What three adjectives described why Northwestern pulled away from Ohio State late?
If there’s a Big Ten coach who knows what Ohio State is going through, it’s Chris Collins. Since getting Northwestern to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in the 2016-17 season, Collins has overseen a Wildcats program known far more for lengthy losing streaks that anything else.
In the five seasons in between that one and this one, Northwestern had five losing streaks of at least five games and a season with two four-game losing streaks. When it’s gone off the rails for the Wildcats in recent years, they’ve cleared the track, smashed through the barriers and plummeted into the ravine before catching fire on the rocks below.
Thursday night, Collins was on the other side of the flames after his Wildcats handed Ohio State a 69-63 loss at Value City Arena that sent the Buckeyes to their second five-game losing streak of the season. Since Ohio State beat Northwestern on New Year’s Day, it has now dropped 10 of its last 11 games in what has been a steady free-fall toward the Big Ten cellar.
At multiple points in his postgame press conference Collins made it clear: he knows what this feels like. And he knows what it’s like to emerge battered, bloodied and bruised on the other side.
“We’ve been through it,” he said. “I’ve been at Northwestern where we’ve lost 8, 9, 10 games in a row. It’s a difficult thing in this league, and really there’s no letup in this conference. When you’re not playing well or can’t get the job done, you’ve got somebody else coming in three days.”
In Ohio State’s case, that somebody is Michigan State, which will come to Value City Arena on Sunday. At nearly the midpoint of the second half, though, the Buckeyes had the opportunity to write a different outcome and take control of their first two-game homestand since late December when Bruce Thornton put them ahead 47-45 with 10:12 to play.
But on the next possession, Northwestern’s Robbie Beran tied the game on a layup to start a game-clinching, 16-7 run for the visitors capped by a 3-pointer from Brooks Barnhizer with 4:44 to play that gave the Wildcats a 61-52 lead.
The difference at that point of the game, according to Collins, boiled down to his guys having three things: courage, toughness and togetherness.
“We weren’t perfect, but it’s a testament to our guys,” he said. “In the huddle, the talk was so positive. They were very determined. They had a look in their eye that they were going to get the job done even though it maybe wasn’t the prettiest out there.”
The Buckeyes, on the other hand, fell into a familiar pattern of being unable to come up with one or two extra defensive stops necessary to turn a game around as Northwestern scored on seven of eight possessions to turn the 47-all tie into the 61-52 lead. And offensively, there were some missed 3-pointers, a traveling violation, an illegal screen and two missed free throws.
When it comes to courage, toughness and togetherness, Thornton said it’s about more than only the final 10 minutes of a game.
“I feel like we was right there,” he said. “The difference was the big shots they hit to put them up nine instead of keeping it at six. That’s the small difference. That last 10 minutes of the game is really important, but also the first 30 is important as well.”
The loss dropped Ohio State to 2-11 (.154) in games decided by single digits. During coach Chris Holtmann’s first five years, Ohio State was 48-35 (.578) in such games.
“We’ve obviously got to get better in those areas (Collins cited), but give them credit,” Holtmann said. “They’ve got an old group and did a good job.”
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Senior guard Boo Buie was around for plenty of those losing streaks, enduring a 12-game losing streak in 2019-20, a 13-game losing streak the following year and two four-game losing streaks last season. He had 19 points, five assists and two rebounds Thursday night. So was senior Chase Audige, who had 12 points, four assists and three rebounds against Ohio State while also pressuring freshman Brice Sensabaugh into his least effective game of the year.
They’ve lost a lot of games. Now they’re in position to reach the NCAA Tournament.
“When you’re not rewarded with some joy, it can be very hard,” Collins said of losing streaks. “I know from experience. You’ve just got to draw on what you’ve got in that locker room and keep fighting. When I’ve been in those situations, I was always told as a kid you can tap out or keep fighting. I saw tonight, (Ohio State) is going to keep fighting. There’s no question in my mind they’re going to win some games down the stretch.”
The next chance arrives Sunday.
"We feel their record is not indictive of what they have," Collins said. "There’s a lot of character in that locker room. I love Chris Holtmann and have always admired him as a coach and how he carries himself, the way his teams play. I knew coming into tonight this was going to be a tough game.
"Fortunately we were able to get the win, but there’s not a lot of teams in these last seven games that are going to want to play these guys."
Brice Sensabaugh struggles through rare off night
Ohio State’s leading scorer on the season, Sensabaugh came off the bench for the first eight games of the year, started 13 of the next 14 games and then was moved back to the bench for last Sunday’s loss at Michigan. After fouling out in only 16:19 the previous game against Wisconsin, Sensabaugh came off the bench but still played 25:48 and finished with 14 points in the loss against the Wolverines.
Afterward, Holtmann said he wanted to protect the freshman from picking up early fouls that could make him unavailable for late-game situations. Thursday night, he remained on the bench and entered at the 12:28 and 13:21 marks of the first and second halves, respectively.
“That was just the rotation,” Holtmann said when asked about Sensabaugh’s usage. “He’s always faced really good defenders. Audige is a really good defender.”
At Michigan, Sensabaugh’s 14 points came on 4 of 14 shooting with several of his shots coming over the top of longer, bigger defenders. Against the Wildcats, Sensabaugh never seemed to settle into the game and finished as many points as turnovers – four. It was only his second single-digit scoring game of the season, tying his 4-point effort at Duke on Nov. 30, a game in which he fouled out in 14:07.
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Sensabaugh missed seven of his eight shots against Northwestern and is 5 for 22 (22.7%) in his last two games.
“He wasn’t always guarded by the best player earlier in the year,” Holtmann said. “He’s being guarded by the best player now. Like freshmen have moments, we’ll help him the best we can. The young man’s fighting hard. Give him credit. He’s allowed to have an off shooting night. We’ll find ways to put him in better positions.”
Thornton, who had 12 points, three assists and no turnovers in 35:09, said they’re not worried about the freshman.
“He’s human, like everybody else,” he said. “He’s going to have nights when he’s on and nights when he’s off. We know what Brice is capable of doing every single night. He’s a tough-shot maker. I feel like he showed the world what he’s capable of doing. This don’t show who he really is. He’s going to keep fighting and his time will come again. These games, they’ll go by and he’s going to figure it out.”
Northwestern pulls away with 3-point shooting discrepancy
After the loss to Michigan, Holtmann said he’d like to see Ohio State shoot a few more 3s than it had been. The Buckeyes entered Thursday night shooting 37.6% from 3 on the season, good for third-best in the Big Ten and a stark contrast to the Wildcats who were fourth-worst at 31.6%.
The game flipped those numbers considerably. Northwestern went 12 for 29 (41.4%) from deep, its most prolific 3-point shooting effort against a Big Ten team this season. Half of the Wildcats’ field goals came from beyond the 3-point line.
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, made just one 3-point attempt when Sean McNeil tied the game at 33 with 17:34 to play. Otherwise, it was a fruitless exercise: Ohio State missed its other 13 attempts from 3, finishing at 7.1%.
It was the worst 3-point shooting effort from Ohio State since the Buckeyes also went 1 for 14 against Purdue on March 13, 2014, in the Big Ten tournament. They won that game, 63-61, as the Boilermakers were 2 for 10 from deep.
“I liked a lot of them,” Holtmann said. “We just missed some clean ones. A couple of them were deep, but I liked a lot of the ones we got.”
Northwestern was led by second-year guard Brooks Barnhizer. He entered the game 11 for 48 (22.9%) from 3 for the season but was 4 for 7 and finished with a career-high 19 points.
In the first meeting between these teams this season, Northwestern was 9 for 31 (29.0%) from 3 and Barnhizer didn’t attempt any.
“We guarded them the same way in game one,” Holtmann said. “Their track record for shooting 3s has not been as strong as it was today. They’re at the bottom of the league in terms of 3-point shooting. Their guards are very good at getting into the lane. The hedge created some open 3s. We were a little late on some rotations, but give them credit. We weren’t on the Barnhizer one (that made it a nine-point deficit). He hit a heck of a shot.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Wildcats showed Ohio State still searching for answers in crunch time
