Scarlet and Game
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Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes down Wildcats with strong 2nd half

By Charlie Lockhart

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 05: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes gives instructions to his team against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the United Center on December 05, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Illinois 77-67. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 05: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes gives instructions to his team against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the United Center on December 05, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Illinois 77-67. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Neither Ohio State or Northwestern could get things going on the offensive end in the first half but that changed for the Buckeyes after the break and they pulled away for a 63-49 victory.

To say both Ohio State and Northwestern played poorly on offense in the first half of last night’s game would be an understatement. The game was tied 14-14 15 minutes into the game and you had to wonder if either team would score 20 points in the first 20 minutes of play.

But both teams finally found the bottom of the basket a few times afterwards and the Buckeyes led the Wildcats 24-20 going into the break.

Northwestern closed the gap to 26-25 early in the second half but Ohio State extended the lead to 32-25 and never led by less than four points after that. After the Wildcats closed the gap to 42-38 with about 10 minutes to play the Buckeyes scored the next eight points and pulled away for the 63-49 victory.

Leading scorers for Northwestern were Vic Law with 10 points, A.J Turner 9 and Dererk Pardon 8. Kaleb Wesson led Ohio State with 22 points, Kyle Young and Duane Washington added 8 apiece.

The win kept the Buckeyes in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid and improved their record to 17-9 overall and 7-8 in the Big Ten. The loss dropped the Wildcats record to12-14 and 3-12 in the conference.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.

Quick takes:

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The Buckeyes had better spacing in the second half which led to better passing angles. As a result they had 18 assists and only 8 turnovers for the game. And if my count is correct, 6 of the turnovers were in the first half.

I liked the fact that the ball got into players hands around 15 feet from the basket more often. That drew the attention of the Northwestern defensive players which set up back door cuts and Ohio State took advantage of those opportunities.

It was good to see freshman Justin Ahrens get extended playing time. He looks like he could develop into a scorer and the Buckeyes could use another one going forward.

Brian Hartline will produce elite WRs again in 2019. dark. Next

Ohio State will go on the road to face Maryland at 2:00 PM on Saturday. It will be a tough test against the ranked Terrapins but if the Buckeyes can pull off a win it will certainly enhance their tournament resume.

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