Ohio State basketball loses fourth straight game

The Ohio State basketball team lost their fourth straight game by falling to Illinois, and it ends any shot they have at getting a one seed.

The Ohio State basketball team is not elite. That’s what we have learned over the last four games. They have lost them all and now their ceiling is grabbing a two seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Chris Holtmann clearly doesn’t know how to finish close games with this group. In three of the last four games, the Buckeyes have lost by single digits. That clearly shows a lack of an ability to close games when the going gets tough.

The offense shut down in the last two minutes. Ohio State held a 68-65 lead with 1:30 left in the game and then got out scored 8-0 the rest of the way. That’s a failure of coaching to put the team in a spot to win.

Ayo Dosunmu killed the Buckeyes in his return to the lineup. He had 19 points and was a problem the entire game. Ohio State had no answer for him defensively. The same can be said for Andre Curbelo, who added 19 points of his own.

Illinois shot 51% from the field, underscoring how bad Ohio State’s defense is. They have gotten burned time and time again. Conversely, the Buckeyes only shot 40% from the field. They struggled to get good looks late and it cost them the game.

Ohio State is sliding at the worst possible time in the season. They are a team that someone would love to play in the NCAA Tournament right now. They are very much in danger of getting bounced in the second round yet again.

Holtmann needs to fix this team now. Otherwise, this will be a disappointing end to a promising season.