The Buckeyes have hit another new low.
Somehow, some way, Ohio State has found a way to hit something lower than rock bottom. Its offense was the problem again on Sunday afternoon.
The Buckeyes were blown out at home by Michigan State, 62-41, to Ohio State its sixth straight loss and 11th loss in its last 12 games. In a game that featured plenty of scoring droughts, the Buckeyes shot just 28.3% (17-of-60) from the field, 20.7% (6-of-29) from beyond the arc and made one of its two free-throw attempts.
How bad was the Buckeyes’ offensive performance? The 41 points scored by Ohio State are the fewest points they have scored in a game since a 55-41 loss to the Spartans on Feb. 7, 1996. A new low, indeed.
The Buckeyes were 10-17 in 1995-96. After starting that season 7-1, Ohio State was just 3-15 in the Big Ten, including losing nine of its final 10 games (and 12 of its final 14 games). https://t.co/tus0WVSNeV
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) February 12, 2023
Ohio State mustered just 14 points in the first half, a total that included a Roddy Gayle 3-pointer with five seconds remaining to end a 7:14 scoring drought by Chris Holtmann's squad. In fact, the Buckeyes had more turnovers (eight) than made field goals (five) in the first half of Sunday’s game.
After cutting Michigan State’s lead to 41-35 with 10:30 to play, Ohio State proceeded to score only six points in the game’s final 10 minutes.
On Jan. 5, Ohio State was 10-3 (2-0 in the Big Ten) and had the No. 1-ranked offense in the country, according to KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency rankings. With its loss to Purdue later that night, the Buckeyes have now lost 11 of its last 12 games and have reached the 70-point mark in just three of those games. KenPom now ranks Ohio State 29th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 50th overall – one spot behind Oral Roberts.
The Buckeyes’ six straight losses are their longest losing streak since they lost 17 games in a row during the 1997-98 season.
There's plenty of blame to go around for the Buckeyes' losing woes over the last month-plus, but their stagnant offense is near the top of the list. Sunday's loss to Michigan State on the national network stage was just another example of that.
