Tom Izzo praises Chris Holtmann after Ohio State knocked out Spartans from Big Ten tournament

CHICAGO — Once again, Tom Izzo had some words for Chris Holtmann. Or, more specifically, to those who criticized the Ohio State men’s basketball coach during a difficult season that ends on an upward trend.

On Friday afternoon, the Buckeyes advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament as the second double-digit seed and the first team to play Wednesday to make the weekend with a 68-58 win over No. 4 Michigan State. Ohio State, the No. 13 seed, suffered a streak of 14 losses in 15 games but has now won five of the last six coming up Saturday with No. 1 seed Purdue.

The Spartans have appeared in each of these flicks. Their Senior Day win is Ohio State’s only loss in those last six games, and their 21-point win in Columbus on Feb. 12 was the lowest point game for the Buckeyes in 27 years. After that game, a 62-41 win at Michigan State, Izzo asked a question about what Ohio State fans should reasonably expect when it comes to their men’s basketball coach.

Ohio State Horse Chestnuts: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider Text Group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy

That slugfest was evidently still fresh in Izzo’s mind after Ohio State’s quarterfinal win.

“I know how it is in Columbus,” Izzo said. “It’s not as bad in basketball as it is in football, but I know what it’s like. You had some injuries early on. Then they had freshmen. And then they had to deal with the freshmen on the one hand, the transfers in the middle, and the seniors on the other.

“I think the biggest job he did wasn’t that tournament: the biggest job he did was keep them for the last five games of the regular season, even if they lost.”

That late-season surge becomes an annual talking point after every win at Ohio State. Players have been talking all along about “playing right” and doing things like trusting the extra pass, paying attention to the details, and playing smart as they turn their season. It’s probably all too little, too late for the postseason (although athletic director Gene Smith has publicly pleaded for a NIT invite), but it’s a reminder of the level of talent that’s been in that dressing room all season.

The story goes on

Despite the losses, Ohio State is two wins away from an NCAA tournament spot with an automatic bid that comes with capturing a conference tournament championship.

“We knew we were capable all year,” said sixth-year forward and captain Justice Sueing. “We’ve had our struggles, like every team, but ours are a little bit more. These are guys I run with, man, so I’m looking forward to the tip tomorrow at noon. Yes, I think we will be prepared for that.”

Holtmann has spoken frequently about his efforts to help the Buckeyes dig themselves out of a sideways season, and on Friday he shed more light on what that process was like.

Ohio State Basketball: Results aside, the Buckeye Boys are enjoying a tough season together at Ohio State

“I questioned everything,” he says. “I wondered if I was sometimes too hard on them. I wondered if sometimes I wasn’t hard enough on them, too emotional. When you go through stretches like this, you don’t sleep. you don’t eat You’re in a bad place, so you question everything. I was certainly wondering if I could get through to them.”

These questions now seem to have been answered.

Ohio State is making offensive adjustments to Michigan State

The first game between these teams was historically poor for Ohio State, who needed a late 3-pointer to go even 14 points at halftime. A 41-point limp, the Buckeyes finished with an adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 70.4, their second-lowest in the KenPom.com era dating back to the 2001-02 season.

In a string of poor offensive performances, this was the worst. But in last Saturday’s rematch at Michigan State, the Buckeyes finished with an adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 120.7, the second-highest loss this season. On Friday, Ohio State finished at 113.1 points per 100 possessions but gained double digits by holding Michigan State at an adjusted offensive efficiency of 96.5.

So, yes, the defense was better. But the Buckeyes found ways to attack the Spartans that were different than what they tried when they first met, and Holtmann took the blame for what went wrong that game at Value City Arena.

“They were great defensively for us and to be honest I don’t think I had a very good plan to attack them,” said Holtmann. “I just don’t think I had a very good offensive attack versus their defense. They can be very overwhelming when they are so far apart. So in the second game we made some adjustments and took some shots.

“So I think it was a combination of I didn’t love our attack in the first game and listen like I said, we’ve been playing a lot more right since that point. That was maybe as little as in the season.”

Big Ten Tournament: How did Ohio State beat Michigan State without Brice Sensabaugh?

Michigan State’s Jaden Atkins said, “I would just say we kind of gave up too many lanes and we got into sticky situations because they were confident out of three today. So they didn’t know if they wanted to help or try to stop the ball when they were driving. That led to spins and they taking shots.”

Bruce Thornton continues the powerful push of the Big Ten tournament

Thornton, a freshman captain going through a significant losing streak that coincided with Ohio State’s long losing streak, led Ohio State with 21 points on 8 of 17 shots.

Bruce Thornton: The Ohio State Buckeyes officially select Bruce Thornton as team captain

It was also his seventh straight game in double digits, taking his season scoring average to 10.7 points. In the tournament, it was higher: Thornton averaged 17.7 points while shooting 52.4% (22 to 42) from the floor and playing about 35 minutes per game.

He’s also given out six assists with zero turnovers in each of the last two games.

Ohio State-Michigan State in Numbers

*This marks the first time the Spartans have lost their inaugural tournament game as a top-four seed since 2010, when No. 6 Minnesota upset No. 3 Michigan State.

*In the two losses to Michigan State earlier this season, Ohio State led by a combined time of 5:38. On Friday, the Buckeyes led 33-24.

*Ohio State has never won four games in a Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes won three times in 2021 but lost to Illinois in overtime in the championship game.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@Adam Jardy

Get more basketball news from Ohio State by listening to our podcasts

This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Tom Izzo: Late Surge Credit of Ohio State to Chris Holtmann