Just the same as winning is contagious, so too is losing. Ohio State took a 2 game losing streak into Williams Arena and left with a 3 game losing streak as the Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Buckeyes 63-53. It is the first 3 game losing streak for the Buckeyes since February of 2009 and provided Minnesota’s first win over a ranked team this year, though a good argument can be made that the Buckeyes aren’t playing like a ranked team. LaQuinton Ross lead Ohio State in scoring with 22 while the rest of the team managed just 31. Shooting just 35% from the field and only 61% from the free throw line won’t win you too many games and the scoring has to be frustrating to Coach Thad Matta.

With the score tied at 39 apiece, a technical foul on Richard Pitino seemed to spark the scoring as Minnesota closed the game on a 24-14 scoring run to close out the 15-3 Buckeyes. Just like his dad, Pitino knows the value of a well placed technical. Deandrea Mathieu paced the Gophers balanced attack with 13 points with Elliot Eliason and Andre Hollins scoring 12 and 10 points respectively.

The other bright spot for the Buckeyes was Sam Thopmson’s 12 points off the bench. Though Thompson’s points count as bench points, he was in the game at an early juncture and it seemed to spark the Junior’s scoring. Ohio State had plenty of opportunities, including 18 Gopher turnovers but just couldn’t seem to get over the hill and take control of the game. Plenty of close shots and fast break attempts went unconverted and Minnesota took the spark ignited by their coach and turned it into a blaze that raged for the remainder of the game.

Though this was one of the more frustrating games to watch during Matta’s tenure, the coach always seems to find a way to get the most out of his kids when it counts. As a Buckeye fan who spent his formative years cheering for a team that only won 8 games, including just 1 in conference play, during the 97-98 season, I will take Matta every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Ohio State vs. Minnesota
Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Jan. 16th, 2014 at 9:00PM ET (ESPN 2)

While the Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-4, 2-2) aren’t ranked, they’re coming off a close overtime loss to the 5th ranked Michigan State Spartans. The Buckeyes know all too well how hard it is to win in East Lansing, as they lost in overtime there last week. With that being said, Minnesota is capable of beating any opponent they face in the Big Ten this season. New head coach Richard Pitino has the Gophers playing well as a unit. Their statistics can be a bit misleading. They won’t impress you but this team just gets it done. Minnesota ranks 95th in the nation in points per game with 75.9 and 237th in the nation in field goal percentage at 43.3%. They also struggle to rebound the ball consistently. The Gophers rank 120th in the nation with only 37 rebounds per game but the Buckeyes aren’t much better as they rank 116th. Don’t simply let their team stats dictate what this team is capable of doing.

Williams Arena, also known as “The Barn”, is one of the forgotten gems in college basketball. Williams Arena was built back in 1928 and has been a difficult place for opposing teams to come and get a victory. Part of the unique lore of “The Barn” has to be the benches where the players and coaches sit. The benches are actually under floor level and it’s always odd to see the players and coaches from the chest up. Normally the head coach will have a mini stool or seat up on the main floor where they can pace back and forth. Either way, “The Barn” is anything but a friendly place to go win a basketball game.

Minnesota also comes into their battle with Ohio State having 4 scorers average double digit points. Andre and Austin Hollins lead the way averaging 16.3 and 12.1 points respectively. Deandre Mathieu averages 11.4 and Malik Smith comes in at 10.1 points per game. Mathieu is the only one coming in shooting the ball over 41% from the floor. Elliott Eliason leads the Gophers in rebounding at 8.6 per game. After that, it’s a pretty big drop off to find consistent rebounding.

Ohio State will come into this game with a high sense of urgency after falling to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon in Columbus, 84-74. The strength of the Buckeyes all year has been their defense and ability to hold opponents down. 84 points was by far the most points given up all season. The previous high was 72 by Michigan State, and that came with an overtime period to boot. Ohio State is not prolific enough offensively to get into shootouts. If they are giving up that many points, it means they aren’t getting stops or creating turnovers and can’t get out in transition for easy buckets. It’s hard to say a game in mid-January is a must win, but this is for Ohio State if they have any hopes of winning the Big Ten regular season crown. Especially with teams like Michigan State and Wisconsin still sitting out there undefeated in conference play.

I think Ohio State digs down deep, behind the senior leadership of Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr., and get the victory 64-61.

This one was hard to watch. It seemed like Ohio State was not in this one. The Buckeyes came out very weak in the first half. They had a little jump start in the second half but Iowa would not go away. The entire game Iowa was right with Ohio State. There was no cushion for the Buckeyes. This was not expected either. This a their second loss and row and I think it is really time to start finding that key guy down for line for Ohio State. In the Big Ten conference, it is hard to come back down 10 points every game. Especially with our not so great offense.

Iowa was led by Roy Devyn Marble with 22 points. He tore the Bucks apart. He was followed by Aaron White with 19 points. Iowa was killing Ohio State in the paint. At some point in the first half, Iowa had 18 points in the paint. Their total points was only 21. There were no key adjustments made. Iowa just came out and played better. Its hard to say but they showed up when it really mattered.

Laquinton Ross led with 22 points. The next highest was Amir Williams with 11. The Buckeyes showed how much they miss Deshaun Thomas. He was the one to go to in these type of games. Right now, the Buckeyes have to key player that can help close out a game. I think it is Ross but we have not seen it yet. If the Buckeyes want to win games in the Big Ten they have to play two good halves. They cant take one off and expect to win. I believe there will be adjustments made and everything will work out fine.

Losing two games in a row is tough. Especially one game in overtime away and a home game. This is just a little bump for the Bucks which they will bounce back from. Fans should not be worried. This is a great conference to compete in. We just need to get that win to keep rolling.

Ohio State vs. Iowa
Value City Arena, Columbus,Ohio
Jan. 12th, 2014 At 1:30 PM (CBS)

The Buckeyes face another tough opponent against a good Iowa team. Iowa is currently ranked 20th in the country with a record of 13-3. All losses have been to good teams such as Wisconsin and Villanova. Iowa is the toughest opponent the Bucks will face at home to this point in the season. Hopefully, OSU comes out ready to play. We all learned against Michigan State having a slow start really hurts your chances of winning a game. The team is coming off a very heart breaking loss to Michigan State. I was impressed with the large comeback they produced. I think this intensity will come into the Iowa game.

Senior Guard Roy Devyn leads Iowa with 16 points per game. Devyn is followed by Forward Aaron White who averages 13.4 points per game. White is coming off a double double against Northwesten. Iowa has a deep bench with guys such as Zach McCabe and Jarrod Uthoff. They have depth and many weapons they can turn to. The Buckeyes have had a couple days to prepare which gives them an advantage. Guard play will be minimized with Craft and Scott and their instinctive defense.

It is safe to say that the offense for Ohio State was not really there last game. This is because Laquinton Ross did not get enough touched. Look for the Buckeyes to get him going early. He makes the offense so much harder to defend. He has had some big games so far this season but OSU needs him to put up 18-20 a game. He did not get many shots up against Michigan State so it will be interesting to see Thad’s offensive plan for Sunday. Sam Thompson dropped 18 points and looked like the old Sam Thompson everyone knows. I also think he will have a big offensive game.

This game is a must win for the Bucks. We can’t pick up two losses in a row. Especially one at home. Ohio State needs to shoot the ball well from the beginning of the game. We can not live on unreal comebacks every conference game. It will be interesting to see who steps it up for Ohio State. In my opinion, it will be Ross on Sunday. College football is over and now it is time to watch the Bucks play in a premier basketball conference. Saddle up and get ready for a dandy.

My Prediction:
OSU: 68 Iowa: 60

That one was fun, but it hurt. The Buckeyes stated slow as MSU started hot. The Spartans hit two early threes as Ohio State played sluggish and sloppy, something that didn’t please the coach none too well. Thad Matta became a man of the scarlet, as only as he can do. The fire came out and Matta whipped the Buckeyes into shape and the half continued apace, trading buckets and trading leads.

As the half came to a close, the Michigan Spartans pulled away from and led by seven. The second half started just as easily for the Spartans as they extended their lead and went up by 10 quickly.

Ohio State cut the Spartans lead to five, 37-32, but a couple bad offensive sets and YET ANOTHER THREE by Valentine put the Michigan Spartans up by 10 again. Then things got ugly.

Michigan rattled off a 13-2 run off as Adreian Payne, the bane of my existence, dominated LaQuinton Ross for two emphatic put-back jams and a three pointer. Everything was going Michigan’s way.

With a little more than seven minutes left, MSU led 55-38 and looked to be in cruise control.

After the under-eight time out, Ohio State brought the full court pressure and the defense turned up. They snuffed out the Spartan offense and made some nice plays as they pulled to within ten with four minutes left.

Then, Aaron Craft happened.

Buckeye fans, let me take this moment to remind you we only have Craft for a few more months. In no time, his ruddy cheeks, his gritty gritness, his everything will be moving on. Take the time now to savor and enjoy what he does night in and night out.

So back to the Aaron Craft happening. He found Sam Thompson on a beautiful ally-oop and then scored on a spectacular reverse lay-up that took Valentine out of the game and brought the Buckeyes to within three, 54-57. Aaron Craft is simply amazing, but it gets even better — he inbounds the ball to himself (off Payne’s butt (IN YOUR FACE, PAYNE)) and lays it in to bring his team to within one. That series of events defines what and who Aaron Craft is.

This team looked dead and bloated but Aaron Craft willed them to come back from down 17. SEVENTEEN. They outscored Michigan 20-3 and sent the game to overtime.

Overtime went back and forth but Gary Harris’ dagger three with 28 seconds put the Spartans up three and they wouldn’t relinquish that lead.

Marc Loving had a chance at the end for the tie with another three pointer, but wasn’t able to convert. Keith Appling was fouled and iced the game, 73-68.

Ball game.

B1G Preview for the Ohio State Buckeyes’ basketball team

Currently, the B1G has three teams in the Top 5 in the country in Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State at 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Despite those three schools being the only three schools ranked in the current AP Top 25 poll, there is still strong consensus that the B1G is the deepest and toughest conference in college basketball. Though CBSSports’ Jerry Palm has the B1G as the second best conference, behind the Big 12, in his conference rankings systems, the B1G has the best win percentage among all major conferences. With conference play getting under way for all schools in the coming days, it is sure to be a heated race for the title. Look for a team with no less than four losses to take the crown as the schedule for each school is brutal. Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State are the favorites but a resurgent Iowa squad, along with Illinois and Michigan look to contend as well. With Minnesota sporting a new coach in Richard Pitino, Jr. and Northwestern installing Chris Collins as their coach, the B1G adds to their coaching lineage with both coaches coming from much respected coaching trees. Penn State is returning All-B1G player in Tim Frazier after missing most of last season with injuries.

Ohio State vs. Purdue Preview

As the 2013-14 non-conference schedule came to an end on Friday night with a 71-31 thrashing of Louisiana Monroe, Ohio State capped off a rare, perfect non- conference schedule. The Buckeyes take their spotless 13-0 record into Mackey arena today to take on the Purdue Boilermakers as the start of B1G begins for both schools. Purdue, picked to finish 6th in the B1G by ESPN, boasts a 10-3 record so far on the year and coming off their most impressive non-conference win, a 73-70 win at West Virginia, are looking to keep their perfect record at home intact.

The Boilermakers are led in scoring by Terrone Johnson at 14.0 points a game, followed by Ronnie Johnson at 10.8 per game. In all, Purdue has ten players averaging 4.5 points or high per game while the team is averaging 78.4 points per game. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are third in the nation in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense at 54.0 and 36.4% respectively. They are also tops in the nation in 3-point fg defense at 24.3%. This should be where the game is decided. If the Buckeyes can continue their trend of stifling defense, it’ll be tough for Purdue to overcome. However, Purdue’s balance could pose serious problems for the Buckeye defense as it makes all of the Buckeye defenders responsible for a scoring threat.

Add in the home field advantage for Purdue and you have the recipe for a close, 68-63 Buckeye win

I don’t even know how to recap this game. I watched the whole thing and almost turned it off as Notre Dame went up eight with two minutes left. Ohio State looked they just didn’t have it tonight. They would go into conference play with a tough loss to a decent Notre Dame team.

Lenzelle Smith, Jr and Aaron Craft proved it ain’t over til it’s over.

Ohio State played a great first half, preventing Notre Dame from finding any offensive rhythm. Notre Dame tried to work the ball in said and had minimal success with Sherman against Amir Williams, but otherwise the Buckeyes forced Notre Dame into bad shots and Notre Dame didn’t help themselves, missing a lot of good looks and open shots.

Ohio State on offense wasn’t burning down the house, but made enough shots (Shannon Scott particularly) to go into the half in the lead and looking in control.

The second half was all Notre Dame. They finally starting making the open shots they missed in the first half while the Buckeyes went cold. No offensive flow at all. Notre Dame pulled out to an eight point lead with little time left on the clock. It looked bad for Ohio State. Like I said, I almost turned it off.

Then the unthinkable happened. Ohio State stole an inbounds pass and quickly scored. Down by six. Then another stolen inbounds, another bucket. Down four. A third steal led to two free throws from Shannon Scott. Down two. After two Notre Dame free throws, Lenzelle Smith, Jr. got a Notre Dame defender to go for a pump-fake and was then fouled. Three straight free throws, down one. Smith then scored on a pass from Craft and then two free throws. Up three.

They wouldn’t relinquish the lead after that. Of course, there was only nine seconds left.

Ohio State, fresh off an offensive explosion against North Florida last Friday and sporting a new #3 ranking in the latest AP poll take on the Maryland Terrapins Wednesday in Columbus in the Big Ten/ACC challenge. Since its inception in 1999, Ohio State is 6-6 in the challenge while Maryland is sporting a much better record at 10-4. This year’s contest in the challenge figures to be a good test for the Buckeyes’ defense as Maryland is averaging over 74 points a game and shooting almost 46% from the field despite losing big man Alex Lin to the NBA draft last season. Jake Layman is leading the way, scoring 16.4 points a game and is followed on the roster by a familiar face in Evan Smotrycz. Smotrycz is in his first year with Maryland and is a transfer from Michigan averaging 13.7 points a game. Both present matchup problems for Ohio State because Layman is a 6-8 Guard who will most likely have a shorter player in 6-4 Lenzelle Smith Jr. guarding him and Smotrycz is a 6-9 Forward who likes to play facing the basket

Ohio State is sporting a little bit more of a balanced attack with guards Lenzelle Smith Jr. and Aaron Craft and center Amir Williams each averaging 11.3 points per game. Add in guard Shannon Scott’s 11.0 points per game and you have four players averaging basically the same score each night, making it hard for a defense to key on one or two possible players.

This game’s storyline will most likely come down to how Ohio State’s defense will do against these Maryland Terrapins. Ohio State is currently holding opponents to 53.3 points per game which is good for second best in the country. Thad Matta’s trademark defense has also been the highlight of the season so far for the Buckeyes as the offense is still trying to find its true identity. Look for Ohio State to key on Layman and Smotrycz and pull out a ten point win.