Ohio State Basketball: After Win Over Nebraska, Now What?

Ohio State pulled a win over Nebraska but will it lead to the Buckeyes turning around their season?

Who would have thought 1 second would have made a huge difference in the Ohio State win over Nebraska? It seems like last second wins are becoming a trend in 2017 beginning with the Clemson win in the National Championship Game versus Alabama.

Within the last second of play, Ohio State calls a Timeout, and then Nebraska does. THEN Ohio State fans rejoiced as Marc Loving makes a lay up (assist by C.J. Jackson) to push the Buckeyes to a 67-66 win.

First it seemed that Ohio State lost in regulation, 65-66, but after a close review it was proven that Loving did in fact make the basket before time expired (.6 seconds to be exact). Once you think this is the longest second ever, Nebraska still calls a timeout after Loving made the shot.

Let’s take a look at the leaders in Ohio State’s win over Nebraska:

"Game Leaders"

Points
- OSU-Mark Loving (15)
- NEB-Tai Webster (18)
Rebounds
- OSU-Marc Loving(11 total, 9 defensive, 2 offensive)
- NEB-Evan Taylor (8 total, 8 defensive, 0 offensive)
Assists
- OSU-JaQuan Lyle (3)
- NEB-Tai Webster (3)

What a game for senior Forward Marc Loving. The Buckeyes are now 2-4 in the Big 10, ranked just above Rutgers who is 0-6. The Buckeyes still have plenty room to improve, one place being their lack of made foul shots. This isn’t the first time the lack of good free throw shooting almost cost the Buckeyes the game. While Ohio State has won their past two games, they are far from being a tournament team.

Ohio State faces a tough schedule ahead of them

OSU plays Maryland twice
- Who is #1 in this the conference, Maryland has star junior guard, Melo Trimble, who shocked fans when he did not declare for the NBA draft, as many thought he would.
OSU travels to Michigan
- OSU isn’t that great on the road, especially when facing their rival.
- Michigan has had 3 players put up 20 points or more when facing Nebraska, which we see the Buckeyes as a comparable team to the Cornhuskers.
Wisconsin
- The Buckeyes face the Badgers on their own turf, which will hopefully give them some luck. The second time the Buckeyes play the Badgers could be good, or as terrible as it was the first time around (89-66)

The main issue the Buckeyes face is not being able to pull out narrow victories. Numerous times they have played in close games, but were unable to pull out a win. One of the contributing factors to this is, many games we have seen poor coaching decisions.

The Buckeyes are now on a “roll” but a 2 game conference streak isn’t anything to be proud of after starting 0-4 in their conference. The loss of Keita Bates-Diop was far from helpful for Ohio State. The team lacks strength and Bates-Diop was a main component when you thought of the Buckeyes.

More from Scarlet and Game

Now, what is there to face versus Northwestern on Sunday?

When facing Northwestern it won’t be easy, then again not much will be easy for this Ohio State team. Poor foul shooting at times, number of turnovers per game, silly fouls and poor coaching leave the Buckeyes in a poor spot.
Bryant Mcintosh, is the head star and “go to guy” when speaking Northwestern, with an average of 12 points per game and a team high of 5.6 assists per game.
OSU is home, which plays a big factor and is a major plus for the Buckeyes
Northwestern is sitting at number 3 (tied with Purdue and Michigan State) in the Big 10 standings

Ohio State’s basketball team has regressed the last few years, especially after the loss of D’Angelo Russell to the NBA. The downfall of Buckeye basketball leads to boring play, poor coaching calls, shooting problems and all together sloppy play, especially on the defensive end.

Must Read: 2014 and 2015 Duds Cause Offensive Woes

Lets see if the Buckeyes can overcome their tough schedule and hopefully turn things around this season. It will be a challenge to do so to say the least.

Home/Ohio State Basketball