Ohio State Falls to Northwestern, 69-63, As Buckeyes Drop Five Straight For the Second Time in 2023

Big Ten losses have now reached double digits for the Buckeyes, who suffered their 10th loss of the past 11 games to fall two games under .500 on the season following a 69-63 defeat to Northwestern at the Schottenstein Center Thursday.

Ohio State outshot, outrebounded and outscored the Wildcats in the paint in the first half, but still wound up with a one-point deficit entering the second period. The Buckeyes got back out in front in the second half, but never slammed the door shut as Northwestern hung around and surged ahead late.

Inaccuracy from the 3-point line handicapped an otherwise stellar shooting performance by Ohio State, and while Justice Sueing turned in his best effort in more than a month (19 points), Brice Sensabaugh had one of his quietest games of the season (four points).

Northwestern exploded from 3-point range on the other end, knocking down 12 attempts from long range to stay in the game throughout and pull away from the Buckeyes down the stretch. Seven of those came in the second half alone.

Ohio State made a late run to threaten the Wildcats in the closing minutes, but it wasn’t enough to retake the lead before the final buzzer.

First Half

Zed Key provided the Buckeyes with energy early, scoring five of Ohio State’s first nine points – including a one-handed dunk over Northwestern big man Matthew Nicholson – to give the scarlet and gray a three-point lead entering the first media timeout. Key scored more points in the first eight minutes and change than he had all game against Michigan on Sunday.

While Ohio State missed all nine of its 3-point attempts in the period, Northwestern got hot from beyond the arc. The Wildcats nailed three triples in a row during one stretch of play to take a one-possession edge with the clock ticking under 13 minutes.

Both sides traded scores for nearly 11 minutes through the middle of the half, but the Buckeyes eventually broke up the back-and-forth with an 8-0 run to earn some separation. Three different OSU players scored in the stretch, which spanned from 7:09 to 4:23 and gave the Buckeyes a 23-17 lead.

Northwestern finished the half stronger, though, scoring nine of the final 11 points to close the period with a 28-27 lead following a go-ahead jumper right before the buzzer. Despite losing the rebounding battle (17-10) and being outscored by 10 in the paint, the Wildcats went into the locker room with a lead.

After starting the game on the bench, Sensabaugh played just six minutes in the first half and failed to score for Ohio State. But even with a freezing-cold start from 3-point range and Sensabaugh’s lack of scoring contributions, the Buckeyes shot 54.2% from the field – nearly 12% better than Northwestern.

Second Half

Ohio State finally hit a 3-pointer at the 17:34 mark after 10 straight misses to start the game. That shot by Sean McNeil tied things up 33-all after Northwestern scored five of the first six points to open the half. 

The Buckeyes regained the lead at the free-throw line less than a minute later, and pushed their advantage to four points behind a 9-0 run down to 15:59.

But Northwestern didn’t go away. The Wildcats scored nine of the subsequent 13 points to take a 42-42 lead at 12:51. Sensabaugh’s first points of the night came at the opportune time for Ohio State, which went back ahead by one on a jumper from the freshman 19 seconds later.

Sueing carried the Buckeyes early in the half on offense, but after he took a seat on the bench, 3-point misses continued to pile up as Ohio State failed to pull away from its opponent. Just seconds after Sueing checked back in to begin the final eight minutes, Northwestern hit a triple to go up four points. It was a 6-0 Wildcat run in a little over 90 seconds.

Northwestern extended its lead to six points on four consecutive free throws from star guard Boo Buie in a 26-second stretch, and the Wildcats' 11th 3-pointer of the game made it a 7-0 run in just 1:17 of game time. The three put Northwestern up nine, 61-52, and Ohio State called a timeout to stop the bleeding with 4:30 left.

An and-one from Sueing cut the Wildcat lead to four points at the 3:37 mark, but he missed back-to-back free throws shortly thereafter that would’ve made it a two-point game. Northwestern’s Chase Audige then nailed a dagger three with 2:04 to play to put the Wildcats back up seven as Ohio State watched its window of opportunity begin to slip away.

It was still a two-possession game in the final 20 seconds, but Northwestern sank enough free throws to keep the Buckeyes at bay.

Game Notes

• Brice Sensabaugh came off the bench for the second straight game for Ohio State. Isaac Likekele replaced him in the starting five alongside Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Justice Sueing and Zed Key. Sensabaugh didn't check in until the 12:28 mark of the first half.
• Ohio State defeated Northwestern, 73-57, in Evanston in the teams’ first meeting this season on Jan. 1.
• The Buckeyes won their previous three matchups with the Wildcats. Ohio State’s last loss against Northwestern was a 71-70 defeat in Evanston on Dec. 26, 2020.
• Ohio State only suffered one loss in its previous 16 matchups with Northwestern at the Schottenstein Center.
• Northwestern guard Julian Roper was sidelined with an ankle injury.