Northwestern looks to knock off No. 13 Ohio State

Published Jan. 8, 2022 6:31 a.m. ET

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Northwestern (8-4, 1-2) vs. No. 13 Ohio State (9-3, 3-1)

Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio; Sunday, 5:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 13 Ohio State looks to give Northwestern its 12th straight loss against ranked opponents. Northwestern's last win vs a ranked opponent came against the then-No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes 71-70 on Dec. 26, 2020. Ohio State lost 67-51 on the road against Indiana on Thursday.

BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Ohio State's E.J. Liddell has averaged 18.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks while Zed Key has put up 9.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. For the Wildcats, Pete Nance has averaged 15.9 points and 7.3 rebounds while Boo Buie has put up 15.3 points and 5.8 assists.

DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Buckeyes have given up just 66.3 points per game across four conference games. That's an improvement from the 69.5 per game they gave up in non-conference play.NANCE IS A FORCE: Nance has connected on 42.9 percent of the 35 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 4 for 10 over the last three games. He's also made 77.8 percent of his free throws this season.

STREAK SCORING: Ohio State has won its last six home games, scoring an average of 78.2 points while giving up 65.5.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Wildcats have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Buckeyes. Ohio State has 44 assists on 75 field goals (58.7 percent) over its past three outings while Northwestern has assists on 54 of 79 field goals (68.4 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Northwestern offense has recorded a turnover on only 12.5 percent of its possessions, which is the fifth-best rate in the nation. The Ohio State defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 15.7 percent of all possessions (ranked 328th among Division I teams).

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Pete Nance

E.J. Liddell

Boo Buie

Ohio State Buckeyes

Northwestern Wildcats