Big Ten Basketball: Wisconsin, Ohio State falls, Rutgers rises in latest power rankings

12. Ohio State Buckeyes - 14-10 (4-9)

Last season was supposed to be a rare one-off occurrence for the program. Instead, it’s become a mirror image of a great start, followed by an awful stretch of basketball. Ohio State started out 12-2, including beating Alabama. Since then, they’ve won just two of the last 11 games today.

It was actually 1 out of 10, including a pair of close losses to Indiana and Iowa. But they finally found a way to get in the win column last weekend, beating Maryland in double-overtime. The final score was 79-75, led by 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists from Bruce Thornton. Roddy Gayle was the other double-digit scorer with 17.

It’s a good win but it’s too little, too late for the program. Coach Chris Holtmann may actually be on the hot seat this time or he could look for another job himself, There’s plenty of talent on this team with the backcourt duo of Thornton and Gayle but they can’t seem to find ways to win in the Big Ten.

Things could get ugly again for the Buckeyes, as they have a road game with Wisconsin up next, followed by a home battle with Purdue. If those games become blowouts, look for the heat to go up a couple of notches.