Jackson Triple Caps Double Overtime Win Over Indiana

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The Buckeyes needed a victory in Bloomington to stay in the hunt for a conference title. It took two overtimes, but a C.J Jackson three with 1.7 seconds secured the 80-78 victory for Ohio State. Previously this year the only other overtime game for OSU was a loss to Butler. You could not have asked for a closer game as it was tied at the half, at the end of regulation, the end of the first OT, and it took a last second bucket to separate the two teams in the second extra period. Indiana ends the regular season with a record of 16-14, and 9-9 in the Big Ten, it will take a B1G tournament crown to get them in the big dance.  Ohio State sits at 24-7 overall, 15-3 in conference play and should be no worse than a 4 seed on your March Madness brackets.
 
It did not look like this would be such a close game part way through the first half. The team teams battled back and forth for the first few minutes of the game but Ohio State enjoyed a stretch where they scored 9 unanswered points and took a 26-14. A Cam Williams lay-up forced Indiana coach Archie Miller to call a time out. But the stoppage must have worked as the rest of the half, the Hoosiers outscored the Bucks 19-7 to lock things up 33-33 at the half.​
 
Ohio State tried to separate themselves to start the half and managed to have a 7 point lead after a Jae’Sean Tate basket at the 16:05 mark but that was the biggest lead they would enjoy the rest of the game. Indiana bounced back to tie it 48-48 and it was very tight the rest of the way. With the score tied 63-63 with 22 seconds remaining, Indiana had the ball for a final shot opportunity. But Robert Johnson missed a shot with 3 seconds remaining which sent to the game into the first overtime. Kaleb Wesson had 5 of OSU’s 7 points in the first OT, but he Indiana had 7 points as well which set up the dramatic second overtime.
 
In the second overtime, Indiana did not seem as sharp, they may have been feeling the fatigue of the moment rather than the adrenaline. Keita Bates-Diop, who lead all scoring with 24, and Tate took over for the Buckeyes and had them positioned to win with a 77-76 lead and the ball with under a minute to play. Andrew Dakich lost the ball with 16 second breathing some life for the Hoosiers. Their star Juwan Morgan had one more big play in him scoring under the bucket with 0:07 left on the clock, giving the home team a 78-77 lead. Without any time-outs, C.J. Jackson took the ball across mid court and without hesitation fired a long three, even by NBA standards, which found the bottom of the net with :01.7 showing on the clock. Indiana had no response and the game came to a close.
 
The win was great, but the one glaring separation for these two teams tonight was Ohio State only managed 4 points off the bench while the Hoosiers enjoyed 32 points from their subs. Perhaps it was not part of Holtmann’s game plan but we do need to get more production from Andre Wesson, Micah Potter and Andrew Dakich.
 
While I enjoy the win, it is hard for me to watch the game and not comment on the officiating. Once again, it appeared there was a lot of ticky-tack fouls called on the Buckeyes and their opponents were getting away with a lot of aggressive contact without penalty. This match-up included several fouls on Ohio State away from the ball.  Even Len Elmore, made note of it on several occasions. OSU had the Wesson brothers foul out and Jae’Sean Tate played most of the second half and overtime periods in foul trouble. Maybe it is nothing and I am looking through scarlet tinted glasses but Buckeyes were called for 21 fouls compared to only 13 for Indiana. 13 fouls in 50 minutes of play?  Really? It did not cost them this game but I look forward to seeing their games in the tournament with non-Big Ten officials.
 
The Buckeyes will now wait to see how the rest of the Big Ten finishes but they do have until next Friday to rest as they have secured a bye for the first two rounds. If Wisconsin can upset Michigan State in Madison, OSU will get a share of the conference crown and secure the #1 seed for the Big Ten tournament. If the Spartans win, Ohio State will settle for the #2 seed and face the winner of the 7/10 match-up. Four teams are still in play for those slots but one of them is Penn State.  Wouldn’t it be nice to get to see the Lions one more time this season with a chance redeem the two losses during the regular season?
 
 – Gregg Watson​​ 
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