After getting shellacked by Michigan on Sunday afternoon, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (16-8, 8-6) got back on the court quickly Wednesday night, facing the USC Trojans (18-7, 7-7) in a game that had big-time NCAA Tournament implications.
Entering Wednesday night’s game, Ohio State was listed as the first team out of the big dance, while USC was listed as a 10-seed according to Bracket Matrix. With several games coming up for Ohio State where they will certainly be underdogs, Wednesday night’s game was an opportunity
to take care of business at home against a team they were favored to beat by 7.5 points.
Jake Diebler and his team have emphasized the importance of starting fast, but they did the opposite on Wednesday night, hitting one of their first eight shots and falling behind USC, 13-4, after five minutes of play. USC makes its money at the free-throw line, and went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line before the first media timeout. USC guard Kam Woods hit his fifth three-pointer of the season early, and Alijah Arenas, the son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, hit four free throws early.
Ohio State briefly took the lead at 21-20, but USC forward Jacob Cofie — a 28.6% three-point shooter — buried a three to put the Trojans back up, 23-21, with 8:26 left in the first half.
The Trojans went on a stretch where they hit 8 of 10 shots, keeping Ohio State just out of arm’s reach for most of the first half. Arenas converted on a fast break layup with 38 seconds remaining in the half to put USC up 43-38, and Ohio State took their time inbounding the basketball to make sure they got the final shot of the first half. That possession eventually resulted in a Thornton floater at the buzzer that bounced around several times and dropped in, getting the Buckeyes back within three, 43-40.
Thornton and Devin Royal attacked the basket early in the second half, with Thornton’s layup tying things at 49 apiece with 15:05 left in the game. Three minutes later, a missed free throw by Arenas was gobbled up under the basket by Thornton, who turned and threw a touchdown pass to Bynum streaking down the floor. The 6-foot-8 freshman caught the pass and threw down a one-handed slam, shaking the rim and putting Ohio State up 58-54 with 12:11 remaining in the game.
After missing his first four three-point tries of the game, Mobley finally connected on one with 10:57 remaining in the game, putting Ohio State up 61-57. He connected on another with 9:14 remaining in the game, putting the Buckeyes up 64-58.
The Trojans let Ohio State go up seven point lead, but a three-pointer from USC’s Jordan Marsh got them back within 70-69 with 5:49 left in the game. Ohio State responded with baskets from Tilly and Royal and two free throws from Thornton, retaining that touchdown lead with just over four minutes remaining.
Ohio State’s stark turnaround in the second half shooting the basketball helped them put together several small “mini-runs” through out the second half. Nothing huge, five consecutive points here, seven consecutive points there added up, as the Buckeyes gradually separated themselves from fellow bubble team USC.
A pair of free throws from Royal gave Ohio State an 80-71 lead with 3:25 remaining, but USC didn’t break, scoring seven points in just over a minute to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 80-78 with 2:02 left. However, Thornton made a tough layup with 40 seconds remaining and was fouled, putting Ohio State back up, 85-81. That iced the game, and the Buckeyes hung on to win, 89-82.
In the spirit of the Winter Olympics, here are today’s gold, silver, and bronze medal performers from Ohio State’s eighth Big Ten victory of the season.
Bruce Thornton – Gold
With his first-half floater that gave Ohio State a 19-17 lead, Thornton passed Kelvin Ransey in points and became the fifth-leading scorer in Ohio State history. That shot, which gave Ohio State the lead with 9:38 remaining in the first half, put Thornton at 1,935 career points.
Thornton was also the closer for Ohio State, dropping in an and-one layup with 40 seconds remaining and scoring Ohio State’s last nine points, finishing with 21 points.
Next up: program legends Jerry Lucas and William Buford, who are tied in third all-time with 1,990 points.
Devin Royal – Silver
No, the three-point shot still isn’t falling for Royal, who is now 2-for-23 over his last seven games. But everything else was on Wednesday night, as the junior forward from Pickerington was basically perfect on everything else, going 8-for-8 on two-point tries and hitting all three of his free throws, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Ezra Ausar – Bronze
Ausar, a 6-foot-9 senior from Atlanta, had a sizable family and fans section sitting in the lower bowl for this game. He was also the toughest player on the floor Wednesday night, coming up with several impressive steals, including one where he reached in and ripped the ball out of Thornton’s arms with two hands, and then turned around and ran the length of the floor to score over top of Thornton and Tilly.
He entered the game having shot the fifth-most free throws in the county (200), and was efficient at the line, going 5-for-6 despite being a 68% free throw shooter on the season. Ausar fouled out of Wednesday night’s game with 4:21 remaining. He finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds (five of which were offensive), two assists, and four steals in 34 minutes.
