The Ohio State Buckeyes picked up their first win over a ranked opponent this season, knocking off the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers. Jake Diebler’s team was in control from start to finish, jumping out to a double-digit lead within the first six minutes of the game. Ohio State led by 12 at halftime and used a 48 point second-half to come away with an 86-69 win on their home court.
Defense wins it
The Buckeyes put on one of their best defensive performances of the season, holding Wisconsin to under 70 points for just the second time in the Badgers’ last 15 games. They also limited two of the Big Ten’s top scorers in John Blackwell and Nick Boyd to a combined 28 points on 42% shooting from the field.
Lead scorer shines
Ohio State was led by their engine Bruce Thornton with 27 points. They also got a much-needed scoring boost in the absence of John Mobley Jr., as Devin Royal bounced back in a big way after a bad performance against Virginia. Royal finished with 25 points and knocked down four three-pointers.
What it means
Now, what really matters is what this win means for Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament hopes. Prior to this game, the Buckeyes were squarely on the wrong side of the bubble, but this is undoubtedly their biggest win of the season. However, the issue is that under the current NET rankings, this victory is not a Quad 1 win which is something Ohio State has been searching for all season to really strengthen its resume. Wisconsin currently sits at No. 35 in the NET, and Quad 1 home wins are categorized as against opponents ranked 1-30. This moves Ohio State to 6-1 in Quad 2 games while staying at 0-8 in Quad 1 matchups.
On paper though, this is still a very impressive win. Wisconsin is one of the hottest teams in the country, with two of the best wins in all of college basketball this season with road victories at Michigan and Illinois, and the Badgers were coming off a 21-point throttling of Michigan State. While it’s not a Quad 1 win at the moment, that could change by Selection Sunday if Wisconsin moves inside the top 30 of the NET. Regardless, it’s certainly a result that Buckeyes fans should be happy about.
Still work to do
In Busting Brackets’ latest Bracketology heading into the week, Ohio State was in the “First Four Out” category, while TCU and Virginia Tech, who both lost on Tuesday night, were listed among the “Last Four In.” That likely means that we saw some significant movement on the bubble Tuesday night.
As of now, Ohio State will have three more opportunities to pick up a Quad 1 win down the stretch with road games at Michigan State and Iowa, along with a home matchup against Purdue. They’ll also have what’s shaping up to be a massive regular-season finale against Indiana in a game that could be a win-and-in scenario for the Buckeyes. Maybe more important than those big games though is avoiding a bad slip-up on the road at Penn State in early March.
With how loud the noise is surrounding head coach Jake Diebler and the chaos that comes with life on the bubble, Tuesday night’s win was huge for the Buckeyes, but they still have work to do.