Ohio State Basketball: Will Win over Wisconsin Spark Buckeyes’ Turnaround?

The Ohio State basketball team has lost five of its past seven games, but it’s a lot easier to look at things through a glass half-full perspective after winning at the always difficult Kohl Center.

In fact, Thad Matta has only won twice in his entire career at Wisconsin.

The 59-58 victory was the type of gritty, defense-first slugfest that fans of Big Ten basketball have become accustomed to, and much of the thanks goes to Aaron Craft. The rosy-cheeked point guard put the Buckeyes on his back for the final few minutes by scoring all seven of his points and providing critical defense on Wisconsin’s final possession.

When Ohio State was trailing by seven points late in the second half, it appeared as if it was heading to another loss. With games at Iowa and against Big Ten-leading Michigan on the immediate docket, the wheels for the season may have fallen off completely with another heartbreaking defeat.

Sure, the Badgers are reeling themselves, but coming back on the road against a nationally ranked squad is still notable. After all, we are talking about the same team that recently lost at Nebraska and at home to Penn State.

It was the first time that the Nittany Lions ever won at the Schottenstein Center.

Clearly, this was a much-needed win, especially with so many difficult Big Ten games coming up. The question now becomes whether the victory at Wisconsin will spark a second-half turnaround in conference play for the Buckeyes.

At the very least,…

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