Ohio State Takes Aim at Another Contender in Home Finale

OSU begins tough final week against Illinois, which can stay in contention for a Big Ten championship with a win.

A coach always knows when his team is on a roll, because the inherent perfectionism of the profession is such that those occasions happen very rarely.

Chris Holtmann pondered Ohio State's recent success the other day and thought back to when he's found himself in a comfortable place like his Buckeyes have been since late January, winning eight of 10 Big Ten games to rescue their season from the brink of disaster.

As he flipped through the pages of the Rolodex in his mind, faces and teams flashed before Holtmann for comparison -- good times from his career at Gardner-Webb and Butler and even his first two seasons at OSU.

"I have been a part of some turnarounds since January, but I don't think I've been a part of one this significant, where you've seen such a dramatic turnaround," he said. "After the season, we'll sit down and try to figure out...why exactly that is."

The Buckeyes (20-9, 10-8) started conference play 1-4 and sank to 2-6 before rallying to assure themselves a .500 finish and NCAA Tournament seed some where between No. 5 and No. 7.

They've beaten No. 7 Maryland and No. 19 Michigan in their last two home games without starting forward Kyle Young for half the first upset and all of the second win, and will likely be without him at 7 p.m. Thursday against visiting Illinois (20-9, 12-6) and Sunday at No. 16 Michigan State (20-9, 13-6).

Two to tie, three to win‼️

Matt Sylvester figured it'd be best to get three.#TBT to the shot that downed No. 1 and eventual national runners-up, Illinois, back in 2005. @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/XfsZ3SDcHU

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) March 5, 2020

"We've really had a dramatic shift," Holtmann said. "I give credit to our players on that. They've just owned the progress of this group on that and they owned some of the struggles we had as well."

Strange thing is, when Holtmann reflected on his team's recent run, looking for a parallel to the last time a group under his direction played this well, he skipped right over this same group's 11-1 start that included wins over Villanova, North Carolina, Cincinnati and Kentucky that vaulted OSU to No. 2 in the nation.

Why?

"Not equal competition," Holtmann said. "It's apples and oranges. People talk about the starts. We played a good schedule. People are always throwing that in our face with the start.

"Listen, some of those games, you could argue four, five, six of those you could argue we should definitely win. It's not necessarily talent-equated games. It's apples and oranges."

Both Illinois and MSU have the potential to prove sour apples and rotten oranges on the Buckeyes' buffet.

It's senior night for @OhioStateHoops.

Makes us think back to Jae'Sean Tate's (@o_tate_) emotional speech a few years ago. pic.twitter.com/eW7BhaM6O0

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) March 5, 2020

The Illini have won four in a row to get to No. 23 in the country. More daunting, they've won five conference road games, including triumphs at Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan and Penn State.

Illinois lost by only one point at both Maryland and Michigan State, so it's pretty clear a road crowd doesn't bother coach Brad Underwood's team.

Likewise, Ohio State won't be fearful, either, given how it's triumphed over the adversity of Young's injury, freshman D.J. Carton's absence, freshman Alonzo Gaffney's increasingly-mysterious unavailability and thus the team's shrinking roster of eight scholarship players.

"I don't think we've had (a previous run of success) like this," Holtmann said. "Not in a league this great. One year at Butler we had one where we were 7-2 in the last nine, I believe, after starting out (poorly), but...not in a league this good.

Will it be you? 🤔

The 6-millionth fan to attend an @OhioStateHoops game will win ✌️ season tickets, a $500 team shop gift card & a $500 concession voucher! 🤯

The winner will be chosen on Thursday, pregame...good luck! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/MHe35PwL5g

— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) March 3, 2020

"What to make of it? I'm so hesitant to make that a permanent thing just because I'm just concerned with, 'Are we rolling tomorrow? What's our prep tomorrow in practice?'

"I don't think that's permanent. Clearly, you can look back at the last whatever, 10 games and said we've played well for the most part in most of those games. But I'm so hesitant to stamp it and say, 'That's where we are right now.' We'll see how we perform against a really good Illinois team.

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