Nebraska takes on Ohio State team with nothing to lose

Amie Just and Luke Mullin discuss both Nebraska basketball teams’ NCAA tournament projections in the latest episode of Life in the Red.

As it always does when preparing to see an opponent for the second time, Nebraska rewatched its January game against Ohio State ahead of its trip to Columbus on Thursday.

Even a month later, there was plenty to glean from the review. The Buckeyes’ personnel is the same; so are their defensive coverages.

But the most obvious difference is on the sideline. Interim coach Jake Diebler took over after Chris Holtmann’s firing in mid-February. In turn, OSU has found a new gear after floundering in the first two months of conference play. The Buckeyes, losers of nine of their last 11 games under Holtmann, are 2-1 since Diebler’s promotion, including a win over No. 2 Purdue is his debut.

Nebraska enters the game with momentum, a chance to set itself up for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament and an opportunity to stay comfortably within the NCAA Tournament field. Ohio State, revitalized and with nothing to lose, remains liable to throw a wrench into the Huskers’ plans with three games left in the regular season.

“They’ve still got a lot of season left, and when you look at their metrics, they’re pretty darn good,” NU coach Fred Hoiberg said. “So I know in their locker room right now, they’re talking about the importance of every game, just like we are, just like Purdue is, just like every team in our league is. They’re dangerous because they’re good, and they’re playing really good basketball right now.”

While two games is a small sample size, neither of Ohio State’s wins since the coaching change appear to be flukes, statistical outliers or the result of anything other than the Buckeyes outplaying their opponents. They didn’t shoot unsustainably well from 3-point range, even if it took a contested buzzer-beater to beat Michigan State. Of the eight players who average double-digit scoring for MSU and Purdue, five scored at least 10 points against OSU.

“Just finding a way to stay in that game and make play after play after play in the last 10 minutes (at MSU),” Hoiberg said. “So I’ve been really impressed with what they’re doing, with how hard they’re playing, and they’ve had two of their better wins of the season.”

Coinciding with OSU’s rejuvenation has been Nebraska’s tightrope act. The Huskers had little room for error after back-to-back road losses to Illinois and Northwestern dropped them a game below .500 in Big Ten play. They’ve responded with four straight wins, including their first away from home in conference play.

The streak leads them to Columbus to face a team on a similar short-term trajectory in the midst of a vastly different season. Both situations point to the fluidity of college basketball, the inherent unpredictability of a given game.

Nebraska took care of Ohio State when the Buckeyes came to Lincoln. Rienk Mast caught fire from deep and the Huskers cruised to a 14-point win. This time, the stakes are higher as NU pushes for a tournament bid, and Ohio State is in better position to derail the Huskers’ momentum.

“We’re playing our best basketball of the season right now,” Hoiberg said. “We have to continue on with that. We can’t get satisfied. We have to continue to go out there and play together and play with great energy and enthusiasm, and if we do that we’re gonna have a chance every time we step on the floor. If we take our foot off the gas, if we slow down, if we exhale, it can go the other way.”