COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State needed size.
With two-and-a-half minutes gone in the second half, head coach Chris Holtmann called a timeout and told Harrison Hookfin to sit down.
The Buckeyes were worn thin. After starting the game, playing the first eight minutes before being checked out with two fouls, redshirt senior forward Kyle Young was nowhere to be found, leaving the game with an undisclosed illness, while sophomore forward Zed Key sat out with an ankle injury.
Ohio State needed size. The 6-foot-5 walk-on forward would have to do.
Playing two minutes, Hookfin wasn't the answer. No one was for Ohio State Sunday night as the Buckeyes fell, 78-70, to Nebraska on Tuesday night.
Trailing by eight, the frustration was already mounting.
A loose ball ignited a scuffle at the middle of the floor, where redshirt senior Seth Towns raced off the bench, forcing assistant coaches to pull him back, following up an eight-minute drought of made shots in the first half, an offense that really didn’t recover as Nebraska continued to build its lead, building the momentum it had Sunday against Penn State
The Buckeyes needed something, anything facing a team that had only won two of its 18 games in its Big Ten schedule. And every time they tried to spark a comeback, the Cornhuskers seemed to have an answer.
But Ohio State couldn’t do it.
Every time Ohio State made a shot, trying to set up the right amount of momentum to turn this game around, Nebraska responded, answering each 3 with a 3 of its own, each layup with a jumper.
This was supposed to be a get-right game for Ohio State (18-9, 11-7 Big Ten). Instead, it was its most embarrassing loss, falling to Nebraska (9-21, 3-16), 78-70, with Michigan State coming to town on Thursday.
Here are a few takeaways from Tuesday’s game.
Losing Kyle Young provides no depth on glass for Ohio State
Ohio State had no trouble on the boards Tuesday night.
Facing a Nebraska team that was near the bottom of the league in rebounding, bringing in a -6.9 rebounding margin, the Buckeyes were able to find its home on the glass.
In the first 20 minutes, Ohio State recorded 21 rebounds — 11 defensive and 10 offensive — compared to Nebraska’s 12.
But it was what Ohio State did with those rebounds that turned into the main story. And that’s where the Buckeyes found that it missed Zed Key most.
The sophomore forward was unavailable for Tuesday’s game against Nebraska after suffering an ankle injury against Nebraska Sunday. Head coach Chris Holtmann said Sunday that Key would be “evaluated,” but was unsure how long the sophomore forward would be unavailable.
While Key’s struggled as of late on the glass, he has a tendency of finishing on the glass, providing that physical presence inside, despite being 6-foot-8.
Ohio State needed someone like Kyle Young to shine, to show up down low and provide that extra physical spark he’s been known for throughout his career with the Buckeyes.
He played the first eight minutes of the game, connecting on one-of-three attempts from the floor, adding two rebounds and a block along with a turnover and two fouls.
Holtmann made a substitution eight minutes into the game and Young never returned, heading to the locker room and not returning to the bench when the Buckeyes came out for the second half.
An Ohio State spokesman confirmed that Young would miss the rest of the game with an illness, cutting into Ohio State’s depth again in the paint.
Ohio State ended the game with the advantage on the glass, leading the rebounding battle by 11 boards. But it was nothing that could stop Bryce McGowens C.J. Wilcher and the rest of the Nebraska offense, shooting 49.1% from the floor with nine 3s on 23 tries.
McGowens led the way for Nebraska with 26 points.
Story remains the same for Ohio State’s offense
E.J. Liddell found the hot hand early.
Grabbing an offensive rebound off a miss to start the game, the Ohio state junior forward hit his signature fadeaway jumper: a welcome sign after making three of his 10 attempts from the field at Maryland Sunday.
The offensive success continued, making four of his first six shots from the field for a quick nine points, bringing Ohio State back and giving them an early lead, something the rest of the Buckeye offense responded to, stretching it the lead to six with a jumper from Malaki Branham with 8:12 to go in the first half.
But then, as if it were on cue, Ohio State’s offense went cold.
The Buckeyes missed their next eight attempts from the field, including four 3-point tries, allowing Nebraska to explode on an 18-6 run — a run Ohio State could only respond to with makes from the free-throw line. Branham cut into that lead with 10 seconds left in the first half, ending an eight-minute streak without a field goal with a 3-pointer, leading to a four-point deficit against a team that has won only two of its 18 games inside conference play.
It was a deficit Ohio State couldn’t seem to overcome no matter how hard it tried.
Whether it was a 3-point make by Liddell or Sotos, the Cornhuskers always seemed to find an answer, keeping its lead, handing Ohio State its first losing streak of the season.
Liddell finished with a team-leading 27 points, making seven of 17 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line.
Branham added 16, making five of his 11 attempts from the floor.
News and Notes
Ohio State freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. played Tuesday for the first time since Jan. 9 against Northwestern without a mask. Leading up to the Buckeyes’ second matchup against Wisconsin Jan. 13, Johnson suffered a facial fracture which led to three missed games, returning Jan. 27 against Minnesota with the mask. In that eight-game span, the freshman guard shot 20.6% from the field and 20% from 3. Tuesday night, Johnson scored no points, missing both of his attempts from the field in two minutes of play.
Ohio State guard Jimmy Sotos saw his first game action Tuesday night since Feb. 15, checking into the game early in the first half. He finished the game with a season-high eight points and two assists in 23 minutes of play.
No player had recorded more than five assists in a single game against Ohio State this season until Nebraska senior dished out 11 in his 35 minutes of play Tuesday night, recording nine in the first half alone.
What this means
Ohio State has two more home games to finish out the regular season. But this loss feels like the end of the Buckeyes’ hopes in 2021-22.
The adversity was piling up: the loss of Key and Young, the stagnant offense in the first half that created inconsistency in the second, an inability to shut down Nebraska long enough to mount a comeback.
Ohio State’s been able to respond to losses well over the course of this season. Leaving the court, the Buckeyes had their first losing streak of the season.
And it feels insurmountable to come back from.
What’s next
No. 23 Ohio State returns to its home floor Thursday when it hosts Michigan State at 7 p.m.
With two-and-a-half minutes gone in the second half, head coach Chris Holtmann called a timeout and told Harrison Hookfin to sit down.
The Buckeyes were worn thin. After starting the game, playing the first eight minutes before being checked out with two fouls, redshirt senior forward Kyle Young was nowhere to be found, leaving the game with an undisclosed illness, while sophomore forward Zed Key sat out with an ankle injury.
Ohio State needed size. The 6-foot-5 walk-on forward would have to do.
Playing two minutes, Hookfin wasn't the answer. No one was for Ohio State Sunday night as the Buckeyes fell, 78-70, to Nebraska on Tuesday night.
Trailing by eight, the frustration was already mounting.
A loose ball ignited a scuffle at the middle of the floor, where redshirt senior Seth Towns raced off the bench, forcing assistant coaches to pull him back, following up an eight-minute drought of made shots in the first half, an offense that really didn’t recover as Nebraska continued to build its lead, building the momentum it had Sunday against Penn State
The Buckeyes needed something, anything facing a team that had only won two of its 18 games in its Big Ten schedule. And every time they tried to spark a comeback, the Cornhuskers seemed to have an answer.
But Ohio State couldn’t do it.
Every time Ohio State made a shot, trying to set up the right amount of momentum to turn this game around, Nebraska responded, answering each 3 with a 3 of its own, each layup with a jumper.
This was supposed to be a get-right game for Ohio State (18-9, 11-7 Big Ten). Instead, it was its most embarrassing loss, falling to Nebraska (9-21, 3-16), 78-70, with Michigan State coming to town on Thursday.
Here are a few takeaways from Tuesday’s game.
Losing Kyle Young provides no depth on glass for Ohio State
Ohio State had no trouble on the boards Tuesday night.
Facing a Nebraska team that was near the bottom of the league in rebounding, bringing in a -6.9 rebounding margin, the Buckeyes were able to find its home on the glass.
In the first 20 minutes, Ohio State recorded 21 rebounds — 11 defensive and 10 offensive — compared to Nebraska’s 12.
But it was what Ohio State did with those rebounds that turned into the main story. And that’s where the Buckeyes found that it missed Zed Key most.
The sophomore forward was unavailable for Tuesday’s game against Nebraska after suffering an ankle injury against Nebraska Sunday. Head coach Chris Holtmann said Sunday that Key would be “evaluated,” but was unsure how long the sophomore forward would be unavailable.
While Key’s struggled as of late on the glass, he has a tendency of finishing on the glass, providing that physical presence inside, despite being 6-foot-8.
Ohio State needed someone like Kyle Young to shine, to show up down low and provide that extra physical spark he’s been known for throughout his career with the Buckeyes.
He played the first eight minutes of the game, connecting on one-of-three attempts from the floor, adding two rebounds and a block along with a turnover and two fouls.
Holtmann made a substitution eight minutes into the game and Young never returned, heading to the locker room and not returning to the bench when the Buckeyes came out for the second half.
An Ohio State spokesman confirmed that Young would miss the rest of the game with an illness, cutting into Ohio State’s depth again in the paint.
Ohio State ended the game with the advantage on the glass, leading the rebounding battle by 11 boards. But it was nothing that could stop Bryce McGowens C.J. Wilcher and the rest of the Nebraska offense, shooting 49.1% from the floor with nine 3s on 23 tries.
McGowens led the way for Nebraska with 26 points.
Story remains the same for Ohio State’s offense
E.J. Liddell found the hot hand early.
Grabbing an offensive rebound off a miss to start the game, the Ohio state junior forward hit his signature fadeaway jumper: a welcome sign after making three of his 10 attempts from the field at Maryland Sunday.
The offensive success continued, making four of his first six shots from the field for a quick nine points, bringing Ohio State back and giving them an early lead, something the rest of the Buckeye offense responded to, stretching it the lead to six with a jumper from Malaki Branham with 8:12 to go in the first half.
But then, as if it were on cue, Ohio State’s offense went cold.
The Buckeyes missed their next eight attempts from the field, including four 3-point tries, allowing Nebraska to explode on an 18-6 run — a run Ohio State could only respond to with makes from the free-throw line. Branham cut into that lead with 10 seconds left in the first half, ending an eight-minute streak without a field goal with a 3-pointer, leading to a four-point deficit against a team that has won only two of its 18 games inside conference play.
It was a deficit Ohio State couldn’t seem to overcome no matter how hard it tried.
Whether it was a 3-point make by Liddell or Sotos, the Cornhuskers always seemed to find an answer, keeping its lead, handing Ohio State its first losing streak of the season.
Liddell finished with a team-leading 27 points, making seven of 17 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line.
Branham added 16, making five of his 11 attempts from the floor.
News and Notes
Ohio State freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. played Tuesday for the first time since Jan. 9 against Northwestern without a mask. Leading up to the Buckeyes’ second matchup against Wisconsin Jan. 13, Johnson suffered a facial fracture which led to three missed games, returning Jan. 27 against Minnesota with the mask. In that eight-game span, the freshman guard shot 20.6% from the field and 20% from 3. Tuesday night, Johnson scored no points, missing both of his attempts from the field in two minutes of play.
Ohio State guard Jimmy Sotos saw his first game action Tuesday night since Feb. 15, checking into the game early in the first half. He finished the game with a season-high eight points and two assists in 23 minutes of play.
No player had recorded more than five assists in a single game against Ohio State this season until Nebraska senior dished out 11 in his 35 minutes of play Tuesday night, recording nine in the first half alone.
What this means
Ohio State has two more home games to finish out the regular season. But this loss feels like the end of the Buckeyes’ hopes in 2021-22.
The adversity was piling up: the loss of Key and Young, the stagnant offense in the first half that created inconsistency in the second, an inability to shut down Nebraska long enough to mount a comeback.
Ohio State’s been able to respond to losses well over the course of this season. Leaving the court, the Buckeyes had their first losing streak of the season.
And it feels insurmountable to come back from.
What’s next
No. 23 Ohio State returns to its home floor Thursday when it hosts Michigan State at 7 p.m.
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