Another Ohio State basketball game, another loss to a Big Ten opponent, this time at the hands of Michigan State, 62-41.
Once again the offense was horrendous, as they couldn’t find the bottom of the basket for long stretches of the game and couldn’t get enough stops when they got within five points midway through the second half.
Buckeye head coach Chris Holtmann is enduring his worst season at Ohio State, one where many are questioning the future of the program.
These wasn’t much good to come from this loss as most of my thoughts are negative, but is what stood out in my mind after the latest Ohio State basketball loss.
Another different starting lineup didn’t produce different results
Your starting 5️⃣!
🔴 @Bruce2T_
🔴 @SeanMcNeil22
🔴 @JusticeSueing
🔴 @_Issaaac
🔴 @iamzedkey#Team124 | #GoBucks— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 5, 2023
Why it mattered
For this particular Buckeye team, they need to get off to good starts to keep themselves in games. Holtmann has tried multiple different starting lineups as he continues to look for the best group the begin with on the court. Well, this one didn’t get the job done like many of his other mixes. The team got off to a bad start and it extended for the first entirety of the half. They would score just 14 points, the fewest since 1996, shooting an abysmal 19% from the field. The starters accounted for 12 of the points, so it wasn’t just them that struggled.
Offensive flow was terrible again
A 3️⃣ from @roddy_gayle takes us into the half.
OSU: 1️⃣4️⃣
MSU: 2️⃣7️⃣ #Team124 pic.twitter.com/jBZadmHh6V— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 12, 2023
Why it mattered
More turnovers, 11, than assists, 5. Another outing where their shooting percentage is under 30, today just 28.3%. Only two free throws shot, making one, showing that when the jumpers weren’t working, the team didn’t try and get points from the line. An average of just over one point per minute is not going to win you many games and the Buckeyes once again take a loss at home, this time in blowout fashion.
The first half deficit was too much to comeback from
Take over, Brice. @bricepsensa x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/ZMThiugCcI
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) February 12, 2023
Why it mattered
At one point it looked like the Buckeyes were creeping back into the game, cutting the Spartans’ lead to five points at 38-33 will over 11 minutes left after a Brice Sensabaugh jumper. The visitors would then go on a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to give them a cushion again and cruise to a victory. The terrible start haunted the Buckeyes, a deficit they could never catch up to. The aforementioned run killed the crowd’s energy along with Ohio State’s hopes to win this game.
Can we fast forward the remainder of the year?
Final from Columbus.
OSU: 41
MSU: 62 pic.twitter.com/TUNOyX0oxZ— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 12, 2023
Why it mattered
This is just getting hard to watch at this point if it hasn’t already. As a huge fan of Buckeye basketball, it pains me to have to sit for two hours and watch a bad team play. I want the best for the program and this is one of the worst seasons we have had to endure in a long time. The last season the Buckeyes weren’t a .500 team was in the 2003-04 season and it looks like this year’s squad will break that streak. We can all deal with watching a team that is competitive and unlucky with outcomes but this team isn’t that. This Buckeye squad is just flat-out bad and it’s time to start looking toward next season.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on Twitter.
