Those who stayed up past midnight to watch the ending of Ohio State vs, Minnesota witnessed one of the most chaotic conclusions to a college basketball game this year.
A game with 10 ties and 24 lead changes oddly featured neither in its final of four periods as Ohio State (10-5, 2-2 Big Ten) raced out to an 8-0 run but still barely clung on for an 89-88 win over Minnesota (8-7, 0-4) in double overtime at Williams Arena on Monday.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | OT | 2OT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 27 | 37 | 9 | 16 | 89 |
| MINNESOTA | 28 | 36 | 9 | 15 | 88 |
Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal have been Ohio State's two most consistent scorers this season and provided the Buckeyes the bulk of their offense against the Golden Gophers, collecting 18 and 19 points, respectively. Micah Parrish and Ques Glover stepped up in some key moments and had 11 and 13 points. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. added 12.
Despite a miss from Royal at the end of regulation that could have won the game with no overtimes for Ohio State, the Buckeyes held a massive advantage at the free-throw line and it proved critical in both extra periods. They shot 29-of-33 (87.9%) to Minnesota's 12-of-27 (44.4%) at the line.
The Gophers featured four players at 18 points or more including Parker Fox (21), Lu'cye Patterson (20), Mike Mitchell Jr. (18) and Isaac Asuma (18). Patterson, Mitchell and Asuma each hit at least three 3s as the Gophers went 12-of-29 (41.4%) from behind the arc to Ohio State's 6-of-22 (27.3%).
Wasn't pretty, but we got it done
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 7, 2025
The Minnesota Native gets to lead the fight song pic.twitter.com/hyTUU4KTuW
First Half
Things were tight in the early going on Monday. Neither team held a multi-score lead for more than 13 minutes of game time.
Parker Fox collected Minnesota's first seven points while Ohio State's freshman duo of John Mobley Jr. and Colin White showed up early, Mobley with a beautiful pump fake, spin and drive for a bucket and White with a 3-pointer. Gopher guard Patterson hit a layup to carry a 14-11 lead into the under-12 media timeout for Minnesota.
Thornton found a floater and Bradshaw a layup to answer for Ohio State, Asuma hit a layup for Minnesota and Thronton nailed a triple to make it eight lead changes in the first 11 minutes of the game with the Buckeyes ahead 18-16.
Finally, a wonderful layup high off the glass with soft touch from Mobley made it a 22-18 Ohio State edge with 6:37 to play until halftime, the first two-score lead of the contest. Minnesota answered with five straight points, Micah Parrish reclaimed the lead for the Buckeyes with a left corner triple.
An Asuma 3-pointer and two-handed Fox slam gave the Gophers a 28-27 lead at halftime. In an opening 20 minutes with four ties and 11 lead changes, both teams shot worse than 40% from the field.
Second Half
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MINNESOTA |
|---|---|---|
| 89 | POINTS | 88 |
| 27-63 (42.9%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 32-70 (45.7%) |
| 6-22 (27.3%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 12-29 (41.4%) |
| 29-33 (87.9%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 12-27 (44.4%) |
| 14 | TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 42 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 43 |
| 12 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 16 |
| 20 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 27 |
| 23 | BENCH POINTS | 19 |
| 4 | BLOCKS | 5 |
| 4 | STEALS | 5 |
| 17 | ASSISTS | 18 |
Royal came out attacking the rim and collected the first four points of the second frame, paving the way for four more lead changes before the half's first media timeout. Ohio State equalized things again at 35 following a technical foul against Minnesota guard Trey Edmunds, who was arguing a reach-in foul.
Yet more lead changes ensued as both teams worked their perimeter game, combining for five 3s in a span of two minutes. Forward Dawson Garcia, Asuma and Patterson hit a trio for the Gophers while Mobley and Ques Glover each made their first triple of the night for the Buckeyes. The score held at 45-44 Ohio State entering the under-12 media timeout.
Down 47-44, Minnesota launched the longest run of the game to that point. Mitchell hit a nasty top-of-the-key 3-pointer off a crossover dribble and Asuma stepped through his defender for a layup, capping a 7-0 jaunt to take a 51-47 lead. Royal made a clean feed to Stewart for a dunk to end it there.
Stewart SLAM for the Buckeyes @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/heJEplRnRv
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 7, 2025
Mitchell hit another from distance a few minutes later to make it 56-51 Gophers, the largest advantage for either side to that point. After Royal hit one of two at the line and a stepback 3 from Asuma put Ohio State on the ropes down 59-52 with less than six minutes to play.
The Buckeyes bounced off those ropes immediately, Parrish driving to the rim for a finish and finding Sean Stewart in transition for a dunk to cut it right back to 59-56. A putback finger-roll by Royal made it a one-point game against at 61-60, and after Mitchell went one of two at the charity stripe, Parrish hit a double-clutch layup to tie the contest 62-62 with 2:04 to play.
Fox stole the ball from Ohio State two possessions later and fed it to Garcia for a two-handed flush, retaking the lead again for the Gophers. Glover lost the ball while guarded by Fox on the Buckeyes' following trip down the floor, but a steal by Parrish set up a wild end-of-regulation sequence.
With 16 seconds to play and Ohio State down 64-62 Jake Diebler called a timeout as guard Micah Parrish was in motion to shoot a potential go-ahead 3, which he made just after the whistle blew. If considered a gaffe, it was soon forgotten.
Mobley found the ball and drew a double-team, but that left Devin Royal wide open beneath the basket. Mobley lasered him the ball for a slam as Garcia fouled him from behind, fouling out in the process with five second to play.
Royal missed the go-ahead free throw but Glover grabbed the offensive rebound. He missed a baseline jumper, Evan Mahaffey got a third look for the Buckeyes but also couldn't stick it back and the game went to overtime tied at 64.
Overtime
Patterson hit a fadeaway jumper to draw first blood in the extra period, Glover answered with his own drive and midrange J. Fox hit a pair of free throws at the other end and Thornton turned the ball over for a Patterson layup, putting the Gophers up 70-66.
Thornton answered his mistake with two makes at the foul line but Fox maintained Minnesota's lead with a circus baseline shot off one foot. Two Parrish free throws made it a two-point game again, then Thornton poked a ball out of bounds that was initially ruled out off of him but was overturned to be a steal for the point guard, setting the Buckeyes up for a tying or go-ahead look with 23 seconds left.
Tension built as Asuma poked the ball away from Thornton and out of bounds, but this time replay upheld the call and kept the ball with the offense with 15 seconds to play. Parrish knocked down a layup as a whistle blew seconds later, but the call went against him for traveling, the ref saying he slid his pivot foot.
Ohio State stopped the clock with a foul, Minnesota made one and fouled the Buckeyes quickly after as Mobley made one with eight seconds to go. Mitchell missed both of Minnesota's free throws with seven seconds to play, Kadyn Betts inexplicably fouled Mobley with four seconds to play and the freshman hit both free throws to send the game to double overtime.
Double Overtime
Ohio State opened the second extra period with a Scarlet avalanche.
Thornton splashed a left-wing triple, Bradshaw finished an and-one layup with authority and made the free throw before Glover got to the rim to cap an 8-0 Ohio State run that proved a dagger.
AND ONE AARON BRADSHAW pic.twitter.com/IPhbNSJeMq
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 7, 2025
Fox went coast-to-coast for a layup and the Gophers got two more opportunities at the free-throw line, but only went 2-of-4 as the clock hit 23 seconds and the score stood 83-79 Ohio State. Mobley hit a pair at the line, Patterson answered with a 3-pointer then Thornton nearly turned the ball over on a controversial traveling no-call under his own basket.
But four consecutive makes at the line by Glover kept Minnesota just barely at arm's length as Mitchell and Patterson combined for two more triples to set the game's one-point margin at 89-88.
What's Next
Ohio State returns to Value City Arena on Thursday to play Oregon in their first clash as Big Ten foes. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Game Notes
- Guard Meechie Johnson Jr. missed his fifth consecutive game for Ohio State while dealing with a personal matter.
- Mobley, a sharpshooter who started his freshman season 19-of-32 (59.4%) from 3 in his first six games, went 1-for-5 from downtown against Minnesota and is now 5-of-23 in his last four games.
- Garcia, who scored 36 points against Ohio State in Value City Arena last year, did not score for almost 26 minutes on Monday and finished with just five points. Stewart was his primary defender.
- Thornton and Royal combined to start the Buckeyes off 11-of-11 from the free-throw line.
