Ohio State Survives Second-Half USC Comeback in Critical Game for NCAA Tournament Life, 87-82

The Buckeyes surged out to a 14-point lead at halftime off an 8-for-8 start from 3, but USC charged back to tie the contest with 67 seconds left.

An incredible effort from Ohio State's guards and clutch free-throw shooting was enough to cling on, however, as the Buckeyes (16-13, 8-10 Big Ten) defeated the Trojans (14-14, 6-11) 87-82 on the road for a Quad 1 victory.

Ohio State snapped a three-game losing streak with the road win.

The Buckeyes' starting backcourt trio of Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr. and Micah Parrish led the way with 20, 18 and 20 points, respectively. Forward Devin Royal gave Ohio State a fourth double-figure scorer with 13.

Guard Wesley Yates III steered the Trojans' horse with 27 points, all but seven coming in the second half. Guard Chibuzo Agbo followed with 17 points.

First Half

Ohio State shot worse than 33% in each of its previous losses to Northwestern and UCLA. The Buckeyes more than bucked that trend early against USC.

A 14-of-17 shooting start built a 36-21 lead for Ohio State across the first 14 minutes of the game. That included a perfect 5-of-5 streak from behind the 3-point line, with Mobley sinking two, Aaron Bradshaw nailing one and Thornton getting on the board with a splash off the dribble before Parrish made a second-chance look from distance.

Parrish came out particularly hot outside a bad early turnover, collecting 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in that opening 14-minute stretch to help the Buckeyes build their advantage. Not to be outdone, Thornton racked up 10 points while Mobley added eight on a 3-of-4 streak.

BT with back to back buckets, he's got 10 points so far tonight

: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/3zOi0hbLDC

— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 27, 2025

Seven consecutive makes closed the scoring start, which included a 9-0 run for Ohio State. Two USC 3s cut the lead back to single digits at 38-29, but freshman Colin White got in on the 3-point action with his own step-back triple off a dribble to make it 45-33 with less than three minutes left in the half.

Mobley called a heat check for the team with a deep contested 3 off a dribble and it still went down, making it an 8-for-8 start from downtown before he finally missed one a few minutes later. A Parrish layup extended the edge to 52-35 in the meantime, and the Buckeyes carried a 52-38 lead into the locker room.

In one half, Ohio State managed more points (52) than it did all game against Northwestern (49). The Buckeyes shot 73.1% from the field – the highest mark for any Big Ten team in one half this season – and 88.9% from 3 in the opening 20 minutes.

The Buckeyes shot 73.1% in the first half against USCthe highest FG% in a first half of any @bigten game this season @OhioStateHoops from beyond the arc? 8-9 #B1GMBBall on BTN pic.twitter.com/IFfCXeJsOa

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 27, 2025

Second Half

USC nailed a trio of triples to open the second half as Devin Royal answered with a pair of 3-point plays, one the old-fashioned and one the new-fashioned way.

But the Trojans gradually started chipping away. Yates collected four points at the free-throw line on a 6-0 run, then cut the advantage to 67-61 on a drive and finish. Mobley made it a 69-62 ballgame off a circus floater, but Yates converted another layup through a foul in response.

The exchange of buckets continued as Parrish splashed his third 3-pointer, but Rashaun Agee countered with a finger roll in close. Thornton hit two free throws, Yates collected another make around the rim. Then Yates converted what felt like his 50th and-one of the second half and suddenly Ohio State's once 15-point lead was down to 76-73 with less than five minutes to play.

Trojan guard Desmond Claude went coast-to-coast for a layup and it was a one-point contest, 76-75. The Buckeyes went 3:37 without scoring in total during the comeback, their second-half shooting percentage at a mere 33.3% after their blistering first half.

Ohio State held steady at the charity stripe, at least. The Buckeyes, who shot 84.6% at the line for the game, got a quartet of free throws from Thornton and Royal to re-extend their lead to 80-75.

But two jumpers from Agee and Claude brought it back to a tie ballgame for the first time since the opening minutes of the contest.

Royal still had fight left, though. He spun to the rim and converted through a foul to grab an 83-80 lead back for the Buckeyes with 41 seconds to play. Then Parrish came through with a steal and drew a whistle on Claude, fouling him out of the game and making it 84-80 Ohio State with 26 seconds left.

Ohio State forward Evan Mahaffey fouled out on the opposite end and the scoreline was back to 84-82, then Mobley split a pair at the line to make it 85-82.

The Buckeyes survived after a missed 3-pointer in the waning seconds by Yates.

What's Next

Ohio State plays its final home game of the season on Tuesday against Nebraska, who toppled the Buckeyes in Pinnacle Bank Arena earlier this season. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. on Peacock.

Game Notes

• Ohio State finally started to recover from the illness that has plagued the team the past week, with Mobley and Stewart each feeling healthier and Bradshaw returning to the lineup after a two-game absence.
• The Buckeyes are now in the Big Ten Tournament by 1.5 games with two remaining in their season.
• It was the first meeting for the Buckeyes and Trojans since 1997 when Ohio State won 79-73. OSU is now 5-3 all-time vs. USC.
• Former star Ohio State forward Evan Turner and guard William Buford were in attendance in Los Angeles.