Ohio State played a horrendous game of basketball on Thursday.
Fans were piling out of Value City Arena by the under-eight media timeout of the second half as the Buckeyes (15-12, 7-9 Big Ten) were blown out by conference bottom-feeder Northwestern (14-13, 5-11), 70-49.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| NORTHWESTERN | 31 | 39 | 70 |
| OHIO STATE | 24 | 25 | 49 |
Ohio State's offense had all the output of a retired mechanic as the Buckeyes shot 32.7% from the field and had only one more made field goal (17) than turnovers (16). They handed the Wildcats their first road win of the season in a game that was never close in the second half.
Nick Martinelli, Ty Berry and K.J. Windham led the way for Northwestern with 18, 15 and 15 points. The Wildcats also held a 25-8 advantage in bench scoring.
Micah Parrish and Bruce Thornton had 16 and 13 points for Ohio State in the loss.
First Half
| NORTHWESTERN | STAT | OHIO STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | POINTS | 49 |
| 25-54 (46.3%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 17-52 (32.7%) |
| 2-14 (14.3%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-21 (19%) |
| 18-19 (94.7%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 11-13 (84.6%) |
| 11 | TURNOVERS | 16 |
| 36 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 27 |
| 13 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 10 |
| 23 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 17 |
| 25 | BENCH POINTS | 8 |
| 2 | BLOCKS | 1 |
| 4 | STEALS | 5 |
| 5 | ASSISTS | 8 |
Flatly, the first half was one of the worst halves of basketball the Buckeyes have played this season, at least until they played the second half against the Wildcats.
Ohio State has had trouble taking the lid off rims during at least one stretch of the last two games. The Buckeyes missed nine shots in a row toward the end of the first half in their 86-83 loss to Michigan, and after taking a 5-2 lead against Northwestern, they missed six in a row with a glut of turnovers aiding in a six-minute, 21-second stretch without points for OSU.
The Buckeyes turned it over seven times in a seven-minute stretch as Northwestern launched an 8-0 run to go ahead 10-5. Fed up with how things were going, Thornton tried to take matters into his own hands with three consecutive made floaters.
But an 0-for-4 shooting stretch followed for Ohio State and Northwestern built a 20-11 advantage off a 6-0 run catalyzed by Berry. Parrish quelled the momentum with a four-point play, but Berry had an answer, and a 3-pointer from freshman K.J. Windham extended the lead to 27-17.
A Sean Stewart alley-oop flush and and-one layup by Parrish chipped Ohio State's deficit to 31-24, but the first half finally came to a close with some abhorrent offensive numbers for the Scarlet and Gray. The Buckeyes had more turnovers (11) than made shots (10) and went 35.7% from the field with an 18.2% mark from 3.
Second Half
Things went from bad to worse for the Buckeyes in the second half.
It took 6:57 for Ohio State to make a field goal. The Buckeyes started on their second 0-for-7 stretch of the game as the Wildcats launched a 12-0 run to take a 43-24 lead just five minutes into the period.
As Martinelli collected four points in a 6-0 run, that lead kept expanding to 54-29 at the under-12 media timeout. It got as large as 28 points off a Martinelli layup before Ohio State finally showed just a glimmer of life with a 7-0 run.
But the result never came into question. Northwestern held a lead of at least 20 points the rest of the contest, riding out to a 70-49 win.
What's Next
Ohio State embarks on its West Coast road trip, starting with a game at UCLA on Sunday. Tipoff is at 3:45 p.m. on CBS.
Game Notes
- Center Aaron Bradshaw, walk-on guard Colby Baumann and assistant coach Luke Simons all missed Thursday's game with illness.
- Ohio State was shooting less than 30% from the field with 14 minutes to play against Northwestern.
- Only three players scored in the first half for the Buckeyes.
- Ohio State’s 49 points were the fewest by a Big Ten team in conference play this season.
