Ohio State at Nebraska

NOON TODAY Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena; Lincoln, Neb.

TV: Fox Sports 1

Radio: WBNS-FM/AM (97.1/1460)

Records: Ohio State 12-6, 2-5 Big Ten; Nebraska 13-6, 3-5

Notable: Both teams have lost at Rutgers this season: Ohio State 64-61 on Jan. 9 and Nebraska 76-69 on Monday. … The Cornhuskers are 25-2 at home in the last two seasons. … Under Chris Holtmann, Ohio State is 5-0 as an unranked team when playing another unranked team on the road. … The Buckeyes are averaging 16.6 turnovers during their last three games. Projected starters OHIO STATE

G C.J. Jackson, 6-1, Sr., 12.7 G Luther Muhammad, 6-3, Fr., 9.1

G Duane Washington Jr., 6-3, Fr., 7.6

F Andre Wesson, 6-6, Jr., 8.4

C Kaleb Wesson, 6-9, So., 15.3

Key reserves: G Woods, 6-3, Gr., 7.0; G/F Jallow, 6-5, So. 3.3; F/C Ledee, 6-9, Fr., 3.1; F Ahrens, 6-5, Fr., 1.8

NEBRASKA

G Thomas Allen, 6-1, So., 8.6

G Glynn Watson Jr., 6-0, Sr., 13.2

G James Palmer Jr., 6-6, Sr., 19.4

F Isaiah Roby, 6-8, Jr., 10.7 F Isaac Copeland Jr., 6-9, Sr., 14.3

Key reserves: G Akenten, 6-6, So., 4.9; F Borchardt, 6-8, Sr., 2.1

where the Buckeyes need to start creating contact. Freshman Justin Ahrens said quicker ball movement would lead to more openings which would lead to more opportunities for an offense that hasn’t scored more than 67 points in the past four games.

“We definitely could do a better job of it,” senior guard C.J. Jackson said. “We don’t get to the line enough. In this type of league you need to score easily, and that’s at the free throw line or in transition or anything like that. Going against half-court defense at times can be tough, so we definitely need to work on seeking more contact and getting to the free throw line more.”

The problem is that, as Holtmann sees it, there’s only so much about seeking contact that can be taught. That wasn’t a necessity for a player like Jae’sean Tate, who spent four years battling in the paint as an undersized post player.

“You can make some improvements in it but a lot of it is who you are as a player,” Holtmann said. “Very rarely did we have to talk to (Tate) about getting to the line. A lot of that is the physical presence, the ball skills, those kinds of things, but I do think we can make it more of an emphasis and we need to.”