Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes suffer monumental loss
If it wasn’t clear before just how important Kaleb Wesson is to this Ohio State team it is now as the Buckeyes fell to Northwestern by the score of 68-50.
Yes, you read that right, Ohio State just lost by 18 to a team that had lost 10 games in a row.
It was not a good night at any point for a Buckeye team that scored only one point more in their previous matchup against Purdue. But hey, at least they didn’t give up 86 in this one.
The shooting for both teams in the first half was atrocious as the game went into halftime with Northwestern in the lead 28-17. Ohio State shot 4-28 in the first half, and for anyone not doing the math on that one, it adds up to 14.3%.
The Buckeyes also shot under 20% from three for the second game in a row. This time seeing a 5% increase from last game. They shot 26% overall from the field in one of their worst offensive performances of the season.
Keyshawn Woods led Ohio State with 15 points on 5/11 shooting. Woods helped give the Buckeyes a little bit of a spark but it obviously wasn’t enough. Woods also led the team in rebounds with 7.
Duane Washington Jr. was the only other Buckeye to score in double figures at 11.
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The Buckeyes were able to out rebound the Wildcats 45-39 however and only turned the ball over 9 times compared to Northwestern’s 5.
The leading scorer for the Wildcats was Derek Pardon who dominated in the paint racking up a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. No surprise with the absence of Kaleb Wesson.
Up next for Ohio State Wisconsin to close out the season.
The Buckeyes will surely fall out of the NCAA Tournament field after a loss such as this one so a win over the ranked Badgers would be huge for them.
However, it will almost certainly not come without Wesson as Wisconsin has the best center in the Big Ten in Ethan Happ who is averaging 17.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals, all team highs. Ohio State will certainly need Wesson for defensive purposes, but more importantly on the other end of the floor because the offense runs immensely better with him banging in the post and creating better shots on the perimeter.
4 spring wishes for the Buckeyes. dark. Next
Ohio State is now on the outside looking in for the NCAA tournament after starting the season 12-1. An unexpected turn of events for what seemed to be a promising year for the Buckeyes.