesday.

Battle transferred to Ohio State from Minnesota this past offseason for a shot to play in March Madness. He believes that’s still on table, and he knows he and his teammates are still hungry.

“There’s obviously a sense of urgency. But with that sense of urgency, it can’t be forced. It can’t be pressed. And for me to think that this team is not capable of making an NCAA Tournament, I think is very ignorant, just because of the talent that we have,” he said.

“I think, for us, in the end, we have more than needed to make a run. It’s just about now making sure that we’re doing those things that good teams do and we’re doing those things that teams who have made the tournament in the past emulate.”

That starts with shooting the ball better, playing tougher on the glass, stacking defensive stops and, ultimately, winning on the road.

Drop-off in 3-point defense significant part of Buckeyes New Year slide

Ohio State’s miserable 3-point shooting stretch has coincided with a drop-off in 3-point defense. The Buckeyes have allowed their last five opponents, on average, to shoot a blistering 45.8% from deep and make 9.8 triples per game.

“We’ve dropped significantly from the 3-point line,” said Ohio State assistant Brandon Bailey, a longtime NBA assistant who joined the program last summer to help the Buckeyes defensively.

“There are some things we certainly need to be better within the confines of our system and what we need to get done there in order to protect the paint first but also limit and take away shots.”

For the full story, go here.

Roster Reset: Evaluating Ohio State offensive line after lackluster 2023

Lettermen Row’s “Roster Reset” continues with an examination of the Buckeyes’ offensive line, a position group that was the weak link of an offense that fell short of the program standard in 2023.

Ohio State is returning four starters up front, but the starting lineup could have more than one change next season.

The Buckeyes have already added one lineman from the transfer portal, and they could bring aboard at least one more by the time training camp rolls around.

Here’s a first look at what the depth chart could be as well as the big question facing the O-Line room right now. Check it out here.

RELATED

• Roster Reset: Examining Buckeyes retooled tight end room
• Roster Reset: Examining Buckeyes wide receiver room, potential depth chart
• Roster Reset: Examining Buckeyes loaded running back room
• Roster Reset: Examining Buckeyes reshaped quarterback room

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Akron: 217 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 308 days

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