The Ohio State basketball team is going to consider this one a game that it let get away.
It was another hard-fought Big ten battle for the Ohio State basketball team, and this time the Buckeyes couldn’t quite get it done, falling to Northwestern 71-70. It was a nip and tuck affair all along, but OSU controlled the lead for most of the game, until the very end when the Wildcats hit some huge shots to wrestle victory away from defeat.
Ohio State played a pretty solid game, and you have to give credit to Northwestern for sticking to it, playing through some adversity, and making the plays it had to down the stretch, but OSU had a shot to win it. With 12.0 seconds left, Duane Washington was trusted to dribble drive to the rim, had a layup, and simply missed the shot. E.J. Liddell got the rebound through physical contact, but couldn’t get a shot up. Northwestern corralled the loose ball and got fouled with two seconds left, effectively sealing the deal.
As we do with every OSU basketball game, here are three big things we took away from the close-shave loss against the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday.
NEXT … Have to be more mentally tough
Ohio State can win a lot of games if it takes gets it right upstairs
The biggest swing, though, is the turnovers.#Northwestern has 16 points off turnovers, whereas #OhioState has zero.
— Jacob Benge (@JacobBenge) December 26, 2020
Coming into this one, Ohio State had only been committing nine turnovers per game. That wasn’t the case Saturday in the first half. Instead of being strong and confident with the ball, slopiness and tentativeness crept in. As a result, the Buckeyes gave up some points and possessions when it could have stretched things out.
Then there was the mental brain cramp by an otherwise solid floor manager, point guard C.J. Walker. He unexplainably reached in and committed a foul with almost no time remaining at half-court to send Northwestern to the free-throw line. Instead of going into the break with a two-point lead, Ohio State and Northwestern went in tied. That two-point swing was literally the difference in the game too.
Things were much better in the second half, but it’s a 40-minute game for a reason. In a league as tough and tight as the Big Ten, one or two plays or possessions in many games is going to be the difference between a win and a loss. It was today as well.
NEXT … Seth Towns coming on?
Ohio State is going to be a much more dangerous team is Seth Towns continues his comeback
Seth Towns is getting mad buckets on my TV screen! pic.twitter.com/skMaGQZql9
— Land-Grant Holy Land (@Landgrant33) December 26, 2020
It’s hard to really know what to expect from forward Seth Towns, but we know he has the skill to be a big part of this team. He’s still getting his legs and confidence back, but he was a threat off the bench in this one.
Towns showed some aggressiveness and desire to score at some key moments Saturday. He finished with eleven points on four-of-five shooting and if Ohio State has designs of making a deep run in the postseason, it might need Towns to continue to get comfortable and break into that starting lineup.
NEXT … E.J. Liddell has to be THE guy when the game is on the line
E.J. Liddell was surprisingly missing on the last possession
😤 #GoBuckeyes #Team122 pic.twitter.com/WcHFhIu1RB
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) December 26, 2020
I have to admit, I was very surprised the last possession didn’t go through E.J. Liddell. He has shown more than anyone on this team, that if you need a quality shot, he has the desire, ability, and confidence to get one for you. Instead, a play was drawn up for a very inconsistent Duane Washington who lacks quality shot judgment often times. In other words, the ball was going up no matter what when he got his hands on the ball.
Now, the shot was actually a very good one coming off a ball screen, but Washington missed the bunny, and the game was effectively over. We’re not a part of the game-planning obviously, and maybe the Wildcats took Liddell away somehow, but in that situation, the ball has to go to the best player on the team. With all due respect to Washington, it’s not him.
I’d love to hear Holtmann’s thoughts on that play.
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