And so the beat goes on. After doing a lot of really good things in a win at home against Iowa, the Ohio State basketball team reverted back to what we had seen from it in the five-game losing streak prior to the game against the Hawkeyes.
The offense was once again stagnant and uncreative, and the energy on both ends of the floor was well below where it needs to be for a Big Ten contest in an ugly 69-60 loss in Champaign on Tuesday night. The score was not indicitive of how soundly the Buckeyes got beat.
At this point, it’s hard to see this team finding a way to consistently stop the slide that it’s on unless there is an unexpected and immediate understanding of what it takes to play the game of college basketball at a winning level.
Fresmhan Brice Sensabaugh again led the Buckeyes in scoring, but it was not a banner night. He made just 5-of-13 field goals. Justice Sueing (10 points) was the only other OSU player in double figures on a night when Ohio State shot just 35.6% from the floor.
FINAL
Ohio State: 60
Illinois: 69 pic.twitter.com/K2qe0lc25r— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 25, 2023
We could go on. Ohio State got outrebounded badly (44-30), made just 12-of-20 free throws, and had just eight assists for the entire game. Those are not winning numbers no matter who you match up with in the Big Ten.
With the loss, OSU drops to 11-9 overall and a very alarming 3-6 in conference play. It doesn’t get any easier either becauser Ohio State hits the road to play Indiana on Saturday.
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