COLUMBUS, Ohio _ A return to Big Ten basketball required a return to the grind synonymous with the league's style of play.
And in the case of Ohio State, it meant back to the basics for big man Kaleb Wesson.
He just didn't get enough help.
Wesson finished with his fifth double-double of the season and passed the 1,000-point career scoring mark, scoring 22 points and adding 13 rebounds, but Wisconsin (9-5, 2-1 Big Ten) took a one-point lead on a Nate Reuvers jumper from the right elbow with 1:54 to play and held on to hand the Buckeyes (11-3, 1-2) a 61-57 loss Friday night at Value City Arena.
Wesson entered the night second on the team in 3-point attempts and leading the Buckeyes in scoring. He didn't attempt a 3-pointer until 11:31 remained in the game, and he buried it for a 41-35 Buckeyes lead. Until that point, he had scored 13 points either in the paint or at the free-throw line.
At one point, Wesson scored nine straight points for the Buckeyes during the early portion of the second half, helping carry things when a hot start sputtered. Ohio State scored on six straight possessions out of the locker room, putting together a 13-2 run and building a 38-31 lead before the Badgers called a timeout to stem the tide.
From there, Ohio State could never push it out of reach, and the Badgers kept coming.
The game marked a homecoming for former Ohio State center Micah Potter, who played two seasons for the Buckeyes but quit the team just before the start of the 2018-19 season and did not become eligible to play for the Badgers until the end of fall semester. He was greeted with a smattering of boos when he checked in at 17:34 of the first half as the first substitute off the bench for the Badgers, and after committing a quick turnover he would eventually score Wisconsin's first points on and up-and-under move against Wesson.
To that point, the Badgers had missed their first five shots and turned it over five times. Ohio State, however, couldn't take full advantage and only led 7-0 before Potter's basket. Much like in their prior time out against West Virginia, the Buckeyes then saw the offense stagnate. During a span of 6:24, Ohio State missed six of seven shots and two free throws and turned it over five times as its 7-0 lead became a 9-9 game before Wesson hit two free throws with 10:37 to play to give the Buckeyes an 11-9 lead.
It caught up with them before the end of the half, as the Badgers hit two 3-pointers in the final 40.2 seconds to take a 29-25 lead into the break. Wisconsin closed with a 14-6 run after Wesson picked up a second foul and sat for the final 4:24 after scoring 10 points and pulling down nine rebounds to that point.
Ohio State was without junior Kyle Young, who missed the game after undergoing an appendectomy Sunday night.
