Ohio State entered Thursday's matchup against Purdue saying it was an all but must-win game. Vince Edwards, Caleb Swanigan and the Boilermakers had other ideas.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| PURDUE | 43 | 33 | 76 |
| OHIO STATE | 39 | 36 | 75 |
Swanigan made 1-of-2 free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining, JaQuan Lyle missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer and No. 20 Purdue left Value City Arena with a narrow 76-75 victory over the Buckeyes.
Trailing 75-73 with under 40 seconds to play, Marc Loving drove to the basket only to lose the ball and it end up in Trevor Thompson's hands. Thompson gathered, scored and was fouled to tie the game. He missed the ensuing free throw, then compounded the issue by committing his fifth foul at the other end of the court on Swanigan.
Swanigan and Edwards scored 16 points apiece for Purdue, Dakota Mathias had 14 and Carsen Edwards chipped in 12. Swanigan also corralled 11 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season.
Purdue (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten) led by at least two possessions for the majority of the second half, until Loving's floater in the lane cut it to 72-71 with 1:44 remaining but a 3-pointer by C.J. Thompson all but served as a dagger to Ohio State. The Buckeyes (10-5, 0-2) had a chance to grab their first conference victory of the season but couldn't close.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | PURDUE |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | POINTS | 76 |
| 26–59 (44%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 27–63 (43%) |
| 6–15 (40%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 8–23 (35%) |
| 17–20 (85%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 14–20 (70%) |
| 11 | TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 32 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 44 |
| 6 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 14 |
| 26 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 30 |
| 15 | BENCH POINTS | 12 |
| 4 | BLOCKS | 1 |
| 9 | STEALS | 2 |
| 10 | ASSISTS | 11 |
A back and forth first half saw Ohio State surge out in front 29-24 on the heels of a 9-2 run led by Jae'Sean Tate. The junior forward picked up his second and third fouls in the span of 20 seconds shortly thereafter, however, and Purdue capitalized.
The Boilermakers closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a 43-39 lead at intermission. Loving's off balance 3-pointer at the buzzer allowed the Buckeyes to at least save face a little bit following a very poor final 4 minutes of the half in which they missed five of six shots. Loving's shot gave him 10 points in the first half, the lone Buckeye in double figures. Mathias had 10 for Purdue at the break.
Purdue extended its lead to 10 within the first 4 minutes of the second half but Ohio State rallied to tie it a few minutes later with a 12-2 run. But an ensuing eight-minute span where they only hit one field goal ultimately doomed the Buckeyes despite finishing 17-20 from the free-throw line.
The Boilermakers held a considerable advantage on the offensive glass (14-6) and in second-chance points (19-9) over the Buckeyes. In all, Purdue outrebounded Ohio State by 12.
Tate led the Buckeyes with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Loving ended the game with 14 points to go with eight rebounds, Thompson had 11 points and Williams added 10.
Ohio State travels to Minnesota on Sunday still searching for its first Big Ten win of the season.
