Ohio State basketball shows courage in win vs. Northwestern

The Ohio State basketball team looked like they were going to blow a game against Northwestern again. Instead, they showed courage and finished the game strong to gain the victory.

The Ohio State basketball team needed to win tonight. They needed a win against one of the middling Big Ten teams because they’re schedule coming up is brutal. They took care of business, beating Northwestern 81-71 in a game they could easily have let slip away.

In the first meeting between these two teams, the Buckeyes choked away a lead in Evanston. They were up by 7 with under four minutes left and ended up losing by a point. It looked like something similar was going to happen tonight. Instead, Ohio State held on.

Duane Washington was a big reason why. He had 23 points and made some tough shots. He wasn’t efficient, which he almost never is, but those points were huge in the first half. Washington also had 6 assists after he was able to break down defenders with ease.

Justin Ahrens was also huge. He went 4-5 from three and made a huge shot at the end of the game to stretch the Ohio State lead to four. If he could play any defense at all, he would be a really good player. In any case, he was big in this one.

Meechie Johnson played his first extended minutes of the season and showed up well. He made both of his three-point attempts and finished with 6 points. He is someone who is going to have to play a bigger role on this team now that both C.J. Walker and Jimmy Sotos are hurt.

Ohio State was able to shoot 41.7% from deep while Northwestern was held to only 26.1%. Holtmann made sure to defend the three-point line better than they did in the first matchup. Holtmann settled his team down after it was 67-66 and helped his team finish on a 14-4 run.

This was a really good win for a shorthanded Ohio State squad. They need to build on this win and keep their confidence.