Ohio State probably feels like it has been too long since it last played a game. The Buckeyes have been dying to get a bad taste out of their mouths since they were blasted by Wisconsin last Sunday by 24 points.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota (18-14, 6-12) | United Center | 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
'We can’t change what happened Sunday and that’s over with. We had one of those games, let’s don’t have another one of those the remainder of the season," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said Wednesday. "I hope we washed it down the drain afterward and guys are ready to go.”
Ohio State has no more room for error now, though. It's one-and-done from here on out for the Buckeyes as they kick off the Big Ten tournament tonight against Minnesota, which was an 80-68 winner over Rutgers on Wednesday night.
Ohio State could really use a deep tournament run in Chicago to improve its seed come Selection Sunday.
Opponent Breakdown
The Gophers struggled Wednesday with the Scarlet Knights for the majority of the game before turning it on in the last 10 minutes. Minnesota won by 12, but it was only a four-point game with less than four minutes to play.
The Gophers, though, were able to pull out a double-digit win without getting a single point from their leading scorer, Andre Hollins, who entered Wednesday's game averaging 14.3 points per game.
Prior to the Big Ten tournament, Minnesota had been struggling as it had lost five of its final six games before defeating Rutgers. The Gophers haven't won back-to-back games since the middle of February.
Still, presented the Buckeyes with a challenge in their only meeting this season. Ohio State squeaked out an overtime win, 74-72, back in early January thanks to a game-winning shot by Marc Loving.
Buckeye Breakdown
To put it mildly, Ohio State was embarrassed on its home floor last Sunday against the Badgers. The Buckeyes were hardly even competitive against one of the nation's best teams.
But as the old cliche goes: The postseason is a new season. And that couldn't be truer for this Ohio State team.
“We’re in the postseason so if you’re not mentally prepared for this, it’s not for you," Ohio State freshman guard D'Angelo Russell said. "I think we’ve got a great connection of guys that are willing to do whatever it takes to win and advance round-by-round. Just take it one game at a time and be successful with it."
The Buckeyes didn't do many things well in the loss to the Badgers. They scored a season-low 48 points and allowed Wisconsin to shoot 50 percent from the field. Things weren't much of a challenge for the Big Ten regular-season champions.
The challenge for Ohio State is to forget about what happened Sunday against the Badgers.
“I think we’re all on the same page," Russell said. "We know that was a tough loss, but like I said it can trigger anything with success and just playing well for the tournament and the NCAA tournament and so forth.”
How It'll Play Out
In the only meeting between the two teams this season, Russell was on another level in the first half. He scored 25 of his game-high 27 points in the game's opening 20 minutes as Ohio State held a 12-point halftime lead.
But the Gophers never went away and were able to battle back in the second half, limiting Russell and force overtime before Loving hit a tough shot with 5.6 seconds left to help the Buckeyes avoid disaster in Minneapolis.
Ohio State is the better team. But the Gophers already have a Big Ten tournament game under their belt while the Buckeyes haven't played since Sunday's debacle. If Ohio State allows Minnesota to hang around early, it could be a closely-contested game the entire way.
But if Ohio State comes out and plays the way it should, against a lesser opponent, it's hard to see the Buckeyes going home after just one game.
"I think a lot of it is getting through that first game," Matta said of Big Ten tournament runs. "You've got to have sort of a relentless approach."
