Standing outside Ohio State's locker room after suffering another heartbreaking loss, Buckeye seniors Sam Thompson and Shannon Scott stood with blank stares on their faces as they fielded questions from a few members of the media.
Understandably, the two weren't very talkative. After all, Ohio State had just lost 59-56 to Michigan State in East Lansing on a game-winning 3-pointer by Denzel Valentine with 3.2 seconds remaining.
"It always hurts, man," Thompson said. "Any loss hurts."
But it's certainly not a new feeling for Thompson, Scott or any other member of the Buckeyes. Not this season, anyway. They've been here before as three of their last four losses have come by one possession.
Ohio State dropped a 69-66 game at Indiana on Jan. 10, it fell 60-58 at Purdue on Feb. 4 and fell by three to the Spartans on Saturday.
"It's our job to work as hard and play as hard throughout the game to put us in the position to win those games," Thompson said. "We've been in a position to win but we haven't gotten it done. But we gotta keep going."
So, what is it? Why have the Buckeyes not been able to close out these tight games on the road?
Well, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta hinted at one big reason.
"I know this, we can’t in this environment, in this caliber of game go 5 of 13 from the free-throw line," he said.
But there are other reasons, too. Each game is different.
For example, against Michigan State, the Buckeyes' star freshman D'Angelo Russell scored just two points after the 10:46 mark of the first half and did not attempt a shot in the final 3:18 of the game. That can't happen.
Time is running out for Ohio State. The Buckeyes aren't on the bubble for the NCAA tournament at the moment, but they're certainly not helping themselves in terms of seeding by losing key road games in the Big Ten. Ohio State is just 3-6 away from Columbus this year and those three wins have come against Minnesota, Northwestern and Rutgers — three of the Big Ten's worst teams.
The key for the Buckeyes is how they respond, especially with another road game on deck at Michigan on Sunday. Ohio State has not lost back-to-back games yet this year.
"The same thing we do after a win we're going to do after a loss," Thompson said. "We're going to get in the gym, we're going to get better. We're going to be ready to play next game."
