Nebraska basketball (13-6, 3-5 Big Ten) returns home for a key contest against Ohio State (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten). The game will tip at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. How to Watch/Listen Nebraska vs. Ohio State Tip: 11 a.m. CT TV: FS1 Radio: Huskers.com; Husker Sports Network Stream: Fox Sports Go Projected Starters Nebraska Glynn Watson Jr. (6-0, 180): 13.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG James Palmer Jr. (6-6, 207): 19.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG Thomas Allen (6-1, 184): 8.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG Isaac Copeland (6-9, 225): 14.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG Isaiah Roby (6-8, 230): 10.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG Ohio State CJ Jackson (6-1, 175): 12.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG Luther Muhammad (6-3, 185): 9.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG Duane Washington Jr. (6-3, 190): 7.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG Andre Wesson (6-6, 220): 8.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG Kaleb Wesson (6-9, 270): 15.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG The Matchup — Nebraska and Ohio State will play on Saturday morning with both teams quite desperate for a win. The Huskers are coming off a bad loss on the road against Rutgers, while Ohio State comes to Lincoln having lost five straight games. Ohio State dropped a road contest to Rutgers during that five game stretch, in addition to a road game at Iowa and home contests against Purdue and Maryland. — Ohio State is led by sophomore post Kaleb Wesson, who comes in averaging more than 15 points and six rebounds per game. The Huskers have struggled against teams with size in recent weeks, and Wesson is among the better post players in the Big Ten. Nebraska’s posts will once again have their hands full in the lane. Ohio State will be without power forward Kyle Young, which has forced the Buckeyes to lean more on Wesson, and experiment with small lineups as well. “Wesson is an all-conference type player inside who can score, and can really pass well out of it, too,” Nebraska head coach Tim Miles said. — Miles has spent the week preaching toughness to his players and getting them on the same page. Senior forward Isaac Copeland said that the team held a meeting this week before speaking with the coaching staff and they came to the same conclusion: the team needs to get tougher and get back to playing the way it was back in November and December. — One change that could take place in the Husker lineup is with freshman Brady Heiman. The freshman center has played just three total minutes in Nebraska’s last four games, and Miles said Friday that he would like to get Heiman on the floor more starting with Saturday’s matchup. Heiman played 26 minutes against Southwest Minnesota State, but his only other extended playing time since December was against Minnesota when he scored nine points. — Having a home game might do Nebraska well to get back on track. The Huskers are 25-2 at Pinnacle Bank Arena the last two seasons, with those losses coming against Kansas last season and Michigan State earlier this season. Five of Nebraska’s next seven games will take place at home.<doc-sep>COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State will take on Nebraska in an attempt to end a five-game losing streak today. Here’s everything you need to know before tipoff. What: Ohio State (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten) vs Nebraska (13-6, 3-5 Big Ten). Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena When: Saturday, noon. TV: FS1 Projected Starters Ohio State: C.J. Jackson (12.7 ppg), Luther Muhammad (9.1 ppg), Andre Wesson (8.4 ppg), Musa Jallow (3.3 ppg), Kaleb Wesson (15.3 ppg). Nebraska: Thomas Allen (8.6 ppg), Glynn Watson Jr. (13.2 ppg), James Palmer Jr. (19.4 ppg), Isaiah Roby (10.7 ppg), Isaac Copeland Jr. (14.3 ppg). What to watch for Both teams got off to hot starts to start the season, but have since struggled. They’ll be looking to use this matchup to turn around what has been a disappointing Big Ten season for so far. Ohio State is on a five-game losing streak while Nebraska has lost four of its last six. Prediction Stephen’s pick: The Buckeyes only have two games left in January and this game provides the only realistic opportunity left to prevent a 0-7 month. Both teams come in motivated, but this may be the game where Ohio State puts together a complete 40 minutes for the first time since December. 76-71 Ohio State.<doc-sep>The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-6, 3-5) finally got off their losing skid, as they defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-7, 3-6) on the road, 70-60. The win was the first for the Buckeyes in 2019, and ended a five-game losing streak. Ohio State won the opening tip and, thanks to an assist from Muhammad, secured their first bucket of the game courtesy of Kaleb Wesson. A quick 8-0 run from the Cornhuskers would put the Buckeyes back into an early deficit, but by the first media timeout, OSU had the lead back at 9-8. Both teams proceeded to trade baskets. Nebraska fell in love with the three ball early — and for good reason. Three of the first four shots from downtown connected for the home team, while Ohio State was 1-of-6 from beyond the arc in the early going. The Cornhuskers had good looks at the basket, and by the second media timeout at 11:57, maintained a 13-12 lead. A pair of layups from Isaiah Roby and Thomas Allen, and a step-back jumper from Isaac Copeland pushed the Huskers up 19-12. Keyshawn Woods had the answer for some of the deficit, as second-chance shots from inside and downtown brought OSU within two, 19-17. Palmer rattled a three of his own to give NEB a 22-17 lead, and at the next break in the action, the Buckeyes still trailed. However, they wouldn’t be trailing for much longer. A 6-0 run sparked by Andre Wesson, Muhammad and Woods got OSU out of the hole, and into a 23-22 lead with 5:22 before intermission. Nebraska, on the other hand, was in a funk; they went over 4:25 without a point and made only one shot over a seven-attempt stretch. Chris Holtmann’s decision to switch up the defensive strategy —going to a 2-3 zone— appeared to cause havoc for Tim Miles’ squad. Andre Wesson connected on another layup to pace the run at 8-0. Both teams would swap two-pointers before Muhammad dunked the final basket of the half. . @OhioStateHoops coming in hot. Luther Muhammad finishes the slam, and the Bucks lead at the half in Lincoln: pic.twitter.com/aR0l9bvQvY — Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) January 26, 2019 At the break, OSU was dominating the rebound total. With a 25-12 margin, the Buckeyes were able to corral second chances, while limiting Nebraska’s chance for put-backs. The Buckeyes also lead in paint points, 20-10. Layups and second-chance opportunities were a big reason for that advantage down low. Andre Wesson led the first half scoring efforts with seven, while Palmer was leading all players on the floor with eight. Leading by five, 29-24, Ohio State’s nine turnovers kept the Cornhuskers in the game. Kaleb Wesson had the most turnovers in the first half with three, but he did manage to stay out of foul trouble — only collecting one in the first 20 minutes of action. To begin the second half, Copeland nailed a three. On the other end of the floor, he went down after a whistle, and ended up leaving the game. A shot clock violation on the Bucks led to an inside layup from Tanner Borchardt. Within two minutes of second half play, the game was tied at 29-29. C.J. Jackson made the team’s first basket of the half (a three-pointer), but would foul Glynn Watson Jr. on the other end; who would make both free throws. Roby popped a three of his own, which brought a roar to the crowd. At the under-16 media timeout, the game was squared at 36-36. The stalemate would then be broken by another OSU run. Jackson and Muhammad had second-chance baskets, and Kaleb Wesson worked a layup. Nebraska had a mix of offensive deficiencies during this stretch. Their scoring drought lasted over 3:40, which involved four straight misses and a trio of turnovers. Nebraska chipped away at OSU’s 44-38 lead with a pair of free throws from Watson. A stop in action came on the following possession, as the referees reviewed a foul on Kaleb Wesson; the final outcome of the review was a hook-and-hold, a flagrant-one violation. Borchardt went to the line, where he split the free throws. @OhioStateHoops up 10 The Buckeyes are feelin' it at the home of the Huskers: pic.twitter.com/60tKfsrlDZ — Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) January 26, 2019 Kaleb made up for his flagrant with a three-point make from the far wing. Combined with another triple from Muhammad, the Bucks had a 50-41 lead. More rim-rattling shots from Nebraska came, but none of them fell through the hoop. At the 8-minute media timeout, the Buckeyes maintained a double-digit lead, 56-43. A spark was lit for the Huskers with under seven minute remaining. Cutting the deficit to 56-49, the home team was primed to make a run in the closing minutes. That was until Muhammad nailed a three from the center of the arc. The ball, which seemed to be shot from the neighboring state, bounced off the rim and backboard before falling through the hoop. It was a momentum swiping basket, and kept the Buckeyes at a 59-49 advantage when a timeout was taken with 3:42 left in regulation. Draining the clock became the main objective for Ohio State. While there were some turnovers down the stretch from the visitors, the Cornhuskers couldn’t hit their shots or get second-chance breaks. The losing skid ended for the Buckeyes, as they took home their third straight victory in Lincoln. Ohio State is back in action on Tuesday, as they’ll travel to Crisler Arena to face Michigan. It’ll be in primetime at 9 p.m. ET, and will air on ESPN2. For the Buckeyes, a win against the Wolverines would go a long way in helping their NCAA Tournament résumé.<doc-sep>"Just knowing we're blowing opportunities," Isaiah Roby said when asked what is most frustrating about Nebraska's current stretch. "We know every game's going to be tough in this season. But we're getting less and less opportunities to make a name for ourselves and make some momentum." The Buckeyes (13-6, 3-5) led by as many as 13 in the second half as Nebraska's play garnered full-on boos from the PBA crowd that had played such a large part in the Huskers building a 20-game home winning streak that ended against Michigan State nine days prior. It was so bad that the Huskers at one point got a Bronx cheer from their own fans for the simple act of securing a defensive rebound. In continuing to fester in its shortcomings, Nebraska in one sequence saw Ohio State hit four threes in five possessions to open up a 56-43 lead. That came after the Buckeyes had gone 4-for-17 from three in the game's first 29 minutes. Then, after cutting the deficit to seven and getting the crowd back into the game, Nebraska (13-7, 3-6) forced a hurried three from Luther Muhammad at the end of the shot clock that rattled the rim twice, kissed the backboard and fell through the hoop.<doc-sep>
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State will head back on the road for another chance to get its first win of the new calendar year when it takes on Nebraska. This is the first time Ohio State will play in Pinnacle Bank Arena since Chris Holtmann took over as head coach. The Buckeyes and the Cornhuskers come into Saturday’s matchup both having hit a rough patch. Ohio State (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten) is currently on a five-game losing streak — its longest since its days playing in St. John Arena — while Nebraska (13-6, 3-5) has lost four of its last six. “The biggest thing for us as a team is we just have to get back to who we are and get back to doing the things that made us successful early in the season,” C.J. Jackson said. “Once that translates from the defensive end, obviously the offense comes with it.” The Buckeyes' many problems can be partially explained by playing a higher level of competition in January than in the first two months of the season. Every loss has provided a new issue, but the question now is whether there is simply more questions than answers. “When you’re struggling you plug a hole and another one seems to pop up,” Holtmann said. “We obviously have some areas that have caused us trouble consistently that we have to address.” One is taking care of the ball. Ohio State is averaging 12.3 turnovers per game, but with a spike in that area in the last two games. Despite shooting over 50 percent against Purdue, their 19 turnovers ultimately cost them the game. They must find a way to be more efficient if they hope to take down a Nebraska team that has one of the best turnover margins in the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers cause 14.6 turnovers per game while only committing 10.4. “That’s probably one of the biggest keys is taking of the ball,” Jackson said. “We had a few turnovers last game in that first half and against Big Ten teams, that puts you in a bad position already. We have to take care of the ball, especially in a hostile environment (like) how it’s going to be tomorrow.” In the first half the Buckeyes had a 5:40 stretch where they turned the ball over eight times, resulting in a 20-11 run by the Boilermakers. That run helped Purdue take a double-digit lead into halftime that was only cut to 10 because of a buzzer-beating half-court shot from Andre Wesson. Holtmann understands all turnovers aren’t the same. Some come from aggressive play, but others from simple carelessness. “We want guys to play aggressively (and turnovers are) going to happen," Holtmann said. "But a one-handed crosscourt pass is completely preventable and at some point, you have to figure out that you need to make a better decision.” Ohio State desperately needs a win. Not only to keep their fading NCAA tournament hopes viable, but also just for the psyche of a young team whose season has taken a giant step in the wrong direction. In two months, the Buckeyes went from being considered one of the top 25 teams in the country to a team 11th in the conference entering the weekend.