The Ohio State Buckeyes steamrolled through their non-conference slate and won their first two Big Ten games to end the calendar year with just one loss in their first 13 games and a national ranking. Things haven’t been as sweet since and OSU’s hopes for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid evaporated with a 6-11 mark in 2019. Adding to the problem, the Buckeyes’ best player was suspended and likely won’t play on Saturday. With Kaleb Wesson out, OSU was outscored by 53 points in pair of defeats.
Wisconsin Badgers at Ohio State Buckeyes
Date and Time: Sunday, March 10, 2019, 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Value City Arena, Columbus, OH
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Wisconsin at Ohio State TV Coverage: CBS
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For a change the Badgers enjoyed some breathing room in a game when they bettered a sinking Iowa 65-45 on Thursday. Their previous eight games had all been decided by a single digit and the last two came down to the final seconds. Wisconsin went 5-3 in those tightly-contested matchups and hadn’t posted a double-digit victory since beating Nebraska by 11 at the end of January. “It was definitely nice to finally stomp on someone’s throat and not let them hang around,” Ethan Happ said. Bucky can secure a top-four in the Big Ten standings and the double-bye in the tournament that comes with it by defeating Ohio State.
A tale of two seasons is a script the Buckeyes have become all too familiar with. There are several quality teams in the Big Ten, and OSU was thought to be one of them after opening with a pair of wins and a 12-1 record before the new year. The Buckeyes opened 2019 by losing five in a row and they haven’t recovered. They’ve lost two in a row by an average margin of 26.5 points, three of four and five of their last seven while going 2-5 ATS in that span.
Suspended
The Buckeyes indefinitely suspended Wesson last week for an unspecified violation of athletic department policy and sources are saying he won’t suit up for the final regular season game. The talented 6-9 post player leads the team with 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, and the Buckeyes lack a presence both offensively and defensively in the middle without him. “The gap behind his defense and the other guys’ defense at that position is seismic,” coach Chris Holtmann said.
That was apparent in the last two games when Purdue scored 86 points in a rout and Northwestern stopped a 10-game losing streak with their big man Derek Pardon going for 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 68-50 Wildcats’ win. In the last game before his suspension, Wesson scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and four assists in a 90-70 victory over Iowa.
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He’s on the short list of Big Ten Player of the Year hopefuls and Happ has destroyed some of the best defenders in the conference and the nation this year. He’s likely to have astronomical numbers on Saturday. Happ contributed in a variety of ways in the 20-point win over the Hawkeyes, scoring 21 points and grabbing 14 rebounds while adding three assists, two blocks and two steals.
For the season Happ averages 17.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists, and he’s the only player to rank among the top-5 in all three conference stat categories. We saw how bad the Buckeyes looked defensively without Wesson and they don’t have anyone to fill the void. Northwestern exploited the block with Pardon and you can expect the Badgers to force feed Happ down low. That also opens the perimeter for a team that ranks 40th in the country in three-point percentage.
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It’s not all about winning for OSU or they wouldn’t have suspended their best player. Either that or Wesson did something so egregious that Holtmann had no choice. With Wesson off the court, the Buckeyes are obviously a different team. Facing Happ and a hot Badgers squad that needs a win to secure a double-bye in the conference tournament isn’t the most ideal matchup. Wisconsin has had issues on the road and they are a terrible free throw shooting team, which is why a number of their games have been close, but not this one.
College Basketball Score Prediction: Wisconsin 84, Ohio State 69
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