Ohio St. @ Nebraska preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 22, 2018 ) Nebraska 59, Ohio St. 64

Two struggling teams will be looking to end losing streaks on Saturday when Ohio State travels to Nebraska for a Big Ten matchup. Ohio State comes to Lincoln carrying the burden of a five-game skid and Nebraska has dropped two in a row and four of its last six.

Ohio State's January swoon can be traced directly to a lack of offense, as the team has reached 70 points just once since Jan. 5 and is averaging slightly less than 63 points in the last four games. More specifically, the Buckeyes aren't getting much production from their best player, Kaleb Wesson, who has battled foul trouble during the team's slide and managed just six points in a loss to Purdue on Wednesday night. Like Ohio State, Nebraska took a turn for the worse when January came and the Cornhuskers proceeded to lose four of six games, including a 76-69 setback on Monday at Rutgers. Nebraska hopes to get back on track with a return to Pinnacle Arena, where its program-record 20-game home winning streak ended Jan. 17 in a loss to nationally ranked Michigan State.

TV: Noon ET, FS1

ABOUT OHIO STATE (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten): Despite foul trouble limiting Wesson's minutes in the past five games, he leads Ohio State in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (6.6). An encouraging sign for Ohio State in the loss to Purdue was Andre Wesson, Kaleb's brother, having a breakout game with 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. But lack of production on offense is mirrored on the defensive end, where the Buckeyes have given up 70 or more points in each of the five games during the losing streak and have allowed their last two opponents to make 23-of-41 3-point attempts.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (13-6, 3-5): James Palmer Jr., Isaac Copeland Jr., Glynn Watson Jr. and Isaiah Roby average 10 points or more per game, led by Palmer at 19.4, which ranks him No. 2 in the Big Ten. Palmer's 145 free throw attempts this season are twice as many as anyone else on the roster and his ability to get to the foul line against Ohio State will be a factor to keep an eye on. Copeland not only averages 14.3 points per game but is shooting 52.3 percent from the field, and Watson is making 41.3 percent from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. Ohio State's five-game losing streak is the program's longest since the 1997-98 season when the Buckeyes lost 17 in a row.

2. Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann has not experienced a skid like the one the Buckeyes are going through since his Gardner-Webb team dropped nine straight in 2010-11.

3. Nebraska's opponents are shooting just 28.4 percent on 3-pointers, and Ohio State has made 10 or more 3-pointers in its last three games.

PREDICTION: Nebraska 74, Ohio State 64