Whatever fight the Buckeyes had left in them for head coach Thad Matta did not appear to be on display in Wisconsin, where the No. 18 Badgers (14-3, 3-1) dismantled Ohio State 89-66.
With the loss, Ohio State falls to 10-7 on the season, but more importantly is 0 and 4 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1998.
In that fateful season, Ohio State lost its first 14 conference games.
Although it’s hard to believe anything like that would be in the realm of possibility, the effort and willingness to play for a coach who may be on his way out is now a serious question.
Whether players admit or not, the writing is on the wall and the Buckeyes went from a somewhat promising start to the season, to being embarrassed by conference rivals.
Two of the four conference games were close.
Three of the games were on the road. But no one will remember that a year from now and all that matters is the big 0 and 4 next to their overall record.
The schedule eases up a little going forward for the next three weeks, but there aren’t many easy wins in the Big Ten, if any.
Ohio State is back in action on Sunday at home against Michigan State (12-6, 4-1).
The Spartans got out to an up and down start, but have bounced back and are currently first place in the Big Ten.
There’s a more than decent chance Ohio State will fall to 0 and 5 in conference play after Sunday’s game, which begins at 1:30 pm ET and will be televised on CBS.
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