With a towel wrapped around his neck, Ohio State head coach Thad Matta walked into the media room in the bowels of the Schottenstein Center on Tuesday afternoon and sat down at the podium in front of a microphone to preview the his team's upcoming game against Rutgers.
The first question a reporter asked Matta was not about the Scarlet Knights, though. No, the first question was about the Buckeyes' previous game — an 85-60 blowout loss to Indiana on Sunday.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutgers (6-11, 0-4) | Schottenstein Center | 6:30 p.m. | BTN |
"What game?" Matta jokingly responded.
That's the mentality Matta and Co. are going with. Forget about the previous game and move on to the next one. Perhaps that's the best move when you consider how badly Ohio State was outplayed in every phase of that game against the Hoosiers.
But the Buckeyes now have the perfect opportunity to get back on track as they welcome Big Ten bottom feeder Rutgers to the Schottenstein Center on Wednesday night. The Scarlet Knights have just three wins in their last 13 games and are one of the two remaining Big Ten teams without a league win.
"What happened, happened," Ohio State sophomore forward Jae'Sean Tate said Tuesday. "We of course take looked at the film and see what we could do better, but just do what we have to do to get this win against Rutgers because it's important. In the Big Ten, you've got to win the ones at home and defend home court."
Added fellow sophomore forward Keita Bates-Diop: "You've got to forget about it, learn from it and prepare for the next game against Rutgers. This last game should have no effect on the next game."
Opponent Breakdown
Not only is Rutgers winless in the Big Ten, but the Scarlet Knights have not even been competitive in three of their four league games thus far. Rutgers has lost three Big Ten games by at least 20 points.
It has been a long season already for Eddie Jordan's group and things aren't looking any brighter in the immediate future as Rutgers must play Purdue, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State —in order — after Wednesday night's game against the Buckeyes.
But despite their early struggles, Matta sees some challenges in the Scarlet Knights.
"They’ve got guys that can just flat out score and they score within the offense and they break the offense," Matta said. "They’re a little bit of a different type of team because they’ve got a couple different gears that we have to be ready for.”
Rutgers' leading scorer is freshman guard Corey Sanders, who is averaging 13.3 points per game. Deshawn Freeman (13.1 ppg.) and Mike Williams (12.2 ppg.) are also both averaging in double figures, but Freeman has been sidelined with a knee injury and it's unclear if he will make his return against Ohio State. Williams is coming off a 22-point game his last time out.
That last game was not a pretty one for the Scarlet Knights, however, as they were blasted at home by Nebraska, 90-56. Rutgers ranks 13th in the Big Ten in scoring offense (68 ppg.) and is tied for 13th in scoring defense (74.6 ppg.). The Scarlet Knights are ranked a dismal 276th in KenPom's advanced statistical ratings.
Buckeye Breakdown
There's no other way to really describe Ohio State's performance its last time out other than awful. The Buckeyes did very little right in what was their worst loss of the season.
Ohio State's defense, which had carried it throughout the majority of its seven-game win streak, disappeared and the Buckeyes could not throw the ball in the ocean against the Hoosiers — particularly in the first half.
Freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle had a career-high 29 points, but 24 of those came in the second half when the outcome was already well decided. Ohio State shot just 39.3 percent from the field, committed 14 turnovers and was outrebounded significantly by Indiana, 50-31.
The Buckeyes say they've moved on, though, and have turned all their focus toward this upcoming matchup with Rutgers.
"Our job is to get ready to play Wednesday night. Our players’ responsibility is to prepare, practice and get ready for Wednesday night," Matta said. "If this was the last game of the year, the playoffs, the Super Bowl or the NCAA tournament, something like that, then I’d probably hang onto it a lot, lot longer than I am right now. Not that I’ve let it go, but I’ve just got to get these guys ready to go."
How It Plays Out
If there was a team in the Big Ten Ohio State needed to see most right now, it's Rutgers. The Buckeyes desperately need to play a game — and get a win — as soon as possible after Sunday's clunker and the Scarlet Knights present the Buckeyes with the best chance in the league for a victory.
How Ohio State starts this game will tell you a lot about this team, and the Buckeyes insist they'll be ready to go.
"We are not going to come out like [against Indiana], especially not on our home court," Tate said. "We are not going to worry about that. I promise you."
Ohio State should roll past Rutgers and hand the Scarlet Knights their fifth-straight Big Ten loss. This game may be close for a bit in the first half as the Buckeyes may come out too amped up, but expect Ohio State to collect itself and cruise to an easy win.
The Buckeyes sure could use one.
Tim's prediction: Ohio State 74, Rutgers 61
