Neither Chris Holtmann nor his players need to think long and hard about Ohio State being in this spot at in the recent past.
They just have to look back about 365 days.
A year ago, the Buckeyes were riding high, ending the calendar year of 2018 with a 12-1 record as they readied to fully immerse themselves in Big Ten play as the 14th-ranked team in the country. Right now, they’re ranked even higher at No. 5 due to a 11-2 record that featured a difficult non-conference slate with only a single loss.
| Who | Where | When | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin (8-5) | Schottenstein Center | 7 p.m. | FS1 |
For Ohio State, though, which is preparing for its first game of 2020 against Wisconsin on Friday, this feels quite a bit different than it did a year ago.
“I definitely feel that way due to the schedule we had this year,” Luther Muhammad said on Thursday. “I feel like our schedule this year was a lot harder and the teams we was playing this year are a lot different than each other.”
In this season’s out-of-conference schedule, Ohio State topped Cincinnati and Villanova at home, North Carolina on the road and Kentucky at a neutral site. It also blew out Penn State, a team now ranked 21st in the Associated Press top-25 poll. The wins against John Calipari’s Wildcats and Jay Wright’s Wildcats should look especially impressive as the year progresses.
Plus, as Muhammad noted, the Buckeyes have seen quite a few different styles of play, and they’ll see one on Friday starkly differing from the one they faced in Cleveland on Sunday in a loss to West Virginia.
“We just got finished playing against West Virginia who takes early shots and kind of fast paced and scrappy, get after it,” Muhammad said. “And then we're walking into a Wisconsin team who's more so make you work every possession type of game. What we call it is a grind-it-out game, pretty much. Basically a whole possession every time they come down the court.
“So I feel like with the teams we've played and the competitive nature of the teams we've played and the high energy every team we've played brought to us, it kind of prepared us and basically let us know that we are prepared for it and we definitely need to continue to work hard because winning ain't easy. Nothing's given.”
Opponent Preview
Wisconsin enters Friday riding a three-game winning streak, including a 20-point road win against Tennessee, with an 8-5 record. It has a 7-0 home record but is just 1-5 on the road or at a neutral site.
The Badgers, who play at the fifth-slowest adjusted pace in the nation, have a fairly balanced scoring attack that features six players who average between eight and 15 points per game. Nate Reuvers, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound junior big man, leads the team with 14.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and redshirt junior guard D'Mitrik Trice, a 6-foot, 184-pound native of Huber Heights, averages 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-high 3.4 assists per game.
Reuvers and Trice both hit at least one 3-pointer per game, highlighting Wisconsin’s propensity to fire from beyond the arc. The Badgers take 44.8 percent of their shots from 3-point range, the highest rate in the Big Ten, which will be an area they’ll have to take advantage of on Friday night.
“Obviously playing a team that's playing really, really good basketball right now in Wisconsin,” Holtmann said. “They're in a tremendous rhythm offensively and defensively. Well-coached team. Disciplined. Older, as you'd expect with Wisconsin. A disciplined, well-coached, older team, and that's certainly what they have with a number of guys that have either been in their system or kind of paid their dues in their system”
Playing host to Wisconsin also means playing host to Micah Potter, who’s about to take part in his first Big Ten game since transferring from Ohio State just days before last season and subsequently having to sit out the entire 2018-19 season and the first semester of the 2019-20 season.
“I'm glad that he found somewhere that fits him and what he wants to do,” Andre Wesson said. “So we're happy for him and looking forward to the game tomorrow.”
Potter, a 6-foot-10, 248-pound big man who has averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 13 minutes per game, has played in three games since regaining his eligibility. He had fought to play for his entire redshirt junior season, but the NCAA denied his waiver, forcing him to sit out until the fall semester of school ended.
Earlier in the process, both Holtmann and athletic director Gene Smith wrote letters supporting his case for eligibility for the entirety of this season, the Ohio State head coach said.
“You'd have to speak to them to ask if they wanted us to do more,” Holtmann said. “But our letter was very specific about not only supporting his eligibility for the full year but wanting that for him. There was no confusion in how we felt about that from Gene's perspective or my perspective. I believe even Thad (Matta) wrote a letter. We were as adamant as we could be. That decision was out of our hands. Micah's a really good kid and we wish him well.”
Ohio State Preview
Holtmann will have to figure out how to counter Wisconsin without Kyle Young, the team’s starting power forward.
Young will miss Friday’s game after having his appendix removed, and he's considered "game to game," per Holtmann.
“In these kind of things, it's always next man up,” Holtmann said. “I say that also recognizing the value that Kyle brings to this team, which is significant. I don't want to minimize that at all. He's had as good a junior year as anybody's had.”
Young’s absence means E.J. Liddell could be in for a further boost in playing time. The freshman, who averages 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game, could be in line for his first career start.
Other than Liddell, Holtmann mentioned Justin Ahrens as somebody who could have an increased role either at power forward or on the wing with Andre Wesson moving from the “three” to the “four.” Alonzo Gaffney might see an uptick in minutes, too, but he dealt with the flu this week, Holtmann said.
“I'm just anxious to see how we respond with some guys stepping into (bigger roles),” Holtmann said. “E.J.'s already played a significant role. I think it'll be even more so moving forward. So we'll see how we respond against a team where you have to be really committed, have a great understanding of how you're going to play. A team like Wisconsin really tests that with you.”
Other Notes
- Musa Jallow continues to trend toward taking a redshirt this season, per Holtmann: “He just now has started to get to a little bit of contact in practice. But I don't know that he feels confident enough to be able to play on his ankle yet.”
- Holtmann on his team’s loss to West Virginia: “I did not think we played as poised or as smart as we needed to. I think that was the overriding thing for me.”
- This game is already sold out, and four other Big Ten games also have no tickets remaining. Holtmann: “I love it. I think our players appreciate it, and we hope that we can earn the right for that to continue and to grow even more with these last remaining games that aren't sold out. But it's tremendous.”
- Ahrens is still not fully recovered from his back injury. A month ago, Holtmann says, he believed the sophomore forward would have said he’s 65-70 percent healthy. Now, he’s “getting closer” to where he needs to be. Holtmann: “He's put on some weight back and he's practiced well, and his attitude has been really good. he's been really, really engaged. And I just think when a kid's really engaged on the bench and he's not playing and he practices well, that's going to pay off.”
How It Plays Out
Without Young, Ohio State will have to figure out on the fly what works against a Wisconsin team that thrives by slowing the game down and forcing opponents to minimize flaws. That’ll test Liddell and the other underclassmen seeing increased minutes. The Badgers could also pull an upset if they manage to hit enough of their many 3-pointers.
Ultimately, though, we’re predicting an Ohio State victory. The Buckeyes under Holtmann have a tendency to thrive in what Muhammad described as "grind-it-out" games.
Prediction: Ohio State 65, Wisconsin 57
