It’s not going out on a limb to say that apathy will pervade parts of Ohio State’s fanbase after a third straight loss and 12th straight loss on the road for the Buckeyes.
Especially when it comes against your archrival who was on a five-game losing streak and entered the contest 6-10 overall.
Also especially when that fanbase has fresh memories from a streak of losing 15 of 16 games in 2022-23, or when that fanbase has white-hot opinions about whether its head coach is the right man to lead the program forward.
Whether it feels otherwise or not, the 2023-24 season is not lost. Chris Holtmann and his players are not acting as such. Nor can they afford to, sitting at 12-5 with half of January and all of February and March still to play.
“Listen, you guys will see it,” Holtmann told the Ohio State media gathered in the Crisler Center after Ohio State’s loss to Michigan. “You guys, obviously, can write about a three-game losing streak right now. But our story is far from over. You’ll see what this group can grow into. Not many people are gonna feel that right now, but I certainly do. I know our staff does. And I know a lot of the guys in the locker room do.”
But Ohio State is running out of time before its campaign fades into the ether. If the downtrodden Wolverines weren’t the right matchup to get the Buckeyes back some form of momentum, they’ll need to find a new source quickly.
“They’re still a Power 5, Big Ten team. They’re still a good team at the end of the day,” Bruce Thornton said. “We’re just two teams competing at the end of the day, and we fell short today. We’re gonna keep stacking days. Even though we lost, we’ve gotta keep our heads up high. We’ve got 14 more Big Ten games.”
Some of the same issues that hurt the Buckeyes against Wisconsin and Indiana cost them against the Wolverines. Some of the deficiencies were different.
With a 3-of-25 outing from three-point distance vs. Michigan, Ohio State is now 16-of-70 (22.9%) shooting behind the arc during its three-game losing streak.
“It’s a way different ballgame when you’re making shots and when you’re missing shots,” Thornton said. “It’s a make-or-miss league for this league, it’s a make-or-miss league for a lot of Power 5 and mid-major leagues because if you make shots, the whole tenor of the game is different. At the end of the day, I feel like we’ve still got to hang our hat on the defensive side. I feel like we got good stops but a lot of second-chance points really killed us.”
“Our story is far from over. You’ll see what this group can grow into. Not many people are gonna feel that right now, but I certainly do.”– Chris Holtmann
Michigan outrebounded Ohio State 43-38 and posted 17 second-chance points. This comes after the Buckeyes collected more boards than both the Badgers and Hoosiers.
Holtmann agreed with Thornton’s overall sentiment, saying the Buckeyes need to be able to “rely” on their defense when looks aren’t falling. Particularly when looks aren’t falling for their star players.
While a 2-of-7 outing is an improvement on recent three-point shooting trends for Thornton, he’s now a combined 3-of-24 from outside in his last three games.
Roddy Gayle Jr. entered a combined 11-of-45 from the field with 12 turnovers against five assists in his last three contests entering Monday. Though he went 3-for-8 with a respectable 12 points against Michigan, he recorded no assists with two turnovers and both he and Thornton missed some key looks down the stretch.
“What we can do is really evaluate the quality of our looks, and then they’ve gotta trust their stroke,” Holtmann said. “I think that’s what we’re trying to evaluate, ‘What are the quality of our looks?’ and ‘Did we get some good looks late?’ We did get the ball in a couple of spots where we wanted to late. ... Then just keep working on closing out games. We obviously have to get better at that.”
“It’s a way different ballgame when you’re making shots and when you’re missing shots.”– Bruce Thornton on Ohio State's three-point shooting struggles
Trailing by 12 in the second half, Ohio State managed to piece together a 16-0 run to get back into the game and take a two-score lead, but that will be – perhaps rightfully – overshadowed by how the Buckeyes closed.
Michigan ended the game on an extended 13-4 run that lasted the final four minutes of play.
“You’re always self-evaluating,” Holtmann said. “You’re evaluating the quality of looks we got late. But I think we’ve got young guys that are closing games for pretty much the first time. I think there’s a process to that.”
Ohio State’s distribution also fell to levels it had not previously reached, with the Buckeyes collecting just six assists as a team. Their previous season-low was nine.
Michigan’s three-point shooting, perhaps coupled with Ohio State’s shortcomings in that area, was one of the biggest trends in determining the outcome of the contest in the Crisler Center. The Wolverines finished 12-of-23 (52.2%) from deep.
“The first half they were 7-of-11, they got a few of those on our ball-screen coverage,” Holtmann said. “When you’re going to commit two to the ball, I just think we needed to challenge a little bit better and we stayed a little bit too long.”
“I think we’ve got young guys that are closing games for pretty much the first time. I think there’s a process to that.”– Chris Holtmann on his team's struggles closing out games
Comparisons to last year are going to be stuck with this team until it provides fans with a different outcome. Holtmann still feels their level of play is much better this campaign, even if recent results don’t indicate that.
“All the numbers would suggest it’s much different than last year, the quality of our games,” Holtmann said. “Even the ones we’ve lost here have been much better than the stretch of play we were in last year.”
While Ohio State certainly suffered some blowout losses during its skid in 2022-23 – including one stretch where it lost three consecutive games by 17 points or more – the start of the streak featured plenty of close games.
The Buckeyes kicked things off with a valiant effort against No. 1 Purdue, falling by a tight 71-69 scoreline at home to move their record to 10-4 on the season. They then went on the road and lost by seven points to Maryland before a three-point loss to a Minnesota team that finished at the bottom of the Big Ten, one facing similar struggles to Michigan’s this year.
Ohio State’s fourth loss in a row during its first five-game losing streak last season came in overtime at Rutgers.
The Buckeyes stayed competitive in games last year before their wheels completely came off. That’s not to say that the same is in store for this season, but the “quality” of games they’re playing isn’t going to ward off a similar stretch, either.
Ohio State’s points scored and points allowed per 100 possessions are miles better than they were a year ago. That stands among a few other pieces of statistical evidence that this year’s team is better than last year’s. That still needs to bare out on the court, however.
| STAT | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|
| Points per 100 possessions | 109.2 (64th) | 112.9 (56th) |
| Points allowed per 100 | 103.9 (231st) | 98.4 (107th) |
| Kenpom Rank | 49th | 47th |
| FG% | 46.2% | 44.6% |
| 3P% | 36.8% | 35.2% |
| FT% | 73.9% | 74.7% |
| Reb Margin (Per Game) | 2.8 | 5.9 |
| SPG | 5.2 | 5.5 |
| BPG | 3.8 | 4.6 |
| AST/TO | 1.1 | 1.3 |
“People that are in it know how hard it is, (people) that have been through it,” Holtmann said. “I think, really, your focus is just improvement and that’s really where we’re at as coaches. And I love our locker room. I love our guys. I love the leadership from a couple of those older guys and the sophomore group.”
“I love our locker room. I love our guys. I love the leadership from a couple of those older guys and the sophomore group.”– Chris Holtmann
As for doubts about Holtmann’s leadership, his players still have his back.
“They’ve been saying ‘fire Holtmann’ since before I even got here,” Thornton said. “We don’t look at it at all, to be honest, because they ain’t in the locker room. They ain’t running with us. They ain’t going to the meetings. They ain’t going over film. They ain’t lifting with us. So it’s really just bad energy, and we don’t pour into bad energy. It’s not good. It’s not good for the soul.”
Michigan already felt like a must-win for Ohio State, but with a loss in the rear-view mirror, the Buckeyes’ home tilt with 8-9 Penn State on Saturday feels like a must-win. Two Big Ten road games are on tap for OSU afterward, this time against two opponents with winning records in 13-4 Nebraska and 12-4 Northwestern.
No. 14 Illinois won’t present any let-up for the Buckeyes at home, either. Another road trip to Iowa (11-6) follows that.
Ohio State’s current three-game losing streak has a clear path to spiral to eight games if the Buckeyes fail to correct course starting with Penn State on Saturday. If they want to rewrite the story of their season – and of Holtmann’s tenure – they better begin making edits soon.
