Ohio State Hoping Loss at Wisconsin Ignites Win Streak

With two home losses already, Buckeyes must protect home court this week

Better teams than Ohio State have lost at Wisconsin like the Buckeyes did on Sunday, including much better OSU teams with much higher ceilings.

That doesn't mitigate the temptation to process the 70-57 defeat like a sky-is-falling disaster, given Ohio State threw away 10 possessions in the first half, allowed a 16-0 run to end that half and invited a guy who shot 0-for-7 and went scoreless in his previous game to go 5-for-6 and score 19 points.

It's downright difficult to fall into a 68-43 hole when you limit the opponent to 41% shooting, but the Buckeyes proved it do-able with 32% ugliness of their own. Their two leading scorers -- Kaleb Wesson and Duane Washington -- led that disastrous showing with respective 2-of-11 and 2-of-8 performances.

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What is head coach Chris Holtmann supposed to do with that in advance of a Wednesday home game against Rutgers and a Saturday tip against Purdue, just two of the nine teams ahead of OSU in the Big Ten standings as the end of the regular season thunders closer every day?

Flush it and hope his team is who it's been recently, not who it was most recently, is perhaps Holtmann's best option as his team enters a week with its last viable chance to even its conference record.

He could remind his players that eventual-top-ranked OSU teams with Greg Oden and Jared Sullinger also lost at the Kohl Center.

More likely, he'll reinforce that OSU has won three of four and tread lightly around how badly it lost the last time out.

The Buckeyes (15-7, 5-7) aren't alone, though, in having some inexplicable results on their resume.

 Sure, Ohio State beat Penn State by 32 at Value City and lost by 14 at State College, but look around:

• Pre-season No. 1 Michigan State has lost three in a row and four of six to fall out of the Top 25.

• No. 21 Iowa lost by 6 at Nebraska and won by 24 at Carver Hawkeye.

• No. 9 Maryland lost by 18 at Iowa and beat them by 10 at College Park.

"I really don't pay any attention (to the standings) unless I hear about it," Holtmann said. "I think I heard it on the radio one time driving in and I thought, 'Man, they probably should put on there it's the best league in the country," Holtmann said. "That there's 12 teams in the Top 50 of the NET right now. That might be a little bit of helpful information to put on there."

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