Ohio State (18-12, 9-11) was unable to find an offense against Northwestern (13-17, 4-15), falling 68-50 on the road. Without Kaleb Wesson, still serving a suspension for a violation of team rules, the Buckeyes looked lost for the majority of the game, lacking any kind of scoring threat or interior defense as they came up short against a Wildcats team that had lost 10 straight Big Ten contests coming into the night.
The Wildcats won the opening tip as things got underway at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Vic Law broke open the scoring right away by nailing a two-point jumper as Northwestern took the initial lead of the game.