Huskers no match for Buckeyes in 13th straight defeat

Fred Hoiberg’s long first season continued to stumble to the finish line in ugly fashion on Thursday night, as Nebraska continued its record-setting woes with a 75-54 home loss to Ohio State.

The Huskers shot 35 percent from the floor and set a season-low by making just three 3-pointers on 16 attempts and had a season-low eight assists. As a result, NU dropped its 13th game in a row and 21st on the year.

The 13 straight losses tied the program’s record for consecutive defeats, matching the stretch where Nebraska lost its final six games of the 1931-32 season and first seven of 1932-33.

It also surpassed the school record for consecutive conference losses, topping the 12 over the last six games of 1943-44 and the first six of 1944-45.

The 21 defeats on the year also extended the record for losses in a season, which previously was the 19 back in 1999-2000.

"I think when things get tough, that’s when we see guys start to drop their heads a little bit," Hoiberg said. "I know it’s human nature when you go through struggles like that, especially with as long of a slide as we’ve had with guys who haven’t dealt with that that much.

"When things are going well, you can see the enthusiasm. We almost get a 'Here we go again' mentality when things start to get rough. We have to find a way to fight through that in these last three games and the Big Ten Tournament if we have any chance of winning."

Ohio State (19-9, 9-8) controlled the game on both ends of the floor from the opening tip, making nine of its first 11 shots and five of its first six 3-point attempts. That led to a 12-2 Buckeye run that put Nebraska (7-21, 2-15) in a 28-12 hole 10 minutes into the first half.

The Buckeyes’ lead would balloon to as much as 21 before settling on a 43-27 halftime advantage. NU shot just 37.5 percent, missed all six of its 3-pointers, had seven shots blocked, and turned the ball over seven times in the first 20 minutes.

On the other side, OSU shot 48 percent, made six threes, went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, and scored 14 points in the paint.

"I don't think I got an open look until three minutes left on the clock, so they were doing a really good job guarding me," junior guard Thorir Thorbjarnarson said. "But also we got some good looks, but the ball wasn't going it. It's hard when they get five threes right off the bat of the game and have to dig yourselves out of a hole."

Things didn’t get any better after halftime, either. Nebraska got as close as 14 a couple of minutes into the second half, but Ohio State’s defense continued to stifle NU the rest of the way.

The Huskers never got any closer than that, and the Buckeyes’ lead grew to as much as 23 before all was said and done.

OSU big man Kaleb Wesson dominated the paint all night and finished with game-highs in both points (16) and rebounds (18) and went 10-of-13 from the free-throw line, setting Pinnacle Bank Arena opponent records for free throws made and attempted.

Dachon Burke led Nebraska with 13 points while Cam Mack added 12, marking his first game in double figures since Feb. 8 at Iowa. Thorbjarnarson, who entered the game ranked fifth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, scored just four points and missed both of his 3-point attempts but did add a game-high four assists.

Nebraska will play its final home game of the season Sunday when it hosts Northwestern on Senior Day. Tip-off is 3:15 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on BTN.

"With three games to go, we just have to try to get some momentum going into that, and we have a perfect opportunity on Sunday," Thorbjarnarson said. "I think that's going to be a key game for us to head into the (Big Ten) tournament in Indianapolis.”

1. Ohio State’s defense was smothering

Nebraska has had its share of issues offensively all season, but Ohio State exasperated those problems as much as most any team this season.

The Huskers never found any semblance of pace or flow with the basketball and had its worst perimeter shooting night of the year.

Not only did NU shoot just 35.6 percent from the field, but the Buckeyes also blocked an opponent season-high nine shots and held Nebraska to .806 points per possession. Ohio State, on the other hand, averaged 1.154 ppp.

The three made 3-pointers were clearly a season-low for NU, worse than the previous low of five in losses to Southern Utah, Iowa, and Illinois. It wasn’t until Jervay Green hit one from behind the arc with 11:29 left in the game when Huskers finally recorded their first made three of the night.

Ohio State came in as one of the better defensive teams in the Big Ten, ranking in the top four in scoring defense (62.6 ppg) and field goal defense (.392).

But it’s hard to imagine a team that shot 33.3 percent in the second half and missed 18 its final 19 3-pointers dominating a game from start to finish the way the Buckeyes did on Thursday night.

2. Yvan joins the record books

In a season where Nebraska has to find anything and every positive it can, Yvan Ouedraogo continues to be a bright spot.

The freshman forward picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of the game and only finished with four points and a team-high six rebounds (all in the second half) in only 18 minutes of action in the loss.

But his six boards solidified his claim to the best rebounding season ever by a Husker freshman. Now with 172 on the year, Ouedraogo broke Aleks Maric's freshman school record for rebounds in the season of 169 in 2004-05.

Having played some of his best individual basketball over the past few weeks, Ouedraogo has now grabbed six or more boards in each of the last four contests.

3. Hats off the fans

This season has been awful in about every sense for Nebraska, but Husker fans have proven once again why they’re different from most everyone else.

The actual attendance for the Ohio State game was announced at just over 10,345.

That many people showed up on a Thursday night for an 8 p.m. tip to cheer on a team that’s now matched its longest losing streak and will post its worst final record in program history. Think about that.

The fans who made it to PBA wanted to cheer and did so at every possible opportunity. They booed the officials for bad calls, and jeered Ohio State’s players and bench to try and create at least somewhat of a hostile atmosphere.

This fanbase has been through so much over the past 20 years and has been rewarded with only silvers of success. Yet they continue to show up and support their team, even in the historically worst of times.

Cheers to you, Husker fans. You are what makes this place special. Don’t ever change.