The Ohio State basketball team is a bubble team. When you are on the bubble, you have to beat the bad teams on your schedule, especially when you play them at home. If you don't, you find yourself at risk of not making the NCAA Tournament. That is now the reality the Ohio State Buckeyes find themselves in.
Ohio State suffered an incredibly embarrassing loss to Northwestern at the Schott on Thursday night, losing 70-49. They scored just 24 points in the first half, but they were still down just seven at halftime. The deficit only got worse from there, and Ohio State never got close.
Only scoring 49 points against the third-worst team in the Big Ten is unacceptable. Micah Parrish was the leading scorer for the Buckeyes with 16 points, but he did so on just 5-13 shooting from the field. The team as a whole shot just 32.7% from the field and 19% from three.
The Ohio State basketball team might be outside the bubble after huge loss
This is the kind of loss that could keep them from making the NCAA Tournament. It's a loss that puts them firmly on the bubble and possibly outside of the bubble. This now puts the pressure on them to win the rest of their games and possibly one in the Big Ten Tournament.
Jake Diebler really put together an unacceptable performance as a coach. This team cannot play this poorly at this stage of the season. He has had a few stinkers as the coach this season, but this one is one of the worst. Ohio State was in a great position just two weeks ago.
Now, things have changed. Losses to Nebraska, Michigan, and Northwestern have really put the Buckeyes in a bind. There's now a realistic shot that the Buckeyes will miss the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row.
Diebler needs to get his team to stop turning it over and start making shots. They need more easy offense because whatever shots they're getting right now are not easy. That comes down to coaching and scheming things up.