Thirteen points separated Ohio State and a No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press top-25 poll just a little over three weeks ago.
All it needed, after nine victories in a row to begin the 2019-20 season with a spotless record, was a win against Minnesota. With that, the team would’ve had two wins over Big Ten teams, Villanova, North Carolina and Cincinnati.
That didn’t happen, so instead of rising a spot, the Buckeyes dropped in the poll for the first time all year. At the time, the 84-71 road loss to the Golden Gophers felt like a mere bump in the road of what had otherwise been a dominant season.