Ohio State must treat every game in the Big Ten Tournament as if the season is on the line.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin (17-13, 9-11 B1G) | United Center | 6:30 p.m. | BTN |
That’s because the Buckeyes aren’t likely to play another game beyond this week without a conference tournament title. Ohio State hasn’t had a prayer at an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament for weeks, and even though the NIT no longer requires a team to have a .500 record to get in, no program without one has been selected to play in the event since the rule change.
As for other alternatives, it appears improbable that Ohio State would accept an invite. Therefore, the Buckeyes’ 2022-23 campaign may only last as long as it continues to win at the United Center in Chicago.
The #B1GMBBT bracket pic.twitter.com/Gm01WYcOle
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 6, 2023
While opportunity still remains for 13th-seeded Ohio State, there’s little in the way of expectations for a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament. But such a stretch could at least allow Chris Holtmann and company to close the program’s worst season in decades on a positive note.
“I’m confident in our positioning right now. Especially the way everyone’s playing together, our mentality, our process just getting ready for games,” Justice Sueing told reporters after Ohio State’s loss to Michigan State on Saturday. “We’re stepping on the floor expecting to win. It’s a thing we have with our walk, just how we are expecting to play. Play Buckeye basketball. We’re going in there ready to get to it.
“We’re going in there trying to win, obviously. We’re trying to get as far as we can to win the Big Ten championship. I feel like I’m really confident in our guys. We made a lot of strides, especially over the past couple of weeks, just with our play and our togetherness.”
“We’re going in there trying to win, obviously. We’re trying to get as far as we can to win the Big Ten championship.”– Justice Sueing
Winning two of its last three games of the regular season, Ohio State has tangible momentum for the first time since the start of the new year. Stakes aren’t particularly high, given the unlikelihood that Ohio State hoists any hardware in Chicago, but the Buckeyes won’t approach their first-round matchup against 12th-seeded Wisconsin with that attitude.
“I think there's always urgency in these settings. But there's obviously great urgency,” Holtmann said Monday during an interview session at the Schottenstein Center. “I think the focus is, as much as anything, you're trying to focus on those things that you've done well and not come off of that, and not come off of that messaging in terms of what have we done well here and what do we need to continue to grow in? That's as important as anything here is we'll head into it.”
Three Important Buckeyes
Brice Sensabaugh
Duane Washington nearly led the Buckeyes to the promised land in 2020-21 with a stellar individual tournament run that saw Ohio State advance to the championship game. Perhaps Sensabaugh, Ohio State’s go-to scoring option this season, can boost the Buckeyes’ chances at another deep run with a breakout stretch of play in Chicago. Sensabaugh earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and made the Big Ten All-Freshman team on Tuesday, and starting with a standout performance against Wisconsin, the first-year Buckeye could put those merits into practice – and keep Ohio State’s season alive – at the United Center.
“Any time you have a guy that just has the ability to kind of get hot and score it like that, sometimes these tournament settings can be moments where they really kind of break out,” Holtmann said.
@bricepsensa has been officially named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/So97gtEMEJ
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 7, 2023
Bruce Thornton
No Buckeye stepped up their level of play over the past month more than Thornton, who has been instrumental in Ohio State’s late-season revival. From Jan. 1 through Feb. 2, the freshman point guard averaged just 5.4 points per game on 27.9% shooting. Since then, Thornton’s been putting up 14 points a night on 54.4% from the field, and he scored at least 19 points in four of the past nine games. Ohio State looks like a different team with Thornton as a legitimate scoring second option, and his 3-point shooting has helped the Buckeyes stretch the floor as of late. Thornton knocked down four of his eight 3-pointers against Michigan State, and the Buckeyes could use more where that came from in Chicago.
Felix Okpara
The freshman center has started to come into his own in the absence of injured starter Zed Key. Since stepping into a regular starting role over the past five games, Okpara averaged more than twice as many points as he did in the previous 26 outings. Okpara’s 12-point, 12-rebound, three-block performance in a win over Maryland was a revelation for the first-year Buckeye and could be a sign of things to come in the Big Ten Tournament. If Okpara can’t maintain his elevated caliber of play, though, the Buckeyes could be in for trouble against a team like Wisconsin, which Holtmann believes possesses the size to test some of OSU’s smaller lineups.
What to Know About Wisconsin (Wednesday)
The 12th seed in the tournament following a 4-5 stretch to close the regular season, Wisconsin already has a win over Ohio State. The Badgers beat the Buckeyes, 65-60, in Columbus on Feb. 2 in a game that signaled the beginning of the end for Ohio State’s hopes of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | Season Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHUCKY HEPBURN | G | 6-2 | 211 | 12.2 PPG, 2.9 APG |
| MAX KLESMIT | G | 6-3 | 180 | 8.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG |
| CONNOR ESSEGIAN | G | 6-4 | 185 | 11.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG |
| TYLER WAHL | F | 6-9 | 220 | 11.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG |
| STEVEN CROWL | F | 7-0 | 217 | 11.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG |
But on Wednesday, Wisconsin’s own shot at an at-large berth may be on the line, as the Badgers would likely fall out of the NCAA Tournament field with a loss to the Buckeyes. Greg Gard’s group is sitting at 17-13 on the season, and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Wisconsin on the wrong side of the bubble as one of the first four teams out of the Big Dance as of Tuesday.
Not to mention, Ohio State has looked better in three straight rematches over the past week-and-a-half, exacting revenge upon both Illinois and Maryland in late February before giving Michigan State a late scare in East Lansing to close out the regular season.
However, Holtmann cited the Badgers’ interior play as a potential problem for the Buckeyes. Seven-foot forward Steven Crowl and 6-foot-9 forward Tyler Wahl combine to average 22.9 points and 13.4 rebounds per game. Wisconsin averaged the fewest rebounds in the conference in the regular season, but even a disadvantage on the glass didn’t stop the Badgers from getting the better of the Buckeyes in the first matchup.
“I just think right now it gives us the best chance to win, is playing with a little bit more mobility and speed,” Holtmann said. “Now that'll be tested against Wisconsin because their interior guys, they play kind of two post guys, even though (Tyler) Wahl’s a forward that can guard really one through five, his ability to really hurt you in the post. And then, obviously, their center does a terrific job scoring. So that'll get tested in this particular game, for sure. But I do think it just makes us a little more active. We saw it against Michigan State, just having Gene (Brown)’s versatility. And we’re just more athletic. We move better with that group.”
Wisconsin’s starting backcourt duo did most of the damage in the first meeting with Ohio State, though. Big Ten All-Freshman selection Connor Essegian scored a team-high 17 points on Feb. 2, and team scoring leader Chucky Hepburn put up 15 of his own.
Ohio State is a one-point favorite and feels like the more dangerous team in the matchup given its talent and recent improvements. But regarding the odds, this is close to a pick’em.
Line: Ohio State -1, O/U: 131
Prediction: Ohio State 72, Wisconsin 68
Potential rubber match with Iowa (Thursday)
If Ohio State wins on Wednesday, it will be back in action in less than 24 hours in a rubber match with fifth-seed Iowa at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes split the first two matchups this season, with each side blowing out the other on their home court.
Ohio State had one of its best performances in the second half of the season in a 93-77 win over Iowa on Jan. 21, a game in which five Buckeyes finished in double figures. Sensabaugh had his highest-scoring output of the season (27 points) while Isaac Likekele emerged as a surprise X-factor with a season-high 18 points of his own.
In the rematch, it was Iowa’s high-octane offense that made the difference. Kris Murray and Tony Perkins combined to score 44 points as Iowa shot 56.9% from the field, nailed 10 3-pointers and drubbed the Buckeyes, 92-75, in Iowa City. As the top-scoring offense in the Big Ten in the regular season, the performance was hardly a surprise for the Hawkeyes. But the Buckeyes can’t afford a similar defensive effort if they find themselves in the second round of the tournament.
Iowa went 2-3 in the five games after beating Ohio State, and turned in widely inconsistent performances across that stretch. The Hawkeyes scored a combined 112 points in back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota, but equaled that total in an overtime win over Michigan State in the next game. The Hawkeyes notched their most impressive result of the season in a 90-68 win on the road against then-No. 15 Indiana on Feb. 28, but closed the regular season with a disappointing home loss to Nebraska – the 11th seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Third spin against Sparty? (Friday)
Ohio State will get its third crack at Michigan State if it manages to string two wins together in the Big Ten Tournament. Claiming the fourth seed in the tournament after a Senior Day win over the Buckeyes on Saturday, the Spartans have a double-bye that allows them to play their first game around 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
Michigan State already has two wins over Ohio State, but in markedly different fashions. The Spartans molly-whopped the Buckeyes in what was arguably the worst performance of the season for the scarlet and gray on Feb. 12. Ohio State scored just 14 points in the first half and finished with 41, its lowest single-game total in 27 years, to finish with a 21-point loss on its own home floor.
In the rematch on Saturday, the Buckeyes proved they can hang with the Spartans, even if the final score still resulted in a loss. Ohio State finished with a six-point deficit but only trailed by three at one point in the final six minutes. The Buckeyes’ showing was all the more impressive when you can consider the Spartans won all but two games they played in East Lansing all season and had the motivation of Senior Day to add wind to their sails.
Ohio State may not be expected nor favored to go as far as the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. But if it does, OSU faces a Michigan State team with plenty of tape to draw upon and a confidence-inspiring performance from just six days prior to build off of.
