Ohio State continued to say it was not concerned, that eventually it would break through the wall.
But after Thursday's flop in Madison, perhaps it's time for the Buckeyes to hit the panic button. At least reach for it, anyway.
Wisconsin blasted Ohio State at the Kohl Center, 89-66, dropping the Buckeyes to 0–4 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1997–98 season. And frankly, it could have actually been worse. By all accounts, it was a rather embarrassing effort from Thad Matta's team.
Ohio State didn't look like it wanted any part of this game against the Badgers as Wisconsin essentially ran circles around the Buckeyes. In the first half alone, the Badgers attempted 41 shots from the field and missed 23, but grabbed 14 offensive rebounds. Ohio State had just 13 defensive rebounds in the first half. Wisconsin committed one first-half turnover; Marc Loving had four by himself. The Badgers got layup after layup as they scored 22 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes.
For the game, Wisconsin outrebounded Ohio State by 13, hit seven more 3-pointers, had 19 more second-chance points, scored 20 more points in the paint, had 12 more assists and committed four fewer turnovers.
The Buckeyes had a chance to win in all of their previous losses this season. They never had a chance Thursday in Madison.
So, what needs to change?
There are a million answers to that question right now, it seems, and it's certainly not something that's going to happen overnight. But it's pretty apparent something needs to be done or this season could get even uglier than it already is.
And after last year, which many thought was rock bottom, that's a scary thought.
It'd be awfully surprising to see Ohio State make a mid-season coaching change — those aren't exactly common in college basketball and it would be even more rare for someone who has been in charge as long as Matta — but if the Buckeyes miss the NCAA tournament again, which seems likely at this point, a hard evaluation is in store at the end of the year.
Matta's earned the right to try and dig out of this hole, but this would be two straight missed NCAA tournaments and the fourth consecutive season in which the program trended in the wrong direction.
There may not be an easy fix, and it certainly won't be an overnight process, but there needs to be something done and it starts with Matta. He has hand picked these players and these coaches.
Losing at Wisconsin, where the Badgers have now won 17-straight conference games, is not the end of the world. Few teams go into the Kohl Center and win. The way in which Ohio State lost, however, illustrates the whole problem. That kind of performance can't happen. Not now.
The Buckeyes host Michigan State on Sunday. The Spartans aren't what they usually are, but it's certainly going to be a tall task for Ohio State to get off the schneid.
After the 0–3 start in the league there was still a sense of calm from Matta and his players. Both sides said there were plenty of games remaining on the schedule.
After Thursday's debacle, Ohio State still has 14 games remaining in the regular season, so that part hasn't changed much. But perhaps after their poor performance against Wisconsin, the Buckeyes will have a bit more of a sense of urgency about them.
They have to.
