Credit: Ohio State Hoops
Ohio State battled Wisconsin in Madison on the hardwood but fell 92-82 as the Badgers were fueled by 19 bench points from Austin Rapp.
Soon after, the Badgers put foot on the gas and reel off an 8-0 run to pull within 3 at 10:05 mark, making it 21-18 Buckeyes. By the 8:00 minute mark Wisconsin would take a 24-23 lead after sophomore forward Austin Rapp catches fire of nowhere.
Rapp would end up being the story of the half. After only Averaging 8.4 PPG with a 28% 3-point percentage prior to today, Rapp finished with 19 points and shooting 70% from the field, with 15 of those points coming from beyond-the-arc. Something the Buckeyes certainly did not see coming. After Rapp hit his fifth and final three of the half, he would make it a 36-32 Badgers lead at the 4:20 mark.
Threes would continue to rain down for the Buckeyes too. Taison Chatman drilled another three at the 2:30 mark to bring his total 11, tying Amare Bynum at half and keeping the game from going out of control. OSU finished 41% from the field and 44% from three at half. Heavily aided by Chatman, the Buckeyes had 16 bench points which was essential while having Mobley Jr on bench. It would be a 49-43 Badgers lead at half as OSU had their work cut out for them heading into the locker room.
There would be no slow start to the second half as Wisconsin jumped early to take 53-43 lead. Devin Royal would surge for 7 points early, keeping Ohio State in the game with clutch free-throw shooting and solid play down low.
However, Royal would find himself in foul trouble and Christoph Tilly was getting spotty minutes as he was overcoming unforeseen ailments. This would once again leave the Buckeyes thin down low with Bynum having to shoulder a lot of responsibility in the paint.
After Mobley picked up his 3rd foul, Ohio State was reeling and Wisconsin led 65-54 by 10:36 mark. Wisconsin’s star Guard, John Blackwell, would have 18 points by the 7:42 mark as he proved to be a handful for the Buckeyes. The Badgers led 69-59 at this point.
Ohio State continued to hang around though despite their foul trouble and exceptional individual-performances from Wisconsin’s Blackwell and Rapp, respectively. Chatman would continue to excel in Mobley’s absence as he sunk his 4th three and brought the Buckeyes within-nine at the 5:11 mark.
Unfortunately, early foul-trouble and lack of depth on the defensive end would plague the Buckeyes. Wisconsin capitalized from the line and made it too difficult for Ohio State to cut into the lead at all. Ohio State falls to Wisconsin by a score of 92-82.
Getting healthy, emphasizing basketball IQ and cleaning up mistakes on the defensive end will be paramount for the Buckeyes moving forward.
Ohio State (14-7) will be back in action on Thursday, February 5th at 8:30 at Maryland (8-10) with an opportunity to get back against a reeling Terrapin squad.
Grant was born in Columbus and raised in Dayton, Ohio. At one point a collegiate baseball player, Grant also has a B.A. in Management and Leadership Studies. He serves as Creative Director, producer and contributor at The Silver Bulletin. Aside from the Buckeyes, he is an avid supporter of both the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals. Favorite Buckeyes: Braxton Miller, AJ Hawk, Ted Ginn Jr