CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Thad Matta finished his postgame interview with the Big Ten Network and was on his way toward the tunnel when he stopped momentarily and let out a deep sigh. Ohio State’s head coach then lifted his left hand toward his forehead and wiped it with his palm.
“Phew.”
That’s likely the thought that ran through Matta’s mind as he headed toward the Buckeyes’ locker room Thursday night fresh off a 68-63 overtime win over Illinois.
Ohio State led the Illini by 13 points with 6 minutes, 34 seconds to play in regulation. And after a brief Illinois run, the Buckeyes still had a seven-point edge with 3:01 to go. But after a lack of execution and a scoreless final three-plus minutes, Ohio State found itself playing an overtime game.
Had the Buckeyes not pulled things out it would have been an epic collapse, the worst of the season. It would have all but dashed Ohio State’s already-slim NCAA tournament hopes and it could have potentially destroyed what was already an up-and-down season for a young team.
But JaQuan Lyle, who was scoreless through his first 24 minutes of action, knocked in a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left and the Buckeyes then forced a Malcolm Hill turnover on Illinois’ final possession as Mickey Mitchell somehow came up with a loose ball and went the other way for a layup with four seconds left on the clock to give Ohio State the win.
Crisis averted.
“Maturity. We’re growing up as a basketball team day in and day out,” said sophomore center Trevor Thompson, who came off the bench and scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting for the Buckeyes. “Practices have really been very long and gruesome so this is just a credit to us grinding in practice and carrying it over to the game.”
Ohio State’s offense fell apart over the final six-plus minutes of the game allowing Illinois to creep back into things. The Buckeyes were stagnant, often letting the shot clock wind all the way down before forcing a desperation attempt. It was almost as if Ohio State was playing not to lose the game rather than going for the win.
Things almost came back to bite the Buckeyes.
“This team is getting better, but we obviously showed down the stretch tonight that we’re not where we need to be just in terms of thinking the game and not making — some of the defensive mistakes we made were mind boggling down the stretch there; just really hard to explain,” Matta said. “But that’s a tendency with a young team and mistakes kind of compound themselves and that kind of slowed our offense down.”
In what was somewhat of a homecoming game, Ohio State sophomore wing Keita Bates-Diop was big for the Buckeyes with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Marc Loving also chipped in 11 points and 10 boards; Jae’Sean Tate had nine points and five rebounds; and Kam Williams provided a first-half spark with seven off the bench.
Ohio State needed every single basket it got to win what most would consider an ugly game. But sometimes, you have to win ugly games throughout the course of a season. It was on the verge of being a disaster for Ohio State, but it somehow found a way to win.
It was almost certainly a game the Buckeyes would have lost had it been played a month ago. When Matta was asked about that hypothetical situation following the game, he could only crack a faint smile.
“No way,” he said.
Perhaps it’s the sign of Matta’s group taking a step forward. Or perhaps it was just Illinois isn’t very good. It’s probably a bit of both.
But at this point in the season, the Buckeyes will take it. It sounds cliché to say, but it really doesn’t matter how wins come now for Ohio State. Things have been brutally bad, at times, this season for the Buckeyes, but after Thursday’s win they currently sit at 6-3 in the Big Ten.
In the end, that’s all that truly matters.
“I think we’re just growing, we’re maturing,” Bates-Diop said. “You try to focus on the positives, but we did give up a run and a lead with two minutes left so we have to focus on finishing games.”
