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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
Entering last night's tilt in Lincoln, Thad Matta's 2016-17 squad had exactly one true road win on its resume against four defeats, all of which occurred earlier this month along with a neutral site loss to UCLA back in mid-December.
With that lone road win coming way back on November 11th against Navy, there was good reason to believe Ohio State would likely falter at Nebraska despite the Cornhuskers entering the game as KenPom's 83rd ranked team.
After an opening half in which the Buckeyes shot 37% from the floor, committed 11 turnovers and got outscored 20-8 in the paint despite a ton of Husker foul trouble, it looked like the momentum gained from turning back a down Michigan State on Sunday afternoon would be all for naught.
To Thad Matta's credit, the Buckeyes regrouped at intermission and pulled out the much needed win away from home thanks to zero turnovers over the final 20 minutes and a brilliantly executed out of bounds play leading to Marc "The Marcsman" Loving's game-winning layup with less than a second to play.
So just how rare was the road victory for Matta's outfit? Here's a snapshot of Ohio State's recent road success:
| YEAR | OVERALL | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL | B1G FINISH | SEASON RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 29-8 | 16-2 | 5-5 | 8-1 | T-2nd Place | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2013-14 | 25-10 | 17-3 | 5-5 | 3-2 | T-4th Place | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2014-15 | 24-11 | 18-2 | 4-6 | 2-3 | 6th Place | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2015-16 | 21-14 | 15-6 | 4-6 | 2-2 | 7th Place | NIT 2nd Round |
| 2016-17 | 12-7 | 10-2 | 2-4 | 0-1 | ?? | ?? |
| TOTAL | 111-50 | 76-15 | 20-26 | 15-9 |
In what has typically been a rough and tumble B1G conference, road wins are often hard to come by especially as Matta's teams have gotten progressively worse.
During a three-year stretch spanning the 2009-10 season through 2011-12, the Buckeyes went an outstanding 22-11 in true road games and an even better 17-5 in neutral site contests (includes postseason).
Since the talent level began a steady decline starting with the 2012-13 season to present day, Matta's teams have gone just 20-26 in true road contests and 15-9 in neutral site affairs.
The last three seasons in particular, even after last night's last second heroics against a decidedly meh Husker team, show the Buckeyes with 10 road wins against 16 defeats.
Those 10 wins came over the following teams:
| SEASON | ROAD OPPONENT | SCORE | OPP KENPOM RANK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | MINNESOTA | 74-72 (OT) | 52 |
| 2014-15 | NORTHWESTERN | 69-67 | 122 |
| 2014-15 | RUTGERS | 79-60 | 198 |
| 2014-15 | NEBRASKA | 77-67 | 82 |
| 2015-16 | NORTHWESTERN | 65-56 | 68 |
| 2015-16 | ILLINOIS | 68-63 (OT) | 125 |
| 2015-16 | RUTGERS | 79-69 | 279 |
| 2015-16 | NEBRASKA | 65-62 (OT) | 85 |
| 2016-17 | NAVY | 78-68 | 218 |
| 2016-17 | NEBRASKA | 67-66 | 83 |
That's not exactly a Murderer's Row of slayed opponents which speaks to how tough it is to win on the road especially in league play while also giving a nod to the reality of Ohio State's talent slide.
Regardless, the point here is to emphasize the importance of snagging a road win in league play which is further magnified in that the Buckeyes were able to effectively build on the momentum created by defeating the Spartans at home last Sunday, giving them a two-game win streak for the first time since before Christmas when they handled Youngstown State and UNC Asheville in succession.
After improving their B1G mark to 2-4 the Buckeyes (12-7 overall) now return home for dates with Northwestern (KenPom 122) and Minnesota (52) which could conceivably find them at an even 4-4 in conference before heading back out on the road.
If you're an optimist and/or a staunch Thad Backer then there is certainly hope for Ohio State to salvage what was a 1-4 start in league action.
If you slant toward the glass being half-empty and/or you've seen enough of the program's declining win totals and B1G finishes, you're weary of not only Ohio State needing to protect home court against the likes of Maryland and Wisconsin, but also upcoming road tests against Iowa, Maryland and Michigan State.
Back to back wins over not-so-great teams haven't cured all that ails this team by a long shot but there's no question the shot of confidence that only wins can provide coupled with an improved on-court desire give most fans at least some semblance of hope of making a run at the top half of what is a down B1G conference.
