The #13 Ohio State Buckeyes play the Northwestern Wildcats in a Big Ten Basketball bout Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST on the Big Ten Network. It's the first of two games between them this season.
The Big Ten Network streams live for certain cable providers. The Ohio State Buckeyes live stream is right here (subscription required). The Northwestern live stream is here (subscription required).
The Buckeyes have lost back-to-back games, though both were by two or three points and against one of the best three teams in the nation. OSU upset the then #2 Michigan Wolverines on January 13 for their marquee victory this year. Ohio State is fifth in the Big Ten with a 7-4 conference record, but is only 2.5 games behind Indiana and Michigan.
OSU is led by Deshaun Thomas offensively, as the junior forward has 20.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game averages. Aaron Craft's 4.4 assists per game lead the squad. Amir Williams has a team-high .612 shooting percentage among players with regular playing time. Thomas and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. are tied with for the best three-point shooting percentage on the team at .400.
Then-tenth-ranked Ohio State lost 81-68 at home against the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday. Thomas was tied for the game high in points with 26 and added seven rebounds. Craft pitched in with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Evan Ravenel had seven boards off of the bench. The Buckeyes shot more than ten percent worse than IU from the floor and from three-point land, but did manage to block four shots as a team.
Northwestern has also lost to both Indiana and Michigan in the last 30 days, as the Hooisers were ranked second in the country on January 20 and the Wolverines topped the Wildcats when Michigan was the best team. NU is tied for ninth in the conference with a 4-7 mark against Big Ten foes.
Reggie Hearn leads the way in the scoring department for the suburban Chicago team, averaging 14.2 points per game. Jared Swopshire is first on the squad in rebounds per game with a 6.7 average. Dave Sobolewski's 4.2 assists per game are tops on the team, and his .382 three-point shooting percentage is also the best. Hearn is the best pure shooter with a .483 field goal percentage.
In Northwestern's 71-57 loss to Iowa on Saturday, Hearn was the only double-digit scorer for the visiting team with 13 points. He added six boards, three helpers and two steals. Swopshire led the way in rebounds (7). The Hawkeyes outshot the Wildcats in all three categories, most notably by almost 13 percent in overall shooting.
The last bout in Evanston was a nail biter for the home team, with OSU eking out a 75-73 win on Leap Day last year. Ohio State led by ten at the half and the NU comeback fell just one basket short. Both teams hit exactly half of their respective shots, but the Buckeyes won the rebound battle 42-16, notching more offensive boards (18) than the total for Northwestern. Both teams made more than 60 percent of their three-pointers, with the then-tenth team in the country (OSU) hitting more than two-thirds of its attempts.
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