It took Bruce Thornton a half to get going, and very little help showed up when he heated up in the second half.
A road victory, the most-elusive quarry for Ohio State this season and last, was there for the taking Tuesday night at Wisconsin. But the Buckeyes, as has been their habit, obliged their hosts by wilting from contention at crunch time.
Madison, WI – The end of Ohio State’s prolonged road losing streak beckoned hauntingly Tuesday before the Buckeyes reverted to their familiar failures and absorbed an all-too-familiar result in all–too-familiar fashion.
Down by 17 points to No. 20 Wisconsin early in the second half – a continuation of the 14-2 run OSU allowed the Badgers to finish the first half and claim control – Ohio State drew as close as five points and was still within 53-47 after Bruce Thornton’s runner in the lane with 8:34 remaining.
The Buckeyes wouldn’t score again, however, until 1:36 remained, missing nine straight shots and turning it over twice to ruin what had been 68% shooting success the first 11:26 of the second half.
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The 62-54 defeat was Ohio State’s 16th straight on the road dating to Jan. 1, 2023, and its ninth loss in the past 11 games to threaten a second straight sub-.500 finish.
Scoring droughts have doomed Ohio State regularly throughout what is now a 14-11 season that includes a 4-10 mark in the Big Ten entering a 1 p.m. Sunday tip against second-ranked Purdue.
The Boilermakers’ national player-of-the-year candidate, Zach Edey, may camp outside Value City Arena as soon as tonight, such will he salivate over the chance to pillage OSU inside the way Wisconsin’s Steve Crowl did.
Jamison Battle has been a non-factor in OSU’s last two games.
Crowl, who scored a total of 19 points in his last four games – all of which Wisconsin lost – erupted for 16 against the Buckeyes, who never led once all night.
Crowl also had 10 rebounds, joining with 6-7 sophomore A.J. Stoor (14 points, 12 rebounds) to give the Badgers (17-8, 9-5) a pair of double-doubles amid their 38-26 dominance of the boards.
“I thought that was the biggest factor,” OSU coach Chris Holtmann said of the deficit his team suffered on the glass. “Outside of not being able to finish around the rim, it was the biggest factor.”
Wisconsin led, 34-21, at the break thanks to repeated second-chance opportunities afforded by Ohio State’s failure to track initial misses.
That 13-point margin came despite the Badgers going six minutes without a field goal and despite their eight turnovers through 20 minutes.
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Thornton, though he led the Buckeyes with 18 points, was just 1-of-7 at the half.
Jamison Battle went to the locker room 0-for-3 from the field and, unlike Thornton, didn’t warm when play resumed.
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Battle finished with a season-low three points on the heels of an eight-point game Saturday against Maryland in which he shot 4-of-11 and scored just eight points.
A transfer from Minnesota, Battle came to Ohio State because he said it presented his best chance to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his last season on collegiate eligibility.
He now appears to be fading as the reality of his ill-fated logic for coming to Columbus sets in.
Battle committed a key turnover that led to a Wisconsin breakaway layup and 55-47 lead near the seven-minute mark.
He then missed an open triple in the left corner that precipitated the Badgers re-establishing their double-figure lead, essentially clinching the outcome.
“I thought we had some clear looks that we missed,” Holtmann said. “It was a game where we just couldn’t get the stops and the scores we needed to.”
Another one, to be more accurate.
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