The Ohio State basketball team suffered a bad loss against Nebraska in their last outing. It was a game that they could have won if they had executed better down the stretch. Instead, they lost a game to a bubble team and lost out on an opportunity for a Quad I win.
On Wednesday, the Ohio State Buckeyes were taking on one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. Washington came to town looking to spoil Ohio State's NCAA Tournament hopes. The Buckeyes haven't made the Big Dance in three years. A loss to the Huskies would have been severely damaging to those hopes.
The Buckeyes made sure that wasn't going to be an issue. They got out to an early lead and never looked back. They shot 71% from the floor and scored 51 first-half points against the Huskies. They ultimately won the game 93-69 in what was an impressive offensive output.
The Ohio State basketball team destroys Washington to avoid a bad loss
In a game in which everyone played well, John Mobley Jr. stood out. Juni had 21 points and made five three-pointers. His shooting opens up everything else for this team offensively, so he needs to keep it going. The Buckeyes drive more easily to the rim when he's ripping threes.
Ohio State will take this win and still have things to learn. The Buckeyes still allowed Washington to shoot almost 47% from the field. Their defense needs to be better, although they typically have some of the best defense in the Big Ten. They just need to play that way more consistently.
Ohio State ended up having four players score in double figures. That balance is something they need to have coming down the stretch. If they can win three or four more games at the end of the season, they should be able to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes still only have one more game against a current ranked team, and that's against Michigan. The rest of the schedule is fairly easy. They just have to play some solid basketball for them to play meaningful games in March for the first time in the Jake Diebler era.