The No. 22 Ohio State men’s basketball team (15-4, 6-0) takes on the Northwestern Wildcats (11-8, 2-4) Wednesday evening at the AllState Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:07 pm and the game will be aired on BTN.
The Buckeyes are coming in off of a 68-46 win over Rutgers on Sunday. Northwestern, meanwhile, lost 66-46 at Indiana on Sunday.
Opening Tip
Who: Ohio State (15-4, 6-0) at Northwestern (11-8, 2-4)
What: Men’s Basketball
Where: Rosemont, Illinois — AllState Arena (16,500)
When: Wednesday, 9:07 pm (BTN)
Why: Because it doesn’t hurt your eyes anymore.
Line: Northwestern +2.5
Three Point Territory
[Good Company] Keita Bates-Diop is the first Ohio State player to score 25 or more points in three-consecutive games since Michael Redd did so vs. Penn State at St. John Arena (32, 2/28/98), vs. Indiana (25, 3/5/98) at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago and vs. Oakland (29, 11/13/98). The first two games for Redd ended his freshman season while the third was the start of his sophomore campaign and the first game played at Value City Arena. Bates-Diop scored 27 at Iowa Jan. 4, 32 vs. No. 1 Michigan State Jan. 7 and 26 vs. Maryland Jan. 11. Redd scored 86 points over the three games while Bates-Diop totaled 85 points.
[Coaching Circles Around the B1G] Chris Holtmann is the first Big Ten coach to record a 6-0 record in conference play during his first season since Tom Davis went 6-0 to start the 1987 campaign at Iowa. Holtmann is the fourth coach in conference history to start his career in league play at 6-0 or better. Coaches to Start Career 5-0 in Big Ten: Walter Meanwell, Wisconsin, 12-0 in 1912; Sam Barry, Iowa, 11-0 in 1923; Chris Holtmann, Ohio State, 6-0 in 2018; Tom Davis, Iowa, 6-0 in 1987; Bucky O’Connor, Iowa, 5-0 in 1952; O.B. “Ozzie” Cowles, Minnesota, 5-0 in 1949.
[To the Point] C.J. Jackson has 14 games this season with 10 or more points, including 13 in the last 16 games. He has 25 assists and nine turnovers in the last five games.
Northwestern By The Numbers
What You Should Know
+ Three Northwestern players earned All-Big Ten recognition a year ago. Guard Bryant McIntosh was a consensus second-team all-league pick, while Scottie Lindsey was named by the league’s head coaches to the third team and honorable mention by the media. In addition, Vic Law was selected by the coaches to the five-member All-Defensive Team. It’s the first time NU has had two All-Big Ten picks in the same years since John Shurna and Drew Crawford in 2012. Law was the first Wildcat to be named to the All-Defensive Team since Jeremy Nash in 2010. McIntosh was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection in 2015 and was a consensus honorable mention All-Big Ten pick as a sophomore.
+ Northwestern’s roster features a pair of Ohio natives in senior forward Gavin Skelly (Westlake) and junior center Dererk Pardon (Cleveland). Pardon led Villa Angela-St. Joseph to an Ohio Division III state championship his senior year.
+ Northwestern won last year’s lone matchup between the teams, 74-72, Jan. 22 in Columbus. Scottie Lindsey led the Wildcats with a game-high 21 points.
+ NU faced Ohio State first-year head coach Chris Holtmann once previously when Holtmann was the head coach at Butler. The Bulldogs tipped the ’Cats on a buzzer-beater, 70-68, Nov. 16, 2016 in Indianapolis.
+ Bryant McIntosh put together a memorable performance in the team’s Jan. 10 home win over Minnesota. McIntosh handed out a school-record 16 assists in the game without committing a turnover, making him the first Division I player since 2005 to not commit a turnover while handing out at least 16 assists. The assist total bested the previous school single-game mark of 14 by Patrick Baldwin against Youngstown State Dec. 5, 1992. McIntosh has handed out 10 or more assists in a game six times in his career, something no other Wildcat has done more than twice.
Prediction
Due to construction this year at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the game will be played at the AllState Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Because of this, the home-court advantage that Northwestern normally has in their gym won’t be as apparent in a much larger venue. This will feel more like a neutral site than a road game for the Buckeyes, which is something that they have already experienced this season in the PK80 tourney out west. Now, that tournament did not go well for the Buckeyes, but the experience will help them get the win in this game.
Ohio State 72, Northwestern 64