A matchup with one of the nation’s top teams proved to be too much for Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Ohio State’s Big Ten Tournament run ended in blowout fashion on Saturday evening as the third-seeded Buckeyes suffered a 75-46 loss to No. 2 seed UCLA.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3 OHIO STATE | 8 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 46 |
| #2 UCLA | 22 | 22 | 23 | 8 | 75 |
UCLA quickly pulled away and never looked back as the Buckeyes suffered their second loss of the year to the Bruins, who handed Ohio State a 65-52 loss in the regular-season meeting between the teams on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles.
Making matters worse, Ohio State stars Jaloni Cambridge and Cotie McMahon – the Buckeyes’ top two scorers for the season – both went back to the locker room with injuries in the third quarter as Cambridge suffered an apparent ankle injury and McMahon suffered an apparent elbow injury. Neither returned to the game, though both returned to the bench in the fourth quarter. Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said he was unsure of the severity of their injuries during his postgame press conference, though he said he hoped they were “nothing long-term.”
UCLA started dominating the game right away, outscoring Ohio State 22-8 in the first quarter as it made 10 of its first 14 shots from the field while the Buckeyes shot just 3-of-14 in the first 10 minutes. The Bruins ended the first half with more than twice as many points as the Buckeyes, outscoring Ohio State 44-21 in the first two quarters as it made 20 of its 30 first-half shots while OSU shot just 9-of-30 in the first 20 minutes.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | UCLA |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | POINTS | 75 |
| 19-57 (33.3%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 32-63 (50.8%) |
| 3-10 (30%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 11-24 (45.8%) |
| 5-11 (45.5%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 0-0 |
| 12 | TURNOVERS | 16 |
| 25 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 43 |
| 6 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 10 |
| 19 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 33 |
| 9 | BENCH POINTS | 11 |
| 5 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 9 | STEALS | 6 |
| 9 | ASSISTS | 25 |
The Bruins extended their lead to 37 points by the end of the third quarter as they outscored the Buckeyes 23-9 in the first 10 minutes after halftime. The game ended with a 29-point margin.
Ohio State must now wait eight days to find out whether its 25-6 record will be enough to earn a spot on the top four seedlines in this year’s NCAA Tournament, which will determine whether the Buckeyes host first- and second-round tournament games for the third year in a row. The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced on Selection Sunday, March 16, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
“We are where we are, so we won’t dwell on that,” McGuff said when asked about his team’s résumé during his postgame press conference. “Moreso, what can we do right now to make sure we’re prepared as possible when we get an opponent and a path.”
UCLA will face No. 1 seed USC in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament championship game (4:30 p.m., CBS) with both teams looking to win the tournament in their first year as conference members.
