COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Despite a 3-6 record in the Big Ten and five losses in Ohio State’s last six games, coach Chris Holtmann still feels good about his team ahead of a game Tuesday night against Illinois.

“I think anytime you go through difficult stretches, there’s certainly going to be a confidence thing. Guys need to see success, experience that and build their confidence through that,” Holtmann said on Monday. “So I think you’re always aware of that as a coach. But I feel good about this group’s approach yesterday in practice, and we’ll see how it goes today.”

The Buckeyes are coming off a lopsided performance at Northwestern on Saturday night, losing 83-58. OSU has yet to win on the road this season, falling to 0-5. Ohio State made just 34% of its shots from the field (14-of-41).

Holtmann said the focus is on how his team can get better.

“I think the focus has to be on just what’s in front of us. Nothing else matters,” Holtmann said. “It seems like everything matters right now but nothing else matters outside of just getting better today and making sure we’re maximizing the time we have together today and just throwing ourselves fully into that.”

The Fighting Illini are ranked 14th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, falling four spots from No. 11 despite coming off a 70-62 win Saturday over Indiana. Holtmann said he’s excited about the challenge that’s to come at home on Tuesday night.

“It’s just figuring out how to maximize our time here as we do have short turnarounds, different styles of play, who we’re playing against teams of different strengths,” Holtmann said. “So being ready for that but at the same time keeping our focus on what we have done well and obviously needing to do that better.”

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Value City Arena.