Previewing Ohio State basketball’s road trip to Northwestern
By Willie Lutz
The Buckeyes picked a good time to face the Wildcats, but the danger is very obvious on the road.
After making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history last season, the Northwestern Wildcats aren’t in good shape. When the No. 22 Ohio State Buckeyes arrive in Evanston, IL, they’ll see the 11-8 Wildcats, who have started out conference play 2-4. Now, they’ll see the 15-4 (6-0) Buckeyes, who make the road voyage to the Chicagoland suburb.
It’s been nearly a full year since the Buckeyes clashed with the Wildcats. Last season, Ohio State took a close home loss, falling 74-72 at home on January 22nd, 2017. However, this is obviously a very different Buckeye team than last season’s bunch.
This game is a mismatch for the Wildcats, who are undersized and shoot the ball poorly.
Coming into the game, the Wildcats rank 263rd in the country in field goal percentage, shooting 42.9-percent. They also rank No. 128 in three-point percentage, hitting 36-percent from beyond the arc.
By the same numbers, Ohio State ranks 21st (49.4-percent) and 75th in three-point percentage (37.6-percent).
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Those numbers are going to matter on the defensive end on the floor. While both teams allow 67.2 points per game, that only indicates that the better shooting team has the upper-hand; the better shooting team is Ohio State and it’s not even close.
Ohio State is riding a 5-game winning streak into the match-up and Northwestern is 2-3 in their own last five. Northwestern cannot beat Ohio State if they play like they did against Indiana on Saturday, where they lost 66-46.
In the loss, Northwestern’s two best players and leading scorers, seniors Bryant McIntosh (13.1 PPG) and Scottie Linsdey (14 PPG) scored 2 and 7 points, respectively. No Wildcat finished in double-digits in the loss to the Hoosiers.
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Tonight’s game presents a good chance for the Buckeyes to grab a solid, conference road win. However, with a tough Minnesota team coming up on Saturday, the Buckeyes must ensure they’re not looking ahead.