Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-9, 2-3) vs Ohio State Buckeyes (11-5, 1-4)

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2019 - 5:30 p.m. CT

Value City Arena

TV: FS1

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: Fox Sports App

1. Win the turnover battle

Ohio State is another one of those teams that seemingly have one mismatch after another over Nebraska on paper. However, one area that the Huskers could capitalize on in a major way tonight is turnovers. Nebraska comes in leading the Big Ten in turnover margin (+3.0), ranking fourth in the conference in steals (6.7 per game), and committing 12 or fewer TOs over the last eight games. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, are 12th in the league in turnover margin (-0.4), last in steals, and have averaged 16.5 giveaways during its current four-game losing streak. Guys like Dachon Burke and Cam Mack, who both rank in the Big Ten's top six in steals, needs to pester OSU's guards and create as many transition scoring opportunities as possible.

2. Start fast and keep attacking

Nebraska is now 0-4 in true road games this season following Saturday's loss at Northwestern, and one common theme in those losses was slow starts setting the tone for the rest of the game. The Huskers' are such an emotionally volatile team that they have to get confidence right out of the gates by making shots and creating transition offense. That will be no easy task today against an Ohio State team that is absolutely desperate for a victory after dropping its last four outings. Nebraska has been able to regroup and rally back for in a few close road losses, but as Fred Hoiberg said on Monday, the only chance his team will have tonight will be with a full 40-minute effort. That's much easier said than done against an OSU team that boasts the best defense in the Big Ten at 59.4 points allowed per game on a 36.5 opponent shooting percentage. The first 10 minutes of this game will go a long way in determining the final outcome.

3. Don't let Kaleb Wesson take over

Tonight will be another pick-your-poison situation for Nebraska where it will have to decide which of Ohio State's strengths to key in on defensive and which to concede. Similar to the Iowa game, the answer to that conundrum is probably making sure junior center Kaleb Wesson doesn't completely take the game over. The 6-foot-9, 270-pounder does it all for the Buckeyes, leading the team in scoring (14.6 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg), and shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range. Now, that's going to come at the expense of giving up some open perimeter looks to an OSU squad is shooting a conference-best 37.7 percent from behind the arc (and 51 percent at home) on 8.8 made 3-pointers per game. The Huskers just need to hope that Ohio State has a shooting night like Iowa did (4-of-33 on threes) and not like Northwestern.

Ohio State 76, Nebraska 62

Robin's 2019-20 record: 8-8

vs. the spread: 6-10