Ohio State men’s basketball drops to No. 16 in AP Poll

For the first time this season, Ohio State (10-3, 4-1) dealt with some real adversity on the court, getting out-played and out-physical-ed by the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington to the tune of a convincing 67-51 loss. For the first time this season, a game escaped their grasp well before the final buzzer.

The question of how they would respond to their first convincing loss of the season was answered on Sunday evening when they scored a season-high 95 points in a victory over Northwestern — headlined by a combined 58 points from E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham. While the Ohio State offense was firing on all cylinders, their defense (allowing 87 points) and rebounding (out-rebounded 32-29) certainly could have been better.

Losing both games this past week would have sunk the Buckeyes down — and probably out of — the AP Poll. However, beating the Wildcats last night salvaged their week, and Ohio State only dropped three spots to No. 16 in this week’s AP Poll. Last week’s No. 13 ranking was their highest of the season.

The top five was shuffled a bit after losses by No. 2 Duke (to Miami) and No. 3 Purdue (to No. 13 Wisconsin). Baylor still holds the top spot, followed by Gonzaga, UCLA, Auburn, and USC.

Four other Big Ten teams were ranked this week. They are No. 7 Purdue, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 13 Wisconsin, and No. 25 Illinois.

Indiana and Iowa also received votes but were left outside the top-25.

Ohio State’s next game is this Thursday at 7:00 at No. 13 Wisconsin.

You can check out the full poll here: