Make it five: Ohio State loses single-digit game at Nebraska to extend losing streak
LINCOLN, Neb. – In past years, this was where Ohio State would go to get right.
Wednesday night, Pinnacle Bank Arena was where a spiraling season continued to go wrong. Losers of four straight games since a New Year's Day win at Northwestern, Ohio State (10-8, 2-5) continued its plummet toward the Big Ten basement with a 63-60 loss to Nebraska (10-9, 3-5).
The Buckeyes, as they frequently have during what ties the longest losing streak of Chris Holtmann's six-year tenure, made it interesting. But ultimately it added up to another, single-digit loss to a team it was widely expected to beat.
"We just need to have poise," third-year center and captain Zed Key, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds, told The Dispatch. "Holtmann said it in the locker room. We missed a couple dumb plays tonight throughout the course of the game and it hurt us in the end. Those plays, it’s a one-possession game at the end."
The season gets no easier: Ohio State will host Iowa, winners of four straight, on Saturday before hitting the road next week for games against Illinois and Indiana.
Brice Sensabaugh was the lone offensive spark for the Buckeyes, finishing with 18 points after missing his first eight shots and fouling out with 12.2 to play. He also had 10 rebounds, marking the first time Ohio State had two players post double-doubles in a loss since E.J. Liddell had 23 and 14 and Duane Washington added 18 and 10 in a first-round NCAA Tournament upset loss to Oral Roberts on March 19, 2021.
Ahead by one at the break, Ohio State pushed it as high as a five-point advantage in the opening minutes of the second half but it quickly dissipated as Nebraska scored on three straight possessions, the first two of which were 3-pointers and the latter a three-point play, to turn that 32-27 Ohio State lead into a 36-33 advantage for the home team.
It woke up both offenses after a brutal first half, and it was Nebraska that found more success. The Cornhuskers scored on five straight possessions after Ohio State took a 38-36 lead with 12:25 to play, and although the Buckeyes would keep pace for a while, Denim Dawson's drive to tie the game at 49 was the catalyst for the Cornhuskers to pull away.
Ohio State would go 6:35 without a field goal as Nebraska took a 55-50 lead, a streak only broken by a Zed Key dunk with 2:20 to play to pull the Buckeyes within three. And when Brice Sensabaugh went to the line on the next possession for two free throws, he could've pulled them within point.
Instead, he hit the first and missed the second. Nebraska's Emmanuel Bandoumel got the rebound and Ohio State captain and fifth-year graduate transfer Isaac Likekele fouled him almost immediately, sending him to the line at the other end.
He hit both with 1:48 left, making it a two-possession deficit for the Buckeyes. As in the prior four games, it would prove to be too much, and yet it would come down to the final seconds.
Trailing 63-60 with 12.2 seconds remaining, Sean McNeil's final, open look at the buzzer didn't fall, and he covered his face with his scarlet jersey as Nebraska celebrated.
Ohio State had won five straight games here. Nebraska improved to 2-9 this season when scoring 65 points or fewer. Ohio State's losses to Purdue, at Maryland, to Minnesota, at Rutgers and now at Nebraska have come by a combined 19 points.
"The margin for error is small in league play and you’ve got to be able to convert when the opportunity’s there," Holtmann said. "We’ve got to coach our guys in ways that they understand that. We’ve got to play with more poise than what we did. We played with real good poise down the stretch but not enough poise throughout the course of the game."
There was a silver lining to what could charitably be described as the poorest half of basketball this season: Ohio State still took a lead into the locker room. Somehow.
With Ohio State trailing 14-13 late in the first half, the teams combined for five straight empty possessions but the Buckeyes looked to take the lead when Tanner Holden got a wide-open look from the left block. Instead, the automatic layup didn’t fall, Nebraska maintained its lead and extended it to six points on a three-point play and a bucket from Sam Griesel with 4:29 left. The rare offensive outburst gave the Cornhuskers a 19-13 lead, but Ohio State would close the half from there with its most sustained offensive assault to that point.
It came from Sensabaugh, who missed his eighth shot after Griesel’s play but nabbed his own rebound and drew a foul to go to the line. He hit both free throws with 4:08 left for his first points of the half, and it warmed him up.
Sensabaugh added a jumper two possessions later and a 3-pointer on the next one for a personal 7-2 run, and when McNeil hit a jumper with 1:48 left it set what would be the halftime score and give the Buckeyes a 22-21 lead.
"Offensively we’re kind of stagnant right now," Holden said. "Defensively we’re not getting the stops we need. I think we’re just not dialed in. We can’t let our offense carry over to our defense; we can’t let our defense carry over to our offense. We haven’t put a complete game together yet, and I think that’s the biggest problem right now."
Ohio State held the halftime lead despite shooting 26.7% (8 for 30) in the half and 14.3% (1 for 7) from 3 because Nebraska was 9 for 30 (30.0%) and 2 for 14 (14.3%), respectively. Ohio State held an advantage at the line, going 5 for 6 (83.3%) compared to 1 for 4 (25.0%) for the Cornhuskers.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's losing streak reaches five as Nebraska adds to misery
