Why is Ohio State Struggling to Finish Close Games?

The Ohio State Buckeyes need to figure out what's not working down the stretch if they want to stay in NCAA Tournament contention.

Chris Holtmann’s squad has lost two games in a row.

Those two games were both decided in the last three minutes.

The Buckeyes were 12-2 before back-to-back losses to Indiana and No. 15 Wisconsin. Of course, the Big Ten is one of the toughest conferences in the nation, but the end-of-game playmaking and shot creation have been a major issue.

Senior forward Jamison Battle, who had just four points in a 71-60 loss to Wisconsin Wednesday, said postgame the team has to be better down the stretch.

“That’s where we have to get better: finishing games and when things are getting tough and rough, we have to come together and want it more,” Battle said. “That’s one of the challenges for us to step up to next game and I think we’re all going to be ready and hungry for that challenge.”

Battle shot lights out in the first half, finishing with 14 points, including going 4-5 from downtown.

Battle, who has played in 72 Big Ten games in his college career, said there is a lot of experience on the team but that the team is still growing.

“There’s still a lot of young pieces on this team and there’s older guys on this team who have experience, and I think that’s on me to show that experience,” Battle said.

Although the sophomore backcourt of Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr. has been outstanding this season, the past couple of games have brought them back down to earth. Against Indiana on Jan. 6, they shot a combined 7-34 and went 0-12 from 3.

Gayle isn’t exactly known for his deep shooting but he has developed into a much more versatile three-level scorer this season. In fact, he’s shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, more than 10 percent higher than he was last season.

However, since Gayle’s 32-point performance in a 78-75 overtime win against West Virginia on December 30, he’s shot 11-46 in the last three games.

Battle said Gayle shouldn’t worry about the past and wants to help the sophomore forget what’s happened in the past three games.

“The past is the past. In the end, [Gayle’s] had his struggles but it’s always about that ‘next play’ mentality,” Battle said.

Holtmann said Wednesday he has a “high belief in this team” but said he needs to figure out what’s been wrong at the end of games.

“We didn’t make shots, for one, missed a couple of free throws, those were critical. I thought some of our looks were really good and we probably had two breakdowns defensively,” Holtmann said about the Wisconsin game.

Even in the Penn State game Dec. 9, the Buckeyes led by as many as 18 before allowing the Nittany Lions to crawl their way back in and win by three.

Overall, Battle and the Buckeye backcourt have struggled to score in crunch time. The team is not getting much scoring out of anyone else — besides the occasional buckets from freshman guard Scotty Middelton and a putback here and there from senior forward Zed Key — but Holtmann said the bench needs to be better.

“Last year is last year. This is a different group, the leadership is different, it’s early in the season and I think the challenge for us right now is to take this and learn from it and grow,” Holtmann said.

The good news is the Buckeyes have won a few close games recently, including a seven-point win over UCLA, a three-point overtime win over West Virginia, and a four-point win over Rutgers. However, none of these teams rank in the top 85 in KenPom’s rankings.

Ohio State can look to bounce back and finish late in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as they take on the Wolverines at Crisler Center Monday at noon, streaming on FOX.