Barely, just barely, Ohio State avoided a complete catastrophe.
A double-digit lead on 13th-seeded Minnesota dwindled to become a one-possession game in the span of a minute-and-a-half, putting the fifth-seeded Buckeyes in peril before they completed a 79-75 victory on Thursday. The second-round Big Ten tournament victory sent them to the quarterfinals where they’ll meet fourth-seeded Purdue less than 24 hours after wrapping up their first win in three weeks.
“We're not giving this one back by any stretch,” Holtmann said. “I'm proud of our guys. I'm proud of E.J. (Liddell) for knocking those free throws down late. You're going to miss some free throws – we missed a couple critical ones – but I feel good about being able to survive and advance and move forward.”
CJ Walker added: “It's March, so you know you've got to survive and advance. That's the kind of mentality you have to do what you have to do to win the game.”
Here are five things from the four-point win.
Déjà vu
Walker claims neither he nor his teammates were surprised by the game getting close down the stretch.
“It's March,” he said. “Anything can happen.”
Apparently so.
Anybody else watching either in Lucas Oil Stadium or on television might have been a little shocked. Though after what has happened recently, there’s only so much surprise that can be felt. Wilting late has become a recent theme, with Ohio State falling by five or fewer points in three of the final four regular season games. Its late-game offense, in particular, hasn’t been pretty, and it once again was an issue on Thursday.
The Buckeyes appeared to have the game in hand when Justice Sueing drained a pair of foul shots to put them up 72-60 with 1:38 left. Then things started to fall apart.
Marcus Carr, held to 4-of-20 shooting in the first 37 minutes, hit a 3-pointer on the break. A CJ Walker take was rejected, and Carr came right back down and scored two more to make it a seven-point game.
“We have to take better shots at the end,” Walker said. “I know for myself, I had a very tough play at the end, tried to force a layup. Just better execution at the end of the game.”
Turnovers by Walker and Duane Washington Jr. and three free throws by Justice Sueing left just enough of an opening for Minnesota to make a run. Carr eventually chopped the lead to a single point by nailing a second-chance 3 with 13 seconds left.
Ultimately, Liddell and Washington made their free throws within the last eight seconds. Carr split foul shots then missed a three at the end to allow the Buckeyes to slip out of the arena as victors.
“Offensively, we had a couple poor possessions there late, but defensively I thought it was really good for the most part late,” Holtmann said.
The increasingly pervasive issue of poor late-game offensive execution didn’t swing Thursday’s game. But it could in the future if Ohio State doesn’t clean it up with haste.
Delivered blows at the rim
Dunk City became the moniker for Andy Enfield’s Florida Gulf Coast team during its NCAA tournament run eight years ago. Against Minnesota, Ohio State appeared intent to steal the name and use it as a descriptor for Columbus.
Kyle Young threw down a dunk through contact. Washington came down the lane and dunked in traffic. Walker found Musa Jallow for an alley oop. Justice Sueing got up to finish an oop. Jallow ended the first half with a two-handed hammer. Even Justin Ahrens had a fast-break dunk.
As it turns out, that attacking nature was a plan all along.
“A big emphasis for us today was to come out and throw that first punch,” Sueing said. “The first time we played them during the regular season, they were the ones to throw that first punch, and they were more aggressive and just making those plays that mattered. So we made it a big emphasis today to come out and make sure that we were that team – the more aggressive team and the tougher team. And because we did that, we were able to get some dunks, get our juices flowing and able to play well off of each other. And got the win, most importantly.”
Of the 60 points Ohio State scored that were not on free throws, 44 of them were from the paint. Everything offensively on Thursday was built to go through the middle, especially since Minnesota was playing without 7-foot center Liam Robbins, who leads the Big Ten in blocks.
“I do think we were really intentional about playing through the paint and even turning down some threes at times. ... Guys really, really followed our offensive game plan,” Holtmann said. “I mean, they were terrific about being intentional about what we want.”
Turnovers and rebounding kept it close
Of course, Ohio State-Minnesota was closer than it should have been. The Buckeyes should have won by a greater margin than only four points. That’s clear to everybody. Many will justifiably point out the late-game execution as the main reason as to why it got so tight in the final minute.
What happened in the turnover and rebounding departments played a significant role, too.
Minnesota grabbed 16 offensive boards despite missing their starting center – who has the team's highest offensive-rebounding percentage – and entering the day ranked in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten and nationally on the offensive glass. Those boards gave the losing team a 20-4 edge in second-chance points, which helped make up for a team-wide shooting percentage of 36.4 from the field and 25% from 3-point range.
Ohio State turned it over 15 times for its fifth-worst turnover rate of the season (18.9).
“No question we have to be better,” Holtmann said. “We can't have 15 turnovers and expect to win tomorrow.”
If you were wondering how a team could out-shoot an opponent by so much and still play a tight game, those are two primary explanations.
The other guys
No Buckeye scored more than 16 points but six – Sueing, Liddell, Walker, Jallow, Young and Washington – reached eight points. They didn't rely on one star but turned to a cadre of players who drove the offense. That was part of what made this Ohio State team special in January and February.
Holtmann said the balanced scoring was “really good to see.”
“The good thing about our team is that we have a lot of weapons, a lot of good players,” Sueing said. “So we're really just playing off of each other anyway. Everyone has their strengths, and we play off of each other pretty well. Good chemistry. So everyone is ready to step up to the plate and make plays, and we saw that tonight. It allowed us to get this win.”
One of the guys who stepped up? Jallow.
His minutes have gone up and down throughout the season, spiking and decreasing more often and more drastically than anyone else’s on this team. But he shined on Thursday, utilizing the defense and athleticism that can make him such a pain for opponents to deal with. The fourth-year wing recorded eight points, two steals and a pair of blocks.
“I thought he was terrific,” Holtmann said. “He just played his role at a really high level. I thought he was terrific. Was active defensively, got to where he needed to. I thought he was really, really good. We needed his defense. We needed his activity, especially with Kyle's two fouls.”
A win is a win in the Ten
The words Kaleb Wesson once said still ring true today.
“A win is a win in the Ten,” he said a year ago.
Ohio State understands exactly what he was saying. Nobody would call Thursday’s game the most beautiful they have seen before, but it was, in fact, a win, and the Buckeyes advanced to play at least one more game in the Big Ten tournament.
“Guys were excited,” Holtmann said. “Disappointed in a couple of the plays they made there late, but they also recognize Carr made some really tough plays. I think there was a combination of both, probably excitement. I want them to enjoy this. These are college basketball players. It's not life and death. Sometimes you can feel like that a little bit when you've lost a couple, but I was really proud of them today here. We'll see how we respond tomorrow.”
