The Lantern – Jan. 23, 2020

The student voice of the Ohio State University | Thursday, January 23, 2020

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WHAT’S INSIDE

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New building construction on College Road focused on developing academic support ON PAGE 2 COLUMBUS’ OWN

Did I Hear Dare? tells stories of its band members through song and collaboration ON PAGE 5 FOOTBALL

COURTESY OF THE OHIO STATE WEXNER MEDICAL CENTER

Christin Burd, a cancer researcher, works in her lab to set up an experiment on melanoma cells at the Ohio State Biomedical Research Tower.

Mickey Marotti looks forward to the offseason as a time to train returning and incoming players

JACK LONG Special Projects Director long.1684@osu.edu

ON PAGE 8

WHERE IS IT? CAMPUS ARTS&LIFE SPORTS

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Fewer people are dying from cancer than ever before.

For nearly three decades, the cancer death rate has been decreasing steadily at an average of about 1.5 percent each year. But between 2016 and 2017, the rate dropped by 2.2 percent — the largest single-year decrease ever recorded — according to a report

LAUNDROMAT BAR ON PAGE 4

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Largest drop in cancer death rate, Ohio State researchers hopeful

FRAMEWORK 2.0

Year 140, Issue No. 5

released by the American Cancer Society earlier this month.

Advances in lung cancer treatments and fewer people smoking contributed to the overall larger drop, but according to the report, melanoma skin cancer saw the steepest decline in a single cancer death rate.

“It’s really exciting that we have had this consistent decrease in cancer death, and from the research perspective we’ve seen the success with clinical trials,”

Christin Burd, a melanoma cancer researcher at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State, said. “This report essentially enumerates what we already know has been happening — this great evolution in cancer therapies.”

Burd said that in her lab, she studies how genetic differences in melanoma patients affect their response to treatments.

The death rate for melanoma fell by 7 percent every year beCANCER CONTINUES ON 3

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Lantern readers, The Lantern looks different today — and will for the foreseeable future. Soon after this past Thursday’s paper was printed, we learned that it was the final day The Lantern would be published in the format most of us have come to know.

A work shift on one of the press lines at Athens Messenger, our printer, was eliminated because only The Lantern and Capital University Chimes were printed on the shift, meaning there wasn’t enough demand to keep the press line open during that time.

Because of the resulting size change, The Lantern will be going through a significant redesign, and today’s paper is the first big step in that process. Our design team has been hard at work, and I’m confident that our staff will be able to reimagine an engaging look for our paper.

Luckily, we can still print on the same days on the same deadline with Athens. It was important to us that the content we bring you would not change. The way stories look will be a bit different, but the core values of The Lantern will remain constant.

Many other news organizations are dealing with these challenges too, including the Columbus Dispatch, whose printing will be moved to Indianapolis in February. Change is hard, but it’s also an opportunity for growth, and I’m excited to see the ways The Lantern can evolve.

All the best, Kaylee Harter Editor-in-Chief

CAMPUS

2 | Thursday, January 23, 2020

Arts in motion

COURTESY OF MATTHEW SWIFT

The reconstructed Arts District will become the new home of the Moving-Image Production program, the School of Music and the Department of Theatre.

Ohio State construction creates new home for growing major MACKENZIE SHANKLIN Lantern reporter shanklin.32@osu.edu New building, new set. Students in the Moving-Image Production program will have a new place to call home and express their talent through moving images for the first time in fall 2022.

MIP is focused on developing critical skills in different areas to better understand the film industry, independent cinema and visual culture, according to the curriculum website. Despite the long-term construction project launched in 2017, the first class to receive degrees from the MIP program will be in spring 2021,

Roger Beebe, a professor and graduate chair in the Department of Art, said.

The new facility will house the MIP program, the School of Music and the Department of Theatre, creating a new space for learning and collaboration, Dan Hedman, university spokesperson, said in an email.

The MIP program has only been around for about three years, but has seen an increase in interest in the past year, Beebe said.

Thirteen students make up the class currently, and the program expects about 35 students to enroll this fall, Beebe said.

“We want to have a small enough group that we can really

give them the focused attention that they need,” he said.

The new construction is bringing a focus to filmmaking opportunities at Ohio State, which has not been the case in the past. “[We’re] getting to see a lot of different kinds of work from — we call it four modes — that the program touches, which is animation, documentary, experimental and narrative,” Beebe said.

In order to get experience in each mode, MIP students are offered a curriculum in which they must take one class under each mode, but are encouraged to take additional courses that support their individual interests.

Some of the classes include

GREEK LIFE

Academic Greek life offers a place for like-minded students. ONLINE Motion Studies through HandDrawn Animation, Studies in the Documentary, Film/Video II: Experimental Strategies and The Art of Editing, the website states.

The new building construction on College Road is part of Ohio State’s Framework 2.0 project, a plan to develop the Columbus campus that is focused around the campus’s physical needs to support academics at Ohio State, according to the Framework 2.0 website.

Kevin Leonardi, senior director of marketing and communications in College of Arts and Sciences, said in an email that the Arts District will add multiple features to campus.

“The Arts District, at Ohio State’s front door, will spark opportunities for collaboration and invigorate arts and culture experiences,” Leonardi said.

The new construction will allow the MIP program to offer new amenities for students to increase their knowledge of film production.

“

The fact that we’re getting space in this new building, a space that was kind of custom-designed for us, it’s going to be really incredible.

”

ROGER BEEBE Professor and graduate chair in the Department of Art

The program will be getting a significant number of production

and post-production facilities from the new development. There will be classrooms built for better film instruction, a sound stage with a cyclorama wall — a concave curtain wall used to form a background — and a Dolby finishing suite, Beebe said in an email.

The program will reach its full potential after the construction of the arts district is complete and will be a place to unite different departments, Beebe said.

“The fact that we’re getting space in this new building, a space that was kind of custom-designed for us, it’s going to be really incredible,” Beebe said.

Beebe said the program wants to follow the philosophy of a liberal arts education while getting its students practical exposure to film history and film production.

“It’s pretty amazing how quickly Ohio State has been kind of recognized for this program, and I just hope the profile continues to grow,” Beebe said. “I think we’re going to be a pretty unique place in the Midwest.”

With the vision slowly unfolding into its established form, the MIP program aims to be a forum for student engagement, while creating a stronger sense of belonging, Beebe said.

Leonardi said the new building will provide a cutting-edge experience for the university.

“These upgraded environments will benefit the students and faculty who will learn, teach, rehearse and perform in these spaces, and arts’ patrons will have new venues to experience the arts at Ohio State while supporting the next generation of artists,” Leonardi said.

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Thursday, January 23, 2020 | The Lantern | 3

CANCER FROM 1

tween 2013 and 2017. The report cited two immunotherapy drugs, Yervoy and Zelboraf, which were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011, as drivers for the decline.

Burd said immunotherapy drugs have been “game-changers” for melanoma and other types of cancer.

“

There are going to be 1.8 million new cancer cases in 2020. Our job is far from done.

”

CHRISTIN BURD Melanoma cancer researcher at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State

Immunotherapy drugs block proteins produced by cancer cells that allow the cancer to hide from a patient’s immune system. Burd said that by blocking the proteins, a patient’s own body can detect and fight off the cancer. The immune system then can learn what the cancer cells look like and continue to fight them if they develop in other parts of a patient’s body.

“That’s why we have these really long, durable responses because, essentially, you’re carrying the therapy with you,” she said. “We’re essentially gearing up an army.”

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive cancers, and Burd said it is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapies but often responds well to immunotherapy drugs.

“Before there were any immunotherapies available, most patients with melanoma were dying in a matter of months from their disease,” Burd said. “I mean we really had nothing.”

THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY The Lantern is a student publication that is part of the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. It publishes issues Tuesday and Thursday, and online editions every day. The Lantern’s daily operations are funded through advertising and its academic pursuits are supported by the School of Communication. The School of Communication is committed to the highest professional standards for the newspaper in order to guarantee the fullest educational benefits from The Lantern experience.

However, Burd said some patients don’t respond to immunotherapy drugs, and researchers still don’t fully understand why that is.

Burd said she and research assistants are helping to identify new treatments for unresponsive patients. They are investigating the genetic differences between people who are at a higher risk for developing melanoma and those who are at a lower risk.

Although Americans are less likely to die from cancer now than a couple of decades ago, gaps in health care access and insurance coverage still pose barriers to cancer treatment for some, according to the report.

“Even if we make the best therapy, if we can’t get it to everyone, then we’re not doing our jobs,” she said.

Electra Paskett, director of the Cancer Control Research Program at the medical center, said increasing access to early screening tests and vaccines, educating communities on risk factors and providing affordable transportation to treatment centers are the next steps to increase the cancer survival rate.

“We know what can prevent cancer,” Paskett said. “We have the opportunity that we can actually eradicate a cancer from the country or from the world, and we need to jump on that.”

Since 1991, nearly 3 million Americans have survived cancer, but diagnoses still remain high, according to the report. This year, Ohio is expected to see 71,850 new cancer cases and about 35 percent of Ohioans diagnosed will die.

Across the country, nearly 5,000 people will be diagnosed every day with 1,600 cancer deaths occurring daily in 2020, the report states.

“There are going to be 1.8 million new cancer cases in 2020,” Burd said. “Our job is far from done.”

Editor in Chief Kaylee Harter Managing Editor for Content Abhigyaan Bararia Managing Editor for Design Kelly Meaden Managing Editor for Multimedia Casey Cascaldo Copy Chief Anna Ripken Campus Editor Sam Raudins Assistant Campus Editor Lydia Weyrich LTV Campus Director Akayla Gardner Sports Editor Griffin Strom Assistant Sports Editor Andy Anders LTV Sports Director Brian Nelson Assistant Sports Director Khalid Hashi Arts & Life Editor Nicholas Youngblood

Assistant Arts & Life Editor Ashley Kimmel LTV Arts & Life Director Oliver Boch Photo Editor Amal Saeed Assistant Photo Editor Cori Wade Design Editor Victoria Grayson Assistant Design Editor Richard Giang Social Media Editor Shelby Metzger Engagement Editor Lily Maslia LTV Special Projects Director Jack Long Oller Reporter Jasmine Hilton Miller Reporter Emma Scott Moran

Director of Student Media General Sales Manager Lantern TV Production

Spencer Hunt Marie Pierce Tao Wang

Business Office 614-292-2031 Newsroom 614-292-5721 Advertising advertising@thelantern.com Classifieds classifieds@thelantern.com Corrections The Lantern corrects any significant error brought to the attention of the staff. If you think a correction is needed, please email lantern@osu.edu

Letters to the Editor To submit a letter to the editor, mail or email your letter. Please put your name, address, phone number and email address on the letter. If the editor decides to publish it, she will contact you to confirm your identity.

Email letters to: harter.830@osu.edu Mail letters to: The Lantern Journalism Building 242 W. 18th Ave. Columbus, OH 43210

ARTS&LIFE

4 | Thursday, January 23, 2020

FINE ARTS LIBRARY

Students and faculty encouraged to take advantage of arts library resources.

ON PAGE 5

DIRTY DUNGAREES Laundromat and bar last of its kind in Columbus DARBY CLARK Lantern reporter clark.3015@osu.edu With 33 washers, 24 dryers and six beers on tap, Dirty Dungarees Laundromat and Bar is calm during the day. Customers often trickle in to order a drink, play one of the several arcade games set up on one end of the laundry area or rest at the counter.

At night, it looks about the same, but sounds different. Instead of the swooshing of the Speed Queen top-loader washing machines and the scraping metal of that one pesky dryer, the sound of guitar riffs and cymbal crashes resonates throughout the building.

As its name suggests, Dirty Dungarees is a place where patrons can wash their clothes while they grab a brew. Over the years, it has also become a hub for the underground music scene near campus.

Dirty Dungarees on North High Street near Hudson Street opened in 1978 and used to be one of several chain locations.

It has since outlasted the others, primarily because of its location in Old North Columbus, a neighborhood that houses people of varying economic statuses, owner

Drew Sherrick, owner of Dirty Dungarees, talks about the history of the establishment.

“

It doesn’t feel like I have to work to integrate myself into this scene or this group of people. I feel like I can just kind of be here.

”

JULES JEFFERS Fourth-year in arts management

Drew Sherrick said.

Sherrick said he co-owned another laundromat in Grove City, Ohio, with his father before moving to Columbus, Ohio, where he bought Dirty Dungarees in 2015.

He said the goal was never for Dirty Dungarees to be recognized as a music venue, but it has morphed into a musical mainstay.

“So I guess I was wrong, and we are actually a venue now, but I felt like we were just dipping a toe in it, and now, bam, all of a sudden we’re a real venue,” Sherrick said.

Jules Jeffers, a fourth-year in arts management and guitarist and vocalist in local punk band Wasp Factory, said the group’s first show at Dirty Dungarees in August 2019 was a surprisingly

pleasant experience.

“That was a show that I really liked because I kind of got really in tune to like, ‘Oh yeah, the atmosphere here is a lot more friendly,’ like it doesn’t feel like I have to work to integrate myself into this scene or this group of people. I feel like I can just kind of be here,” Jeffers said.

That first gig at the venue showed her why she — and all of the other regulars — keeps coming back, Jeffers said.

“Every time I’ve been there, the thing that’s made it hasn’t been the space. It’s been the people, because very consistently, the people that book there do a really good job of integrating themselves into the scene and being really, really approachable and

DARBY CLARK | LANTERN REPORTER

accepting of anyone that wants to play a show there,” Jeffers said.

The camaraderie and diversity of the concertgoers is the reason Jeffers said Dirty Dungarees is one of the best venues in the city.

“I for sure have met more other queer and trans people there than anywhere else in Columbus,” Jeffers said.

Jeffers said Ohio State students would enjoy Dirty Dungarees — if only more were aware it existed and was just a bus ride away.

Wasp Factory will play alongside “psycho punk” band DANA — one of whose members bartends at Dirty Dungarees — and Atlanta glam-punk sextet Material Girls at Dirty Dungarees Saturday, a lineup that is standard for DUNGAREE CONTINUES ON 6

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Thursday, January 23, 2020 | The Lantern | 5

COLUMBUS’ OWN

Did I Hear Dare? keeps scene friendly

OLIVER BOCH Lantern reporter boch.15@osu.edu

Friendship and inclusion are cornerstones of the musical mission of Did I Hear Dare?

Inspired by rock bands such as Queen, Cage the Elephant and the Strokes, Did I Hear Dare? plays an amalgamation of alternative rock, pop, jazz and blues, bassist Cooper Wood, a third-year in composition, said.

Playing alongside Wood are keyboardist Dominic Fleshman, a third-year in theater and marketing; drummer Jake Metzger, a third-year in marketing and moving-image production; and guitarist Anthony Seliskar, a third-year in finance.

Did I Hear Dare? made its debut in 2017 at a concert hosted

by Buckeye Blackout, a student organization dedicated to encouraging sustainable living.

The band was still new, and in an effort to get up and running in the local music scene, Fleshman said the group had to scramble to prepare its set within a week.

As students, Metzger said a lot of the band’s influence comes from Ohio State.

“It’s almost not as much Columbus as it is OSU. And a lot of the bars and cafes around here is who we are. We tend to find inspiration from just the proximity to campus,” Metzger said.

Each member of the band takes the lead on vocals for the songs they’ve produced and each comes from a different musical background, giving the group a diverse but cohesive sound, Seliskar said.

When the members share their songs with one another, Fleshman said everyone pitches in to add or edit parts, like performing surgery on each piece.

“We each like different kinds of music, and we listen to our own

thing, and then we come together, bring our own songs and each person adds their own flavor. And it’s a beautiful melting pot,” Seliskar said.

Because the members each write their own songs, they learn a lot about one another’s lives during the process, Fleshman said.

“It’s so easy for me to be a fan of our music because it’s like I’m listening to their stories when I listened to their music,” Fleshman said. “I look forward to rehearsing with these guys every week and having more performances — just writing music that I never really had an outlet to. This feels like writing diaries.”

Did I Hear Dare? will perform 8 p.m. Saturday at The Summit Music Hall located at 2210 Summit St. Tickets cost $5.

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ELYSE GUTSCHOW | FOR THE LANTERN

Did I Hear Dare? performs for Columbus’ Own Jan. 10.

Fine Arts Library offers artistic insights BRIANNA LABADIE Lantern reporter labadie.8@osu.edu

BRIANNA LABADIE | LANTERN REPORTER

The entrance of The Fine Arts Library sits between the buildings of the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Under the pale steel beams that span the gap between the buildings of the Wexner Center for the Arts lies the entrance to a library some students might overlook.

The Fine Arts Library houses more than 150,000 books that range in topic from ancient methods of artmaking to news in the contemporary art world. It has a wide variety of artists’ books, some of which are handmade and rare, Courtney Hunt, the art and design librarian, said.

“I want people to be more aware of our artists’ book collection because the unique quality of artists’ books is that you can hold them in your hand — a work of art you can touch,” Hunt said.

The library has technological resources to offer as well, including flatbed scanners for digitizing documents, computers and a printing station. Hunt said it’s her job to help the library’s visitors access the various resources it has to offer.

“I want students to feel comfortable. Comfortable wandering the stacks, comfortable coming to me if they need help, comfortable doing research, but also empowered by the resources available to them and the knowledge that they can get whatever it is they’re working on done,” Hunt said.

Kat Arndt, a second-year in history of art and studio arts, said the library has made her more curious and aided in many of her research papers about arts and museum practice.

“It offers access to a wealth of

art knowledge by process, artist and method. Access to arts writing fuels creativity and dialogue between generations of creators and scholars,” Arndt said.

Faculty members such as Yvette Shen, assistant professor in the Department of Design, also take advantage of the available resources.

“Courtney is already doing amazing things that make the library more available and attractive to art students — workshops, collaborating space, place to showcase their works, online research guides,” Shen said.

Students and faculty can apply to display their own artwork in the library by emailing hunt.877@ osu.edu. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.

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6 | The Lantern | Thursday, January 23, 2020

DUNGAREES FROM 4

DARBY CLARK | LANTERN REPORTER

Dirty Dungarees Laundromat and Bar serves as a venue for local musicians.

Dirty Dungarees shows: a few local groups and one or two outof-towners.

But the performances at Dirty Dungarees can transcend a typical concert.

“People surprise me,” Sherrick said. “We’ve had all sorts of interesting performance art, poetry readings — more than just music, but it’s always interesting.

Dirty Dungarees is located at 2586 N. High St. and is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Sherrick said shows start around 7 p.m. and end by 10 p.m. He said there is no cover charge for entry, but there is a recommended $5 donation.

rotti said will help the newcomers adjust to the rigor together, as well as develop positive leadership early on.

“

It’s not just the lifting or the running and all this physical stuff, it’s the mental and emotional development they make over a period of time.

MICKEY MAROTTI Ohio State assistant athletic director for sports performance

BASKETBALL FROM 8

of the conference standings next to Northwestern.

Iowa shoots the 3 at an impressive 38-percent clip. Meyer shoots at 44 percent on 6.2 attempts per game.

“We need to make sure we don’t overhelp,” McGuff said. “A lot of times, we’re overhelping and that’s leading to open 3s.”

Iowa is coming off an 85-78 win against Wisconsin in which Doyle, Czinano and Meyer combined for 63 points.

Ohio State has struggled to find a rhythm this season as it continues to trudge through Big Ten play. The Buckeyes are in the middle of the conference standings with a 4-3 conference record.

The Buckeyes come into this matchup off a 77-47 win against Illinois, as Ohio State closed the game on a 40-10 run.

Freshman guard Kierstan Bell will look to build on her career-high 19-point performance, which vaulted her scoring average into double digits at 10.6 points per contest.

“She’s been showing the talent that she has,” McGuff said.

“She’s continuing to evolve in our system and gaining some consistency.”

MAROTTI FROM 8

Aside from running and lifting weights, leadership development is another pillar of the program Marotti has built over eight years at Ohio State and 33 years in coaching –– picking up three national titles in college football along the way.

Marotti said it’s “way too early” to pinpoint leaders for the 2020 group, but cited junior cornerback Jeff Okudah and junior running back J.K. Dobbins as two players who didn’t develop those

MEGHAN CARROLL | LANTERN REPORTER

The Ohio State women’s basketball team huddles prior to the game against Ohio University Nov. 17. Ohio State lost 74-68.

Ohio State’s depth and scoring balance has been a key to its success, as it has eight players averaging between 6.5 and 12.5 points per game.

Freshman forward Rebeka Mikulasikova has emerged in her role off the bench, putting up 7.7 points on 50 percent from deep alongside 2.7 rebounds per game.

She is averaging 11.5 points over the Buckeyes’ past two games.

Ohio State’s 3-point shoot-

ing has hit its stride the past few contests, shooting 42 percent as a team throughout the past four games.

“Earlier on, we were struggling with our shooting as a team,” freshman guard Madison Greene said. “We’ve been focusing on it more in practice, and it’s showing in the games.”

Ohio State and Iowa tip off at 8 p.m. Thursday in Iowa City.

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qualities until some time into their final Buckeye seasons.

But the impact Marotti had on Dobbins’ career was profound, as the Buckeyes’ second all-time leading rusher called him “the greatest man that I’ve ever met” in his farewell message to the program and its fans on social media in December.

“He has pushed me to levels I didn’t know I could reach,” Dobbins’ post stated.

He’s far from the only Buckeye to credit Marotti with being instrumental in player development.

Much of that is due to the time players put in with Marotti and his staff in the offseason. He said the Buckeye players see him, the nutritionists and athletics trainers each day –– an access that even head coach Ryan Day and the assistants don’t get.

“That’s the really fulfilling part of my job. It’s not just the lifting or the running and all this physical stuff, it’s the mental and emotional development they make over a period of time,” Marotti said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Ohio State’s 2019 season is less than a month in the rear view, and the 2020 iteration lies more than 32 weeks away.

Marotti’s season, however, is well underway.

Answers for 1/16

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Down

1. Argo 2. Dorm 3. Agog 4. Pep 5. Treetop 6. Offer 7. Door 8. Sur 9. Haggle 10. Erin 12. Bday 15. Recipes 22. War 24. Alps 25. Sham 26. Wiser 27. Asan 28. Utter 29. Trove

30. Toner 31. Retie 32. Seeds 34. Males 36. Emit 38. Midweek 39. Sets 41. Fred 42. Haitian 44. Olives 45. Las 47. Douse 48. Bade 49. Evil 50. Sink 51. Hash 52. Alit 53. Come 54. Hoed 57. Sic 59. Gto

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Thursday, January 23, 2020 | The Lantern | 7

Recovery and Revenge

“ CORI WADE | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Ohio State junior center Kaleb Wesson (34) and Ohio State senior forward Andre Wesson (24) shout from the sidelines in the second half of the game against Nebraska Jan. 14. Ohio State won 80-68.

ANDY ANDERS Assistant Sports Editor anders.83@osu.edu Ohio State men’s basketball traveled to Penn State Saturday and was dismantled 90-76 by a Nittany Lion team it shot down 106-74 on Dec. 7.

Thursday, it’s the Buckeyes (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten) gunning for a script flip of their own at home against Minnesota (10-8, 4-4) and a reprieve from its five losses in six games.

“I knew we were gonna hit a wall at some point,” Ohio State freshman guard D.J. Carton said.

“The whole overall team chemistry needs to become better. We need to be more connected on the floor, and we need to bring more of a passion to this game, and I think that’s what we miss.”

Ohio State managed to snap a four-game losing streak against Nebraska Jan. 14, only to drop the

contest against Penn State four days later.

While offensive issues were the Buckeyes’ locusts during the streak, defensive lapses plagued them against Penn State.

The Buckeyes scored 76, which didn’t fall short of 60 points as in every defeat during the skid, but they allowed 90 against the Nittany Lions — the most they’ve surrendered since March 17, 2018, to end head coach Chris Holtmann’s first season.

Holtmann said the lack of passion Carton mentioned comes from players searching for reasons they’re losing. He had different reasons for the team’s victory famine.

“There’s a couple issues that we’ve looked at, one being just our overall lack of toughness,” Holtmann said. “We just have to play tougher, be tougher, as a group.”

The Golden Gophers handed

Ohio State seeks momentum and retribution Thursday

The whole overall team chemistry needs to become better.

We need to be more connected on the floor, and we need to bring more of a passion to this game, and I think that’s what we miss.

D.J. CARTON Ohio State freshman guard

the Buckeyes their first defeat of the season Dec. 15 in Minneapolis.

Sophomore guard Duane Washington was out with injury at the time, and in his stead, the guards combined to shoot just 34 percent with six assists and six turnovers.

“The only way I think you get tougher is you do tough things on a regular basis,” Holtmann said.

“Some groups are different. Some groups are older. Some groups you just naturally have some tougher-minded guys. I think that’s still a question that we have to answer.”

Holtmann said this past week that the depth of forwards in the Big Ten is the best he’s ever seen in any conference as a coach, and that trend will announce itself Thursday.

Six-foot-10 Minnesota sophomore center Daniel Oturu will make his journey to the Schottenstein Center, replete with 20.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game — second, first and second in the Big Ten, respectively.

Redshirt sophomore guard Marcus Carr leads the Golden Gophers in the backcourt, No. 2 on the team with 16.1 points per game.

Ohio State helped that average in the previous meeting, when Carr piled up 35 points –– including 28 in the second half.

“Obviously another really good team coming in here.

We know that from playing them up there,” Holtmann said. “Really good players. Richard [Pitino] and his staff have that group playing really, really well. Really hard.”

Should the Buckeyes slow Carr, Oturu and the Gophers enough for a win, they could start to string a few together.

They travel to 6-12 Northwestern Sunday, followed by a home game against Indiana.

“I never look that far into the schedule or assume anything,” Holtmann said. “The league’s too good.”

First Ohio State will tip off against Minnesota at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, hoping to avoid a sixth loss in seven games.

CORI WADE | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Ohio State freshman guard D.J. Carton (3) dribbles the ball down the court in the first half of the game against Nebraska Jan. 14. Ohio State won 80-68.

SPORTS

8 | Thursday, January 23, 2020

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Buckeyes take on Minnesota Thursday, looking to gain momentum.

ON PAGE 7

Offseason player development with Marotti crucial for Buckeye success behind the scenes

Buckeyes –– the largest group Marotti has ever been involved in.

It’s a group that Marotti said will be separated from the rest of the freshmen class when they arrive due to their advanced level of fitness.

The group will embark on a grueling offseason workout cycle tailored to the needs of each individual.

MEETINGS WITH MICK

“

Most of the time, freshmen are like, ‘Oh, this is hard. We had a couple guys right away, Julian Fleming and Gee Scott: ‘That was the best meeting ever! Can’t wait.’

GRIFFIN STROM | SPORTS EDITOR

Ohio State assistant athletic director for sports performance Mickey Marotti spoke at a press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Jan. 22.

GRIFFIN STROM Sports Editor strom.25@osu.edu There was a moment of Ohio State’s 2019 football season that Mickey Marotti enjoyed more than hoisting the Buckeyes’ third-consecutive Big Ten Championship trophy in Indianapolis.

It was a day he valued even more than Ohio State’s blowout win against archrival Michigan on its home field to wrap up an undefeated regular season.

The moment was one that Ohio State’s diminutive assistant ath-

letic director for sports performance has seven months before each new season kicks off — a January meeting in which Marotti has the stage to speak before the group of returning and incoming players with which he’ll tirelessly work through the offseason.

“You hit control-alt-delete, start over, blank sheet of paper, and you really map out what the next seven, eight weeks are going to be about and how you can change and how you can improve and how you can enhance,” Marotti said. “That meeting, it’s like an Academy Award-winning deal

for me.”

That means one of Marotti’s top moments of 2020 has already passed, but he said this year’s crop of early enrollee freshmen had a different reaction to his annual rousing speech than seasons past.

“Most of the time, freshmen are like, ‘Oh, this is hard,’’ Marotti said. “We had a couple guys right away, Julian Fleming and Gee Scott: ‘That was the best meeting ever! Can’t wait.’”

Fleming and Scott, two top 12 wide receiver recruits, are part of 14 mid-year enrollees for the

MICKEY MAROTTI Ohio State assistant athletic director for sports performance

Marotti’s strength-training program helped bolster redshirt freshman defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste from 195 pounds on his recruiting trip to 258 pounds after two years.

For 360-pound freshman offensive lineman Dawand Jones, Marotti said his staff has to invent “creative” ways to keep excess weight off, including two-hour jumpshooting sessions on a basketball court.

But the size of this year’s incoming group is something MaMAROTTI CONTINUES ON 6

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Buckeyes seek upset against Iowa JACK EMERSON Lantern reporter emerson.131@osu.edu The Buckeyes look to slay the three-headed monster of the Iowa offense Thursday night.

Ohio State (11-7, 4-3 Big Ten) takes on the high-flying No. 19 Hawkeyes (15-3, 6-1), who lead the Big Ten in scoring offense behind a trio of top-flight finishers.

Iowa averages a Big Ten-best 81.7 points per game, led by three 15-plus point-per-game scorers.

Senior guard Kathleen Doyle leads the charge, averaging 18.2 per game, while sophomore forward Monika Czinano adds 15.9 and senior guard Makenzie Meyer puts up 15.

“That’s as good of a trio as we’ll see in the conference,” Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said. “We have to make sure that they don’t drive it by us and make them shoot it over us.”

Ohio State has pulled off three ranked wins this season and looks to get its fourth in Iowa City Thursday. Iowa comes into this game the winner of six straight conference games, riding the top offense in the conference.

The Hawkeyes are unbeaten at home, tallying a 9-0 record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. They currently sit at the top BASKETBALL CONTINUES ON 6