a

Ohio State sophomore guard Duane Washington Jr. (4) dribbles the ball down the court during the second half of the game against Villanova Nov. 13. Ohio State won 76-51. Credit: Amal Saeed | Photo Editor

Ohio State will be without two key guards Tuesday, as sophomores Duane Washington and Luther Muhammad have been suspended for the game against Nebraska.

A spokesperson for the team said on Twitter that head coach Chris Holtmann suspended the pair of second-year guards for “failure to meet program standards and expectations.”

Washington was benched for most of the game Saturday against Indiana and has shot 28.9 percent from the field during Ohio State’s four-game losing streak.

“I thought his effort was really poor. I thought his attention to detail was really poor,” Holtmann said Monday. “I said to him, ‘Where are you? You gotta be more locked in than what you are. We need more from you right now.’”

Muhammad has shot 16 percent from the field during Ohio State’s losing streak, including going 1-for-12 from the field in his past two games.

Ohio State’s matchup with Indiana was the first game of the season in which Muhammad was not a starter for the Buckeyes.

Washington is Ohio State’s No. 2 scorer this season, averaging 10.7 points per game. He shot 52 percent from the field in first nine games of the season, but missed the following two with a rib injury. Since returning, Washington has shot nearly 23 percent worse, putting up two fewer points per game.

Muhammad is averaging nearly half as many points in the Buckeyes’ past four losses as he did in the first 12 games of the year.

This past season, junior forward Kaleb Wesson was suspended for violating the Ohio State Athletics Department policy in March and missed the following three games.