Shannon Scott has been around the block. He knows throughout the Big Ten season there can be ups and there can be downs.
But even Ohio State’s senior point guard didn’t sugarcoat the importance of tomorrow night’s game against Northwestern when he met with the media Wednesday.
“This is a must-need win for us and for them as well," Scott said. "We both know that both teams are going to come out ready to play on Thursday. But it’s a big game for us. We came off a really bad game for us against Iowa so we know we’ve got to get our groove back.”
In their last time out, the Buckeyes played arguably their worst game of the season in a 76-67 loss to the Hawkeyes. They trailed from start to finish, falling in an early 9-0 hole after turning the ball over on their first three offensive possessions of the game.
It's been kind of the common theme so far this year for Ohio State. It has trailed by double digits at some point in the first half of each of its losses so far this year.
It's part of the reason why the Buckeyes have reached a crucial point in their season. They don't have a "bad loss" on their resume yet, but they also don't have a quality win. Falling to the Wildcats would be the former and provide a significant blow to Ohio State's chances at making the NCAA tournament.
“I think with where you are right now and obviously keeping the focus on us and knowing everybody has to play everybody else and there’s going to be winners and losers and all that stuff, this is a big stretch for us," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. "Tomorrow night concludes our fourth out of five games on the road. You’ve got a chance to go 2-2 in those games which is not what we wanted but it’s still not that bad. From that perspective, that’s where it is in my mind in terms of it’s a very, very important basketball game.”
In hopes the Buckeyes can get off to faster starts, Matta has hinted at the possibility of making a switch to the starting lineup. The most likely scenario would be inserting freshman Jae'Sean Tate for sophomore forward Marc Loving.
Matta was asked again about the possibility Wednesday, but did not say anything new regarding the matter.
"There is a possibility of a change," he said. "We’ve had three very, very rough practices just in terms of competitiveness. Today will be a little bit more of the same. It won’t be as long because we’re going to shoot there tonight, but there is a possibility we might.”
Whether Ohio State elects to make a change to its starting lineup or not, it's no secret the Buckeyes need to play better. Because even though it may not seem like it, but Ohio State has only 12 regular-season games remaining to make some kind of splash not only in the Big Ten, but in the eyes of the NCAA tournament selection committee, as well.
"We don’t have a lot of time to keep making mistakes," Scott said. "You’ve got to fix it right away if you want to be considered a great team and make it far in the postseason.”
