Ohio State Basketball: Poor start makes Buckeyes’ uphill climb too steep

Once the Ohio State Buckeyes found a rhythm on offense they came storming back against the Wisconsin Badgers but it wasn’t enough to pull off the win.

The first half of yesterday’s game can only be described as ugly as both Ohio State and Wisconsin had trouble finding the bottom of the net. The Badgers were a little more successful at doing so and led 26-16 lat halftime.

Early in the second half Wisconsin players found their shooting strokes and it looked as though the game would be a blowout. Ohio State fell behind 44-21 just four minutes into the second half and still trailed 58-36 with about seven minutes to play.

Finally the shots began to fall for the Buckeyes and they came storming back to tie the game at 63, and even had the ball with a chance to win at the end of regulation. The amount of energy spent during the comeback seemed to take its toll and the Badgers pulled away in overtime to win 73-67.

It was quite an effort by the Ohio State players to fight back and send the game into OT. But why did the Buckeyes only score 16 points during the first 20 minutes and then find a way to put up 47 in the second half?

Poor starts have plagued Ohio State often this year but lately they have been extremely problematic, and the deficits created as a result have been too big to overcome.

During the three losses with Kaleb Wesson out due to his suspension the Buckeyes have averaged just 17.7 points in the first half. The scoreboard wasn’t exactly lighting up the three previous games with the big center in the lineup, but at least the scoring average was 29.3 the first 20 minutes and Ohio State won two of those games.

The Buckeyes just can’t seem to battle back and pull out a win if they can’t score more than 20 points in the first half.

Stats provided by ESPN.com.

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Quick takes:

Why isn’t Justin Ahrens seeing more playing time and getting more touches? All of his made three pointers came in the second half when the Buckeyes were putting points on the board. The freshman isn’t “The” answer to an improved offense, but having a 40 percent shooter from long distance on the floor makes opposing teams pay attention to him and opens up opportunities for others.

C.J. Jackson and Keyshawn Woods laid everything on the line to try to bring home a win in their final game at Value City Arena. Jackson scored 22 points, had 5 assists, 5 rebounds and two steals. Woods totaled 9 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

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Ohio State will now face Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday at 12:30 PM. It will be a challenge for the Buckeyes as the Hoosiers also have a chance of earning an NCAA Tournament bid and are on a four game winning streak.

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