Ohio State entered its Saturday matchup having lost its last three against Wisconsin, but not only did the Buckeyes flip the script against Greg Gard and company on the road, they never even trailed.
Several missed free throws and a turnover from the No. 10 Wisconsin (12-4, 6-3 Big Ten) backcourt aided the No. 15 Buckeyes (12-4, 6-4 Big Ten) in closing out the Badgers, and even though Ohio State had some sloppy ball-handling exchanges late, the Scarlet and Gray pulled out a top-10 win on the road.
“That was probably as good as we’ve played offensively in our three-plus years against an elite defense,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said. “I just thought it was really efficient, it was really smart.”
Holding onto a two-possession lead late, Ohio State redshirt senior guard CJ Walker –– making his first appearance after a four-game absence due to injury –– hit a pull-up mid-range jumper to give the Buckeyes an eight-point advantage with 3:03 left.
That basket from Walker was part of a 6-0 run that put Ohio State back up 10 after Wisconsin cut it to as close as a four-point game in the latter stages of the second.
“You guys saw how impactful he was as a player and we obviously missed him heading our team at the point guard position,” redshirt junior forward Seth Towns said. “Really everyone across the board is really glad to have him back.”
Wisconsin endured a 3:45 period without a point down the stretch through the middle of the second half, but three-straight 3s from senior forward Aleem Ford cut the Buckeye lead to four points with 4:40 to play.
It wouldn't be enough though, as Wisconsin's star guard D'Mitrik Trice missed two free throws and committed a turnover within a 30-second stretch with less than two minutes on the clock, which all but squandered the Badgers' chance at a late comeback.
Junior forward Justin Ahrens, who has been on a tear from the outside this season for the Buckeyes, stretched the Ohio State lead to 13 multiple times with a couple of 3-point connections early in the second half, but Wisconsin hung around.
Ohio State got the early jump on Wisconsin to start, and the Buckeyes took advantage of a 1-for-8 shooting start from the Badgers to maintain a lead into halftime, heading into the locker room up 32-25 on the road.
Redshirt junior forward Seth Towns had one of his best halves of the season, leading the Buckeyes with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, with most of his buckets coming on an array of smooth pull-up jumpers from deep 2-point range.
Towns finished with 10 points in the game, and gave a tongue-in-cheek nod the the Buckeyes' new alternate "anthracite" uniforms as being a contributing factor to his success.
“It’s something I try to do every game, is stay ready, be warm and ready when I get in, hit the shots I take. That’s what I try to do," Towns said. "And then, again, the jersey really gave me a boost.”
The largest lead of the half for Ohio State was 11 points, a margin that came on a 3 from junior guard Duane Washington from the top of the arc to make it 24-13 with 8:24 left in the half. Washington finished with five points in the half.
Wisconsin pushed back before things got too ugly though, as Trice dropped nine of the last 11 Badger points in the first half to cut into the Ohio State. Trice, who entered the game averaging 14.8 points per game, didn’t score a point until the 5:41 mark of the opening period. He finished with 12 points on the evening.
The Badgers, who came into Saturday shooting the highest 3-point percentage in the conference, shot just 3-for-15 from beyond the arc in the first half, and 33.3 percent from the field overall.
Ohio State sophomore forward E.J. Liddell finished with a game-high 20 points on the night, his third time this season scoring at least 20.
Ohio State doesn't have another game scheduled for more than a week before returning home for a Jan. 31 meeting with Michigan State at the Schottenstein Center, but Holtmann said the Buckeyes may return to action sooner pending a final decision.
