Before the season, Jamison Battle stated he was desperate to make the NCAA Tournament in his fifth and final season of college basketball. He reiterated it multiple times in the regular season.
On Thursday, in a do-or-die situation for that goal against Iowa, Battle proved it with his play.
Battle lit up the Hawkeyes for 23 of Ohio State's 47 second-half points, pushing the Buckeyes to a 90-78 victory in Minneapolis, the Big Ten quarterfinals and a date with second-seeded Illinois for a potential Quadrant 1 win.
"I could care less about how I do," Battle said after the win. "I think I've said that thousands of times, I just want to win. No matter how many points I score, no matter how many rebounds I get, if we win the game, I'm so happy. And I'm very happy right now, but we've got another one tomorrow."
“No matter how many points I score, no matter how many rebounds I get, if we win the game, I'm so happy.”– Jamison Battle
Battle added nine rebounds to his point total, going 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
Battle's first half didn't go according to plan.
The former Minnesota Gopher put up no points and went just 0-for-1 from the field, robbing Ohio State of expected production from the Big Ten's most accurate 3-point shooter this season (44.7%), and the forward picked up two fouls.
"I think it's just taking what the game gives you," Battle said. "I think that's kind of who I am as a player. I'm not someone who's gonna go out here and force shots unless it's a heat check. I just let the game come to me."
Jake Diebler said his only advice for Battle at halftime was to stay aggressive. Other than that, he trusted his star wing to figure it out.
"It wasn't like this grand speech that had to be said to him," Diebler said. "He's a veteran. The most impressive thing about him this stretch has been his voice, his leadership and how much it's grown. So I had no doubts he would get it going – I didn't know it was gonna be 23."
It took exactly 51 seconds for Battle to get it going.
His left-corner triple extended Ohio State's 43-38 halftime lead to 46-38, and he got to the line for his first two charity-stripe makes less than three minutes later to re-extend the Buckeyes' advantage to 51-46.
Ohio State’s lead never dropped below two scores the rest of the way.
On what might have been the team's worst possession – Bruce Thornton, who had a career-high nine assists on Thursday, dribbled the shot clock down to five seconds before lofting a circus three – Battle pulled in an offensive board and stuck it back with a foul, then capped a three-point play at the line.
A follow-up triple from Battle pushed the advantage to 73-62 for Ohio State with 8:59 remaining. In the first 11 minutes and one second of the second half, he'd already racked up 17 points.
"We've had to get creative to find him looks because teams are keying on him, because he's such a good player," Diebler said. "We had to find ways to get him on the move. I think he's grown his game and his ability to drive and play with force in the paint, got to the free throw line nine times."
Special Teams, Special Plays, Special Players@battletime510 x @thesketchreal pic.twitter.com/aqKGoyrUIe
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 15, 2024
The second-half outpouring held a special place for Battle not just for the stakes of the game but for the date on which it occurred.
"For me, it was a special day because it was my mom's birthday," Battle said. "I had to give her a nice little gift. It's great, and it's good being home, but it's a business trip. It's not a homecoming, it's a business trip."
A Robbinsdale, Minnesota native playing in the Minneapolis-based Target Center, Battle added that he also gave 14 to 16 tickets away to local supporters who were there to witness his performance.
Battle put an exclamation point on his outing and that of Ohio State with a transition dunk off a feed from Roddy Gayle Jr. The Buckeyes led 87-75 with 1:15 to play.
"That's who Roddy is," Battle said. "He's like the quarterback out there, and I think you could ask him, I think he played high school quarterback. He just saw it, he told me to go deep and I went deep and he found me. It was a good pass and then we finished it off. It was a good play, it was a statement to end the game."
Now Battle's full focus is on Ohio State's quarterfinal matchup with second-seeded Illinois, the No. 13 team in the country. A win there, which would be the team's fourth Q1 victory of the season, is needed to place the Buckeyes fully in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
"We're just taking it day-by-day," Battle said after the win. "We've gotta take care of who we have to take care of and we've just gotta focus on what we have to do and not let the outside noise get to us. We're just focused on ourselves and if we just do what we're supposed to do and take care of our business, then the rest will take care of itself."
The Buckeyes and Fighting Illini tip off at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Minneapolis. Big Ten Network will televise the action.
