Ohio State basketball hopes to right the ship in Big Ten Tournament

“We faced a gauntlet those last four games. Three of the teams were in the top-five or top-10. I don’t think any team has had to face anything like that,” Ohio State basketball graduate assistant Danny Hummer said. “I always try to look positively at the situation and we’re a more prepared team having faced that heading into the Big Ten.”

The Ohio State basketball team lost their last four games of the regular season following a 7-game winning streak. Although it’s not exactly the way they wanted to end the season, the Buckeyes are still in position to make a run in the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament if they’re able to regain mid-season form.

Chris Holtmann’s team is the 5-seed in the upcoming conference tournament, where the Buckeyes will look to right the ship after struggling without Kyle Young. Ohio State will face Minnesota (14-14, 6-14) on Thursday, March 11 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with a berth in the quarterfinals on the line.

“We know there’s no easy game in the Big Ten. Minnesota beat us this year so I think it’s good that we’re playing a team like that because we’re going to have to bring everything,” Hummer explained. “In the Big Ten, especially this year, there’s no game you can just skirt by. I think having a game like that is great for us.”

The Buckeyes will be favorites against Minnesota despite losing to them 77-60 in early January. If Ohio State advances, they’ll get 4-seed Purdue on Friday afternoon. The Boilermakers swept OSU in the regular season, winning two games by a combined nine points. EJ Liddell didn’t play in the first matchup though.

Liddell is averaging a team-high 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and is arguably the most important player on this team. In order for the Buckeyes to put a couple wins together in the Big Ten Tournament, they’ll need Liddell, Justice Sueing, and Duane Washington to carry the scoring load at an efficient rate.

“I think we’re very versatile both offensively and defensively. We have a lot of guys that can guard multiple positions and we’re very skilled offensively,” Hummer said. “We have a lot of guys that can step out and spread the floor. Our guys have shown they can rebound from anything and I think that’s going to show in the Big Ten Tournament.”

Down the road, the Ohio State basketball team could match up with 1-seed Michigan in the semifinals and either Illinois (20-6, 16-4) or Iowa (20-7, 14-6) in the championship. Michigan beat the Buckeyes 92-87 on Feb. 21. The Big Ten Tournament championship game will tip-off at 3:30 PM on Sunday, March 14 in Indianapolis.

“If we do happen to face Purdue or Michigan down the line, it always hurts to lose to a team… I think that’s going to fuel us,” Hummer told me. “We’ll change some things up here or there but for us, it’s just about getting back on track. I think heading into this Big Ten Tournament, we’re going to get back on track.”