Dererk Pardon scored all but two of his 20 points in the second half when Northwestern broke a 10-game losing streak with a 68-50 defeat of Ohio State at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., on Wednesday.

Pardon also grabbed 13 rebounds and Vic Law and A.J. Turner each had 10 points for the Wildcats (13-17, 4-15 Big Ten).

The Buckeyes (18-12, 8-11) played a second straight game without suspended center Kaleb Wesson, who leads the team with 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In the first meeting on Feb. 20, Wesson was the lone Ohio State player in double figures with 22 points in the 63-49 victory.

Keyshawn Woods had 15 points for the Buckeyes.

The loss was the Buckeyes second straight and fifth in seven games to damage their chances to make the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season.

The Wildcats led by 11 at the half and extended it to 31-17 in the first minute of the second half before the Buckeyes were able to pull to within seven, 40-33.

Northwestern went up 10 but saw the margin fall to 47-42 when Duane Washington Jr. hit a three. The Wildcats responded on their next two possessions with a basket by Pardon and a triple from Turner to make it 52-42 as part of a 10-0 run that was capped by an old fashioned three-point play by Pardon for a 57-42 lead with six minutes left.

Northwestern led 28-17 at the half and the Buckeyes felt fortunate to be that close after a horrid 20 minutes of shooting.

Ohio State missed its first 13 field goals and was 4 for 28 (14 percent) and made only 1 of 12 3-pointerts (8 percent) to go along with 8 for 12 (67 percent) from the free throw line.

Ohio State ends the regular season at home against No. 21 Wisconsin on Sunday.

The Wildcats complete the regular season by hosting No. 11 Purdue on Saturday.

--Field Level Media