Chris Holtmann didn’t deviate from what he typically says after each loss.
He’s always devastated after losses. Always. Regardless of the opponent. Thus, he didn’t have any appreciably different attitude after Illinois handed the Buckeyes a 63-56 defeat Thursday at the Schottenstein Center.
“A loss is a loss. A loss is a loss,” Holtmann said. “People look at it differently. I'm disappointed after every loss, whoever it is, whatever time it is or whatever point in the season.”
Even still, will he bring up the NCAA tournament to his players considering Ohio State’s status as a bubble team?
“No, no, we won't talk about it. We'll talk about getting better,” Holtmann said. “We'll talk about getting better. And a lot of team would like to be in the bubble picture, including the one we played tonight. I think for us right now, our focus is not on bubble or anything like that. Our focus is on getting better and improving and growing. That's our focus as coaches.”
Holtmann might not want to discuss it publicly or with his team, but even he knows how much the loss to the Illini hurts the Buckeyes.
Everyone knows Ohio State’s roller coaster of a path this season. It started the season 12-1, then went 1-6 with a porous January performance that featured a five-game losing streak. Just when the Buckeyes’ NCAA tournament odds seemed to be dire, they went on a three-game winning streak with wins against Rutgers, Penn State and Indiana.
Momentum ended as suddenly as possible with Thursday’s deflating loss. Ohio State could afford to lose games down the stretch. No one thought it would end the season undefeated or anything close to that. But this loss to a team with the second-worst overall record in the Big Ten hurts, and Andre Wesson admitted as much.
“All losses hurt, but this one we needed to have,” Wesson said. “And for us not to be prepared, that's on me and us older guys. It can't happen.”
He’s right. Especially against Illinois.
The Buckeyes were rolling, and they had an opportunity to move to 7-6 in the Big Ten.
“We were .500,” Wesson said. “We're still trying to make the NCAA tournament. We're not a lock. So any game we play, we've got to have right now.”
Ohio State has seven regular-season games remaining, then it will take part in the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes’ schedule down the stretch doesn’t do them any favors, and they’ll likely need to win a game or two they aren’t supposed to in order to make the field of 68.
Five of their seven remaining opponents – No. 11 Michigan State, No. 12 Purdue, No. 20 Wisconsin, No. 21 Iowa and No. 24 Maryland – are ranked in the top 25. Ohio State plays Northwestern twice – Feb. 20 at home and March 6 on the road – and can’t afford losses to the Wildcats, who are 12-12 overall and 3-10 in the Big Ten.
Not much that led to Ohio State’s latest loss surprised those who have seen this team both succeed and falter.
The Buckeyes turned the ball over 18 times, a staple of what has gone wrong when they’ve run into troubles. C.J. Jackson tied his career high with seven turnovers, though he had a team-high 17 points and made 8-of-11 free throws.
“He was better off the ball when we played them last time,” Holtmann said. “He got himself into some difficult decisions with the ball. Seven turnovers is a lot. I don't question how hard he competed. I thought he competed. Those turnovers were critical.”
Keyshawn Woods had three turnovers, as well, meaning the team’s pair of fifth-year senior guards had 10 combined turnovers.
Kaleb Wesson didn’t get into much of a rhythm, scoring 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting. Both he and Kyle Young fouled out, which left Ohio State without two of its key forwards for the final two minutes.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said the Illini tried to force the Buckeyes off of the 3-point arc, trying to get Ohio State to beat them inside, and the strategy worked. The Buckeyes hit just 2-of-13 3-pointers with both Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington Jr. missing all three triples they attempted. They didn’t have any more success at the rim either, making just 9-of-19 layup attempts.
“I thought some of them were clean,” Holtmann said. “I thought some of them were rushed. And I thought they did a good job taking us out of our offense.”
The Illini didn’t shoot the lights out, making 44.4 percent of their shots from the field and going 6-for-21 from beyond the arc, but Holtmann saw room for improvement.
“Give them credit for the win and making those plays late offensively,” Holtmann said. “I just didn't like – we had a couple breakdowns. Ayo (Dosunmu) hitting those shots, that's one thing. But we had a couple breakdowns in our ball-screen defense and a couple critical fouls.”
Ohio State couldn’t afford to lose Thursday, but it happened.
Just two more can’t-lose games remain. Both come against Northwestern. In order to make the NCAA tournament, the Buckeyes need to do what Illinois did to them to one of its upcoming opponents.
