Despite its defensive deficiencies, elite offense was Ohio State’s calling card through the first 15 games of the season.
Take that out of the equation and it’s no wonder the Buckeyes are one loss away from tying the longest losing streak in the Chris Holtmann era.
Even two games into their four-game skid, Ohio State possessed the No. 1 offense in the country, per KenPom’s adjusted efficiency metric. Since then, the Buckeyes have turned in their two worst shooting performances of the season in back-to-back contests. Losses to Minnesota and Rutgers were determined by a total of seven points, and Sunday’s defeat in New Jersey took an extra period to decide.