With 15:31 to play on Wednesday, Ohio State had an ideal situation on its hands.
The Buckeyes led Wisconsin by 27 points and didn’t appear to be slowing down. Thoroughly drubbing a team it lost to on its own home floor a little more than a month ago, Ohio State looked as good as – or better than – it had all season. And given that the Buckeyes’ second-round matchup would be set to tip off just 19 hours after the start of the Wednesday game, perhaps Ohio State could even preserve some much-needed energy as it cruised to victory against the Badgers.
But in the month of March, things are rarely ideal. If ever.
Wisconsin came roaring back to outscore Ohio State 37-14 in a 14:18 stretch to cut the Buckeye lead down to four points with 52 seconds remaining on the clock. With a pro-Badger crowd backing Wisconsin at the United Center in Chicago, Ohio State suddenly appeared destined to fumble away what should’ve been a triumphant performance. It would only be fitting, considering the squandered potential that plagued the Buckeyes throughout a disappointing regular season.
“There is a reason why it says survive and advance come tournament time. We've seen crazy things in our league.”– Chris Holtmann
The final result didn’t fit that narrative, either. Ohio State neither closed the game out with cold-blooded composure nor coughed up its monumental lead completely. In a mixed bag of plays down the stretch, the Buckeyes walked a fine line between clutch and collapse. But in the end, they had just enough poise to keep their season alive for at least one day longer.
“Give our players credit. I thought they found a way there,” Chris Holtmann said after the 65-57 win. “Wisconsin did a great job. Their physicality really bothered us there in the second half. Obviously we had trouble scoring and missed some free throws, but give them credit. Their defense was outstanding in the second half, and I think that was the biggest reason for some of our struggles. The missed free throws, they're just that. We'll get better with that. But give these guys credit. They found a way, and we'll move on tomorrow.”
Up 18 at halftime, Ohio State knocked down 68.2% of its shots in the first half and limited Wisconsin to just 30.4% shooting on the other end. That 20-minute performance was extremely impressive in itself, given Ohio State couldn’t get any separation from its opponents during a nine-game losing streak that only came to an end just 10 days ago.
The final 15 minutes showed Ohio State hasn’t made a total 180-degree turnaround. But perhaps the team that dropped 14 games out of 15 earlier this season would’ve crumbled completely when things continued to trend Wisconsin’s way late.
“We had a good kick to us to start this. We knew we had to come out with aggression and execute our game plan. We were able to get a comfortable lead,” Justice Sueing said after the game. “Obviously we need to work on maintaining that as we continue on in the tournament, but a couple months ago, you couldn't have said that we'd have been able to stay as poised as we were today. I'm proud of my guys to pull it through, but props to Wisconsin. They played really hard and give us a run for our money. But just proud of our guys for being able to get this thing through.”
Ohio State had no chance of replicating its first-half efficiency in the final 20 minutes. The Buckeyes knew a run was coming, and they just had to brace for it. The ability to hold on until the win was secure could prove valuable in a tournament setting where games are often subject to photo finishes.
“I think we kind of did panic a little bit, but like Justice said, that's something we've got to continue to get better at,” McNeil said. “Teams are going to make a run. Basketball in itself is a game of runs. So just learning how to respond when teams make runs and staying together.”
There’s plenty of criticism to lobby at the Buckeyes for their performance late in the game. Ohio State missed six of its 17 free-throw attempts in the second half and turned the ball over nine times in the final frame – five more times than the Badgers did. The Buckeyes went cold on offense, hitting just three of their final 13 shots to close the game.
But a few bright moments made all the difference. Sueing hit a jumper with 4:25 remaining that stopped an 8-0 run by Wisconsin’s Tyler Wahl to put Ohio State back up 16. Then Felix Okpara returned to the game and slowed the Badger big man down significantly, swatting one of his shots into the front row and stopping him from scoring again for a 4:36 stretch.
Okpara also pulled down a heavily contested defensive rebound in the final 30 seconds, when an offensive board for the Badgers could have allowed them to make it a one-possession game. Okpara only split his pair of free throws after getting fouled on the play, but in a winning effort, Ohio State will take the good with the bad.
“I think that was a critical turning point. I really do,” Holtmann said. “Felix's length on (Wahl), one of the things I worried about is Felix getting just kind of run over by Tyler Wahl because he's such a good low post guy, but his length bothered him late and his ball screen defense on Chucky (Hepburn) bothered him late.”
Following an emotional ending on Wednesday, the Buckeyes may be more spent for Thursday’s 2:30 p.m. tip-off against Iowa than they would've been after a blowout win. But a win of any kind was all Ohio State needed in its first-round contest, and the same will be true in the second round.
For an extended stretch of the regular season, Ohio State made a habit of finding new ways to lose games. Now with three victories in their past four games, the Buckeyes are finally finding ways to win them.
“Your mind can go bad places. You've got to have real discipline with your thoughts in that moment. You've got to discipline your mind to stay focused on the possession in front of you,” Holtmann said. “Coaches have watched enough college basketball and coached enough games where they know there is a reason why it says survive and advance come tournament time. We've seen crazy things in our league. We're playing an Iowa team that was down 10 with 34 seconds to go or 35 seconds to go at their place (in an overtime win over Michigan State on Feb. 25).
“So you just understand how quickly leads can diminish. Obviously there were some things as coaches and players we could have done better, but I give our guys credit for trying to finish it.”
