EVANSTON, Illinois (WCMH) — No. 23 Ohio State struggled down the stretch against Northwestern as the Buckeyes fell 71-70 Saturday afternoon snapping a three-game win streak.

Duane Washington Jr. missed a layup with three seconds left and E.J. Liddell corralled the offensive board but the ball was knocked out of his hands and picked up by the Cats. OSU promptly fouled with 2.8 seconds left putting Northwestern at the line for a one-and-one.

Northwestern missed the front end of the one-and-one free giving OSU one last chance, but Liddell missed the half court shot to win at the buzzer.

The Buckeyes only made four baskets in the last seven minutes of the game and were outscored by the Wildcats 14-8 during that stretch.

“I think we just need to work on being more poised down the stretch,” senior Kyle Young said. “We have been good late down the stretch but today there were moments we weren’t.”

Ohio State moves to 1-2 in the Big Ten while the Wildcats improve to 3-0 in the Big Ten, their first 3-0 start in the conference since the 1967-68 season.

“Some slipups and mental breakdowns . . . mistakes that are very preventable, especially toward the end. We’ve got to be more poised,” graduate transfer Seth Towns said.

Ohio State struggled from behind the three-point line shooting 4-for-20 from three and lost the turnover battle committing 10 turnovers to Northwestern’s five.

“We were stopping the ball too much,” Holtmann said about Ohio State’s play down the stretch. “We just weren’t moving the ball enough there.”

Despite the loss, Ohio State outrebounded the Wildcats 40 to 26.

Ohio State returns to action Wednesday to host Nebraska at 6:30 p.m.