The Schottenstein Center has been a sanctuary for Ohio State this season. The road, on the other hand, has been a long and treacherous one for the Buckeyes.
In its last five Big Ten road games, Ohio State has suffered four defeats. Given a promising chance to momentarily dispel any notions about their road struggles Wednesday, the Buckeyes imploded late against Rutgers, going from up eight points with 3:48 to play to down two by the time the final buzzer sounded in Piscataway.
“Winning on the road’s hard. You earn those each step of the way,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said after the 66-64 loss. “So I don’t think we’ve certainly mastered that, we just have to keep getting better and have to do some things better on both ends there.”
Before collapsing against Rutgers, Ohio State saw almost the exact opposite scenario play out in its Jan. 30 collision with Purdue. Down 20 points early in the second half, the Buckeyes roared back to tie things up in the final seconds, but still lost on a last-second three by Jaden Ivey.
Earlier in January, the Buckeyes suffered double-digit road losses against Wisconsin and Indiana. In their last five road games, their only win was a 75-64 victory over Minnesota, who sits second-to-last in the Big Ten standings ahead of Nebraska, the only other team they’ve beaten on the road in 2022.
All six losses Ohio State has taken this season have come either on the road or at a neutral site.
The good news for Ohio State is that only three of its last nine regular-season games will be road games. Given that the Buckeyes are sitting at 10-0 at home thus far, that’s a positive indicator for the scarlet and gray without doubt. It is also a relief for Holtmann and company because Saturday’s game against Michigan will be the Buckeyes’ fourth game on the road in their last five.
| Opponents | Overall | At Home | On Road | Neutral |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 14-6 | 10-0 | 3-5 | 1-1 |
| Big Ten | 7-4 | 4-0 | 3-4 | N/A |
| Non-Conf | 7-2 | 6-0 | 0-1 | 1-1 |
When Ohio State beat Maryland, 82-67, on its home floor this past Sunday, it was Ohio State’s first game in Columbus in 19 days, and its first Big Ten home game in a full three weeks. Two game postponements didn’t help in that regard, but the subsequent two road trips to Rutgers and Michigan mean Ohio State will go another nine days without a game at home.
Just one of Ohio State’s upcoming home matchups (March 3 against No. 17 Michigan State) is against a currently ranked opponent, although the Buckeyes will also have to face an Indiana team that already holds a blowout win over them this season on Feb. 19.
Ohio State could be favored in two of its final three road games to close out the regular season. Next up is Michigan on Saturday, but the talent on the Wolverine roster – not to mention its latest performance in a 24-point thrashing of No. 3 Purdue – makes it nowhere near a guaranteed win for a Buckeye team that has now lost two games out of three.
The Wolverines started the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll after earning a regular season Big Ten title a year ago, but after peaking at No. 4, things went downhill in a hurry for Juwan Howard and company. Despite returning first-team All-Big Ten big man Hunter Dickinson, landing two five-star freshmen (Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate) and bringing in one of the nation’s top transfer in DeVante’ Jones, Michigan found itself with a 7-7 record midway through January with non-conference losses to Seton Hall, Central Florida and Minnesota, among others.
Michigan has been much better since then, going 6-2 with wins over Maryland, Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State and avenging a loss to Purdue with its best showing of the season in Thursday's 82-58 win at the Crisler Center.
| OPPONENT | Date | Location | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Feb. 12 | Road | 13-9 |
| Minnesota | Feb. 15 | Home | 11-10 |
| INdiana | Feb. 19 | Home | 16-7 |
| IOWA | TBD | Home | 16-7 |
| Illinois | Feb. 24 | Road | 17-6 |
| Maryland | Feb. 27 | Road | 11-13 |
| Nebraska | March 1 | Home | 7-17 |
| Michigan State | March 3 | Home | 17-6 |
| Michigan | March 6 | Home | 13-9 |
After Michigan, Ohio State won’t go on the road again for another 12 days. The Buckeyes aren’t likely to be favored in that game, though, as 13th-ranked Illinois will be waiting for the Buckeyes in Champaign in a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Tournament Championship Game.
One of just three teams in the Big Ten with a 10-3 conference record, Illinois has gone 15-4 since losing a pair of non-conference games in November, with its only losses since early December coming against No. 3 Purdue and Maryland during a game in which the Fighting Illini were without star center Kofi Cockburn. The 7-foot junior is averaging 21.6 points and 11.2 boards this season, second and first in the conference respectively, and he’s led Illinois on another stellar year after winning the Big Ten crown last season.
The Buckeyes finish out their road schedule on Feb. 27 against Maryland, a team they handled with relative ease as mentioned just a few days ago. If Ohio State plays up to its potential, it could set itself up for a rock-solid stretch with mostly winnable games in the final nine. But if last season – or the last game, for that matter – is any warning, no result of a Big Ten contest is a certainty.
Riding a seven-game win streak and 18-4 overall record into the final four games of last regular season, Ohio State ended up losing all four to drop to the fifth seed in the conference tournament.
The Buckeyes are sitting in fifth place in the Big Ten following their loss to Rutgers, which might have cost them a chance at making a real run at a regular season conference championship this season, but Ohio State could still make up ground and gain momentum ahead of the postseason if it finds a way to remedy its road woes and continue its excellent run at home during the next nine games.
