At some point during the second half of Thursday night’s game against Wisconsin, Ohio State coach Thad Matta gathered his team in a huddle during a timeout and delivered a line from one of his favorite movies.
“The Will Ferrell, we can’t freak out, we’ve got to keep our composure,” Matta recalled, referencing Old School. “I think I used that in a timeout and we did a very, very good job of answering and not panicking.”
The Buckeyes led nearly the entire way against 16th-ranked Wisconsin, a rather surprising performance from an Ohio State team which entered Thursday night on a three-game losing streak, so Matta’s concerns were valid. There was a chance for the moment to get too big for the Buckeyes, that their lead which was in double-digits most of the night would eventually evaporate.
That never happened. Wisconsin never got closer than nine points as Ohio State came away with an 83-73 win.
C.J. Jackson hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 18 points. JaQuan Lyle came off the bench and scored 17 with four assists. Jae’Sean Tate, as steady as ever, added 15 points and 12 rebounds; he had 11 points and 10 boards before the game reached halftime.
Ohio State shot 50 percent from the floor and hit 10-of-16 attempts from 3-point range against a Wisconsin team which entered Thursday night ranked seventh nationally in defensive efficiency. The 83 points surrendered by the Badgers were the second-most they’d allowed all season.
“Of course it feels good to win especially against a team like that, top-ranked team, and it’s also my first time beating them since I’ve been here,” Tate said afterward. “I feel like everybody was on the same page tonight. We played hard, it seemed like we couldn’t miss and that just comes from preparation two days before and we had two pretty good practices.”
“We’ve just got to build off of this and if we play like this all the time and in the Big Ten tournament, I feel like we can win games.”
Thursday’s performance begged a question that needed to be asked: Why can’t Ohio State play like that every night? Sure, the hot shooting won’t happen every game and there will be off nights, but the Buckeyes looked like the team playing for the Big Ten title — not Wisconsin.
“I’ve got that question too,” Tate said. “I think it’s the mindset. We’ve just got to have the mindset and it just starts in practice. We’ve got to do a better job of practicing two days before. Other than that, I don’t have an [answer] for that.”
“I wish we could and from now on I hope we can. We’ve just got to build from it.”
The win over Wisconsin did not save Ohio State’s season nor did it put the Buckeyes back on the NCAA tournament bubble. This is a team that — barring an unforeseen Big Ten tournament run — is headed to the NIT for a second-straight season.
But that’s precisely why this team is so puzzling.
Ohio State, when it plays like it did Thursday night, can beat any team in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have six league wins following the victory over the Badgers. Four of them are against teams that will be in the NCAA tournament.
“The mindset is just to win as many as possible,” Jackson said. “We knew this would be a great opportunity to play a great quality team so why not do it tonight was kind of the mindset. We wanted to start tonight and prep for the next two games in the Big Ten season and the Big Ten tournament.”
Ohio State’s biggest issue all season long has been consistency. Consistency in everything: energy, effort, overall play. Sometimes it has been there; other times — like the first meeting of the season against Wisconsin — it certainly hasn’t.
The Buckeyes played their best game of the season in Thursday’s win over 16th-ranked Wisconsin — their first win over a ranked opponent in nearly a year. Now, can Ohio State do it again and finish out the year strong?
“Most consistent effort [of the season], that’s for sure,” Matta said. “I’m really happy for our guys.”
“There’s definitely more work to do,” Tate added. “Of course we can celebrate this tonight, but we’ve still got two more Big Ten games against some pretty good opponents. Celebrate this one tonight, but get back to work tomorrow.”
Perhaps there will be another Will Ferrell pep talk from Matta coming in the near future to help.
