Ohio State Finds Silver Lining Following Fourth-Straight Loss

By Tim Shoemaker on December 1, 2015 at 11:11 pm
Jae'Sean Tate on the floor against Virginia.
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Thad Matta, like most coaches at major college basketball programs, isn’t big on moral victories.  But when asked if he was disappointed following his team’s 64-58 loss to No. 10 Virginia on Tuesday night or encouraged by the performance, Ohio State’s head coach answered with a response you might not necessarily expect.

“A little bit of both,” he said. “I thought that we competed more tonight. We had more of a purpose to what we were trying to get accomplished in terms of I said what Virginia was trying to do and what we were trying to take away. … But we have to understand the small things are making just a huge difference for us.”

That sounds a little bit like a moral victory. But for a team now in the midst of a four-game losing streak, maybe that’s the next best thing next to an actual win.

The Buckeyes fell to 2-4 on the season Tuesday night after their upset bid fell short against the Cavaliers in the annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Ohio State was encouraged after this particular game, though, as it was clear it put forth its best effort of the young season.

The Buckeyes hung with one of the favorites to win the Atlantic Coast Conference for the majority of the game. But in typical Tony Bennett-led Virginia form, the visiting Cavaliers were poised down the stretch, they didn’t panic, and pulled out a win on the road without starting point guard London Perrantes.

Ohio State was within one point at 50-49 with just over eight minutes remaining after a Marc Loving 3-pointer before Virginia ran off seven-straight points prompting Matta to call a timeout. The Buckeyes scrapped and clawed from there, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. Ohio State cut the lead to four twice and had it within three with 27 seconds left, but ultimately came up short.

That’s been the common thread during this four-game streak, though: The Buckeyes are getting close, but they’re not winning games. Ohio State's four losses have come by five, eight, five and six points.

“It just seems like all our games come down to the wire,” sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate said. “We’ve just got to figure out a way to bring it home.”

In recent games, turnovers and free-throw shooting have been what plagued Ohio State in close games. The Buckeyes committed just 13 turnovers against the Cavaliers and made 8 of 12 from the free-throw line, both of which are significant improvements. But some of those turnovers and empty possessions came at key points in the game when Ohio State had a chance to get itself over that metaphorical hump.

“It’s bittersweet,” said junior forward Marc Loving, who had a team-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. “It’s bitter we lost, but it feels good to know that we’re getting better each and every game to the point where we’re able to compete with top-10 teams.”

Now, for the Buckeyes, it's all about what's in front of them. Tate said there's no time to dwell on their record, but they now must turn their improved play into wins. 

That all starts Saturday when Ohio State is next back on the floor against VMI.

“I think the biggest thing for us is we cat take steps backwards," Matta said. "I think we’re making some strides in the right direction but as I told them, it would be the biggest travesty if they took a step backwards in terms of our progress."

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