The Buckeyes head home to face Washington as they kick off a three-game, must-win homestand.
After a disappointing, winnable road loss to Nebraska, Ohio State heads back to Columbus to kick off a homestand that sees them playing three games in the next eight days. Up first is Washington, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday night on the Big Ten Network.
The Buckeyes (14-10, 6-7 B1G) have managed to work their way back into March Madness contention as of late, having won four of their last six, including a road upset at No. 11 Purdue and last Thursday’s thriller against No. 18 Maryland, but they’ll need to keep the momentum moving in their favor with a quick bounce-back from their loss in Lincoln.
Washington presents a good opportunity to do so. Though the Huskies (12-11, 3-9 B1G) are coming off a home win over Northwestern and have an overall record over .500, they sit near the bottom of the Big Ten with just three conference wins.
The two teams have met 13 times in program history, but this is their first meeting since 2012, when the Buckeyes beat the Huskies, 77-66, in the championship game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-off.
Preview
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Ohio State’s recent successes made their 10-point loss to the Cornhuskers feel a bit like a kick in the shins. What amounts to a minor setback could not have come at a more inopportune moment in the season, with each game impacting their somewhat tenuous postseason hopes.
The Buckeyes have already clawed their way out of a hole and back into the postseason conversation after winning four of their last six, including two upset wins over ranked teams (Purdue and Maryland), but what was most frustrating about the Nebraska loss was how preventable it felt.
Despite Micah Parrish’s best efforts to singlehandedly carry the team to victory, missed opportunities and offensive struggles cost the Buckeyes what could have been another victory to make their NCAA Tournament case, dropping them back below .500 in conference play.
Parrish, for his part, had a spectacular outing, boasting a career-best 30 points, 14 of which came in the first half. The number bested his previous record by eight points. He looked strong from the opening half and finished 11-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-12 from three-point range.
After the Huskers went on an early 13-2 run, Parrish put up eight consecutive points to keep the Buckeyes in the game. In spite of themselves, Ohio State led at the half, 39-34, though they allowed Nebraska to shoot 51.9 percent and failed to capitalize on free throws, making just 50 percent of them.
From there, Parrish seemed to be the only one on the floor for the Buckeyes to start the second half, with the Huskers taking the lead despite Parrish’s attempts to keep his team in the game. With just over three minutes left in the game, John Mobley Jr. was the only other Buckeye to have scored points in the second half. Mobley finished with 21 points, shooting 5-of-10 from long range, the only Buckeye other than Parrish to finish with double digits in the game.
Devin Royal missed part of the game for the Buckeyes after he collided with Husker Andrew Morgan under the basket, with Morgan landing on Royal’s ankle, though Royal was able to return part-way through the second half.
Bruce Thornton, who leads OSU with an average of 17.3 points per game, struggled to find his footing against Nebraska, putting up just nine points and five assists. It was a marked change from his own lights out performance against Maryland in which he put up 31 points.
Thornton also leads the team in assists, averaging a little over four per game.
Three other Buckeyes are also averaging in double-digit scoring: Royal (13.7 ppg), Mobley (13.1 ppg), and Parrish (12.1 ppg). Royal also boasts a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.
On the other side, Washington has struggled in conference play, netting only three conference wins this season. In addition to last weekend’s win against Northwestern, they have a six-point win against Maryland and a three-point win against Minnesota earlier this season.
In their 76-71 victory over the Wildcats, which snapped a four-game home losing streak for the Huskies, Washington led by as many as 14 points in the second half but blew it, falling behind the Wildcats with under five minutes left to play. They regained the lead for good with just under two to play, winning, 76-71.
In the game, the Huskies were led by sophomore guard Tyler Harris, who put up 18 points, while senior forward Great Osobor put up 16 points and nine rebounds. Osobor leads the team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals this season, averaging 15.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and two steals per game.
Harris is also boasting a double-digit scoring average, with 12.4 per game, while freshman guard Zoom Diallo is good for 10.8 points per game.
Prediction
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In what has amounted to a rebuilding year for the Huskies, it’s been a rough go. They’ve got the potential to grow into a competitive program, but they’re still missing a few pieces to the puzzle and they’ve struggled in conference play, having lost as many as six consecutive games this season.
The Buckeyes, on the other hand, have done well at home, going 9-4 at the Schott at a point when each game becomes more and more critical to their postseason hopes.
Coming off their loss to Nebraska, the Buckeyes should fare better in a friendlier atmosphere, and this game represents an opportunity to catch their breath a bit, but — and it’s a big but — they can’t look ahead and they can’t cave under the pressure to perform.
If they can keep their focus, the Bucks should be able to take this one and kick off their homestand with a win.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 88.4%
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: BTN
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 78, Washington 65