Thoughts on another Ohio State Basketball loss, its fifth straight

Entering the New Year, the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team was 10-3 and looked like one of the best teams in the conference. New Year’s Day would be their last win, proceeding to drop five straight, their most recent tonight to a very average Nebraska team, 63-60.

It’s added to a very frustrating time for Buckeye basketball, inching towards .500 with every loss. Head coach Chris Holtmann must have a warm seat right now, but with a few more losses it could be getting hotter.

Not much good came from this game, especially given the level of the opponent along with the long losing streak. This season has become increasingly frustrating and here some thoughts on the most recent loss.

Holtmann is still looking for his starting lineup

Since [autotag]Zed Key[/autotag] injured his shoulder against [autotag]Purdue[/autotag], head coach Chris Holtmann has been searching for a starting lineup that works. Post-Boilermaker loss, every group of starters has been different. Today, the group went 1-of-11 to start the game, and Nebraska didn’t do itself any favors by not taking advantage of it.

I’d like to see [autotag]Roddy Gayle Jr.[/autotag] inserted over [autotag]Justice Sueing[/autotag], who has been wildly inconsistent this year. Let the younger player see what he can do with more minutes. [autotag]Isaac Likelele[/autotag] over [autotag]Bruce Thornton[/autotag] might not be bad too, just because I want to see more starting experience with the primary ball-handler. Regardless, the search continues for the perfect starting five in what is turning out to be a very difficult season.

The offense is broken

At one point — just a few weeks ago actually — the Buckeyes were one of the top offenses in the country, at least according to some analytics metrics. What happened for the collective group to lose their confidence is beyond all of us, including Holtmann. The movement that was there in 2022, is gone this year.

A good amount of shots are being taken late in the shot clock while being rushed or contested. You could point to Key getting injured, but one player shouldn’t have an impact on the rest. Holtmann doesn’t just have to find an answer for his starters, he has to find one here as well.

We got bad Brice in the first half

Not only did he start the night shooting 0-of-8, but Brice Sensabaugh committed two fouls and eventually fouled out late. He kept taking tough shots before going to the rim, getting fouled, and shooting free throws. During his cold start, he took three from beyond the arc instead of trying to get to the line. Sensabaugh would grab five rebounds and score 7 points so it wasn’t all bad in the first twenty minutes. With the offense struggling the way it is, Ohio State can’t afford its best scorer to have many cold stretches.

Time to rest Key

He’s clearly not right. Key is trying to tough out his shoulder injury, one that seems to have been bothering him all season. Give him 7-10 days rest, and maybe miss a few games but he might come back better for it. He’s not as physical on defense, and his lefty hook is way off. [autotag]Felix Okpara[/autotag] and [autotag]Eugene Brown III[/autotag] would have to step up in his absence, but if this team does make a run, it’ll need a healthy Key down the stretch.

Is this a tournament team?

At this point, winning the Big Ten is out of the question. That goal is thrown out the window. The next goal is making the [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag], which is looking like a much harder task as each game goes by. Normally it takes about 20 wins to secure a spot and right now this team doesn’t look like it will get there. That means a potential bubble spot, which might mean the Buckeyes would miss the tourney for the first time since 2017 excluding 2020 when it was canceled. Not great.

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