A new month brings out a new and improved Buckeye basketball team. That win at Iowa was a very impressive win for the Bucks. I think this is the momentum they needed to get out that slump. It has been a month since they have won two in a row. And boy does it feel good after that win.

My player of the game was Aaron Craft. I guess all of the hatred chants coming from Iowa’s student section gave Craft a little motivation to drop 17 points, 6 assists and 6 steals. He had one of the best game he has had all season. Amir Williams had an offensive spark with 12. Also, Shannon Scott came off the bench with 11 points. Sam Thompson started in place of him and he had a decent game offensively hitting 2-2 from 3 point land. The Buckeyes looked very smooth on offense this game.

Defense had a huge part in this victory against a good Iowa team. The defense was able to hold off Marble and White. Last time they played them Marble and White had great games. The defense looked sharp tonight and will have to look that way come March if we want to see a run. The only issue was getting after it on the glass. Ohio State had a rough first half in the paint. Iowa was man handling them off the glass. They were getting to many second chance shots.

These last two road wins have signified that the Buckeyes are back. Two back to back road wins in the Big Ten is impressive. Especially after the poor play from January. Fans should enjoy this streak going and hope for it to continue. The Buckeyes are back, and hopefully keep this run going into the end of Big Ten play.

The Carver-Hawkeye Center
Tuesday, Feb. 4th ESPN 7 P.M.

Ohio State travels to Iowa to face a very tough Iowa basketball team. Last time the Buckeyes played Iowa it was not a great day for fans. OSU lost to Iowa at home. This past January was a season low for the basketball program. The Buckeyes started the month on a high note with a great victory over Wisconsin. Everyone is hoping the momentum continues over to Iowa.

Iowa is lead by leading scorer Roy Devyn Marble. He gave Ohio State a tough time last game. So did all of the Iowa bigs. Aaron White dropped 19 the last game facing Ohio State. He was scoring all over us. It will be important to shut down Marble and White on their home court. Defense is Ohio State’s strong point and this needs to be emphasized to take down the Hawkeyes.

Buckeye fans are looking for another offensive spark for Amedeo Della-Valle. He showed he can give the team energy last game against Wisconsin. He looked good shooting from outside and if he can continue to do this this spreads out the floor for the offense. Fans also saw a spark from senior Aaron Craft at the end of the Wisconsin game. Maybe he carries this over to Iowa.

Both teams are coming into the game 17-5. This will be a huge win for Ohio State. I think with the momentum from the Wisconsin game, the Buckeyes come out with a W. It is a new month and time to throw January behind us.

OSU- 69 Iowa- 60

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Desperation like Aaron Craft shooting a three after playing almost 30 minutes without a field goal.

Desperation like playing extended minutes for Trey McDonald.

And yet, there was no desperation. This was the most complete game Ohio State has played all year.

The first half between the Badgers and Buckeyes was a fairly tightly contested battle with both teams playing fairly well although outside shots were not dropping for the team.

Fan favorite Sideshow Bob Jr. had a good first half, hitting threes (and missing them) keeping Ohio State close during a back-and-forth battle. He may have gotten a little greedy with a heat check that didn’t draw iron, but you have to love the heart and confidence.

The Buckeyes came out red-hot in the second half, starting off 6-6 and actually clawed to a lead about five minutes in. Then, looking to push the lead, Shannon Scott’s drive was swallowed up and Wisconsin went on a run. Freshman Nigel Hayes caught fire and Ohio State couldn’t match up with him on defense. Wisconsin extended their lead to seven, and things looked like they were slipping away.

Aaron Craft would impose his will on this game, hitting a three pointer after barely being involved with the offense to that point and his defense became even more suffocating than it had before.

The game was almost taken away as the officiating, which was uneven in the first half become very lopsided the second, favoring Wisconsin. The touch foul on Shannon Scott, where he literally JUST TOUCHED Trey Jackson could have been the difference.

In the end, it was Craft on Jackson, and we know how that ends. (Poorly for whoever Craft is guarding).

This game is a huge collective sigh of relief for the Buckeye faithful. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a huge improvement over the past six game. Everyone played hard (even Amir, who was involved in a lot of clutch plays, including free throws) and confidence is starting to bloom again. Bench players played a large part in the first half with Trey McDonald and Amadeo Della Valle playing well and Marc Loving getting involved in the second.

The Buckeyes don’t have much time to breathe, but they should enjoy this victory. A win against Bo Ryan in Madison is not easy to come by.

Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
The Kohl Center, Madison WI
Feb. 1st, 2014 at 12:00 PM ET (ESPN)

Well, it certainly wasn’t supposed to be like this.

If you’ve been on Twitter in the past month, you’ve seen some variation of the tweet that lumped Ohio State with Wisconsin (and some other teams) that started off the season undefeated and then collectively had lost a number of games in a row.

For Ohio State, it’s been a rough road after dismantling Nebraska on January 4th. Ohio State has lost five of its last six games, including laying a couple real stinkers against Nebraska and Penn State. Many point to the strength of the conference. This is true. The B1G, top-to-bottom, is a very talented conference. But, to quote the wise Boromir, “One does not simply lose to Nebraska AND Penn State.” Many reasons have been bandied about by fans — “this team is soft” or “lacks heart” or “doesn’t have a leader”. All of these hold water. This team’s problems are legion. And hopes that one game will “snap them out of it” have been dashed once again.

Wisconsin’s four game skid in its last five has Wisconsin fans asking the same question. “What happened?” Like Ohio State, they handily beat Northwestern only to lose to them a couple weeks later. That kind of stuff isn’t supposed to happen. This has become Bizarro B1G land, where anyone can win and Ohio State and Wisconsin find themselves in a game that could land them in a three-way tie with Northwestern for fifth place in the conference.

Fifth. Place.

It’s a legitimate concern now of whether this Buckeye team is a tournament team. Losing in the manner they have recently suggests that they are not. They need a couple of “signature” wins to bolster their currently weak resume. They can start by showing up this afternoon at the Kohl Center against the hated clean-cut Bo Ryans.

You know what you’re getting with a Ryan-coached team. Good, patient ball movement, solid shooters and a couple white bread seven-footers that no one would give a chance but end up flourishing in Bo Ryan’s style of bore-you-to-death basketball. The Badgers are led by Sam Dekker, who, according to ESPN, has no hometown. This can only mean one thing — he was born in a test-tube in Bo Ryan’s underground lair, specifically developed to play the game “the right way” and to infuriate teams with more athletic, talented players. He’ll have you tearing your hair out by the ten minute mark of the first half.

At this point, you sort of know what you’re getting with the 2013-4 version of this Ohio State team. Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott will play lock-down defense but will also play hot potato with the ball on the offensive end. LaQuinton Ross will play the majority of the game but play so unremarkable you’ll look at the box score and say, “how did he score 17?” Amir Williams will… You know what, it’s probably better I keep my opinions of what Amir Williams “does” to myself.

Lenzelle Smith and Marc Loving are the keys to this game, in my mind. If Lenzelle can find his range early, the Buckeyes will be in a position to compete. Marc Loving is the only player I see that is unafraid to take the ball to the rim that don’t make me cringe when they actually get the rack. Marc has the toolset but simply hasn’t had the time to get a handle on them against top competition. If Thad goes small against Wisconsin, Loving can get meaningful minutes this afternoon which will go a long way boosting his confidence and development.

The Kohl Center is not an easy place to play. Wisconsin, three game losing streak or not, is still a good team. I’m not sure the same could be said about these Buckeyes. But a win today will change a lot of people’s minds. And things don’t get any easier with a rematch with Iowa and the hated Wolverines on the upcoming schedule.

In what has to be considered Thad Matta’s most frustrating season at the helm for the Ohio State Buckeyes, it continued Wednesday night with a 71-70 Overtime loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State was led by their leading scorer D.J Newbill with 25 points, including the last 2 with 1.9 seconds left, and 8 rebounds. They also got a stellar performance from Brandon Taylor with 19 points. The Buckeyes fell to 16-5 overall and 3-5 in conference play while Penn State improved to 11-10 overall and 2-6 in conference play. Ohio State was led in scoring by LaQuinton Ross with 16 while Lenzelle Smith Jr added 15 as they continue to struggle scoring consistently enough to win in the nation’s toughest conference.

After taking a 35-31 lead into halftime, the Buckeyes appeared to take control of the game after leading by as much as 11 points with a little over 7 minutes to play. But as what appears to be customary under coach Matta, the Buckeyes couldn’t handle playing with the lead and Penn State tied the game with a Brandon Taylor 3 pointer. Continuing the theme, Ohio State appeared to take control in overtime but sloppy play gave Penn State the ball with under 15 seconds to play and only down 1. That’s when D.J. Newbill decided to take a victory back with him to Happy Valley as he drained a step back 15 footer. The Penn State win over the Buckeyes ended the conference’s longest losing streak to one team at 18 consecutive Buckeye wins over the Nittany Lions.

Penn State brings their 1-6 Big Ten Record and overall record of 10-10 into the Value City arena Wednesday night to face the Ohio State Buckeyes. For the first time in 6 games, the Buckeyes bring a winning streak during a basketball game. Though it is only sitting a 1 game, the Buckeyes and head coach Matta will take it. Having lost their previous 4 games before finally getting things going in the right direction vs. Illinois, Ohio State looks to use that momentum against Penn State because road games against Iowa and Wisconsin are waiting for Ohio State. No stranger to a long losing streak, the Nittany Lions defeated Nebraska on Jan 23rd to end a 6 game losing streak of their own. Ironically, it ended against the team that gave the Buckeyes their most unexpected loss during their own losing streak in the Corn Huskers.

Though the Nittany Lions have the most formidable scoring backcourt in the Big Ten in D.J Newbill and Tim Frazier, they just haven’t been able to put a complete game together. Three of their 6 losses have come by 3 points or less has to be frustrating for Head Coach Pat Chambers. Though his program appears to be heading in the right direction, it clearly is not up to the level he expects to be at. The return of Tim Frazier, after having missed nearly a year with an injury, has been a positive as he is averaging 16.5 points a game to Newbill’s 17.2. But it’s their defense that it faltering for Penn State as they are giving up 72.6 points per game, good for 241st in the country.

Speaking of offense, Buckeyes fans are hoping that Thad Matta’s crew found some of theirs after their most recent contest against the Illini. Though 62 points isn’t anything to write home about, it was certainly enough to provide some confidence and rhythm. Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored 16 points and provided that extra spark that had been missing. The reason that the offense is so scrutinized is because the Buckeyes bring in one of the nation’s best defenses into any contest. Currently ranked 8th in the country while allowing only 58.3 points per game, it is the staple to Matta’s team and we have all seen the good things that can happen when the offense goes along with it. Ohio State is led by LaQuinton Ross with 14.1 points and Smith Jr. with 12.1 per contest. I expect this to be relatively low scoring with the Buckeye garnering a 65-55 win.

Ohio State ended its 4 game losing streak in defeating Illinois by a score of 62-55. LaQuinton Ross paced the Buckeyes, now 3-4 in the Big Ten and 16-4 overall, with 18 points on 6-11 shooting and 4-7 from the line. Despite the solid performance in this contest for Ross, the difference in the game was Lenzelle Smith Jr. He ended the contest with 16 points, including 4-8 from the 3 point line that included a couple of momentum swinging 3 pointers. This seemed to be what the Buckeyes lacked during the 4 game losing streak. In addition to that, over the last 4 games, Aaron Craft had just as many turnovers as assists at 19. On Thursday night, he 5 assists while only logging 2 turnovers.

In the early parts of this matchup it did not seem that the Buckeyes were going to overcome any offensive woes as they finished the first half down 25-24 while shooting only 29%. They made some adjustments in the second half and shot 54% on 13-24 shooting in the second half while not settling for poor shots.

As is customary for a Thad Matta coached team, defense is the objective on the court. The ability to stop the leading scorer from the other team was the main concern and Matta’s squad did just that. Rayvonte Rice had been averaging 17.1 points per game and left this game with exactly 0 points. Matta made sure his old assistant John Groce was not going to get the better of him the easy way. At first it looked as though Joseph Bertrand, Jon Eeky and Nnanna Egwu would carry the load for the Illini but they lacked additional scoring and the always pesky craft and his teammates made sure that wouldn’t happen. Bertrand finished with a game high 19 points to Eeky’s 11 and Egwu’s 10. No other Illinois player scored in double figures. The Illini fall to 2-5 in the tough Big Ten conference and 13-7 overall.

The Buckeyes get almost an entire week off as they do not play until hosting Penn State on Wednesday Jan 29th. It couldn’t have come at a more perfect it allows the players some rest as well as positive momentum going into a tough stretch with games at Wisconsin and Iowa following the home game against Penn State.

This team lacks a lot of things. A consistent scorer. A dominant presence around the basket. Consistent effort. Defenses can sit in a zone with no threat of an outside shot or a penetrating drive. There is no urgency in the minds of anyone on the court save Aaron Craft (and to an extent, Shannon Scott). There are more things wrong than there are right. Mentally, this team is broken and can’t look to a Sullinger or Thomas to help them weather the adversity.

It’s bad enough that this team lacks confidence. It’s exacerbated by the fact that opponents are now emboldened to play with confidence themselves. The conference’s big bad wolf has been exposed. It’s really granny in the wolf’s clothing.

For the fourth time in as many games, Ohio State found itself in a dogfight with a team that, on paper, it should be able to manhandle. It had, in fact, manhandled this team by thirty one points a few short weeks ago. That Buckeye team is not this Buckeye team.

But there they were, down nine points at the half. Once again, poor shooting, sloppy defense and the inability to put the ball in the basket had landed Ohio State in a situation they have become all too familiar with.

Ohio State came out small (subbing Sam Thompson for Amir Williams, sliding LaQuinton Ross down to the 5) in an effort to change things up. The defense came strongly out of the block at the beginning of the second half and was able to eventually take a lead.

But Ohio State couldn’t pull away. The game went back and forth but Ohio State went cold. Lenzelle couldn’t hit a three. Other than another Sam Thompson highlight ally-oop, the second half devolved into the slow moving first half that gave OSU so much trouble.

With Ohio State trailing, Aaron Craft’s drive would result in a charge and the transformation was complete. There was nothing left. Nebraska would take a six point lead and never let it get any closer than that.

So here we are, in unfamilar territory. A four game losing streak. A real possibility of falling out of the top 25 (no matter how meaningless polls are, going from top five to out of the rankings means something). Nebraska was supposed to be the slumpbuster. Nebraska didn’t get the memo.

Let’s hope Illinois does.