The 22^nd ranked Ohio State basketball team suffered their first loss of the season, losing to Purdue in West Lafayette by a final score of 67-60.  Ohio State, playing without leading scorer E.J. Liddell for the second straight game and Purdue took advantage, extending their defense without the inside scoring presence making things extremely difficult for the Buckeyes on the perimeter, hitting just 6 of 24 three point attempts, many of which were contested. Justice Sueing led Ohio State with 14 and Duane Washington added 13 on just 4 of 14 shooting. The Buckeyes shot just 38% from the field for the game compared to 47% for the victorious Boilermakers who did the majority of their damage inside against the thin front line of Ohio State.

After a pair of empty possessions each way to start the ball game, a Boilermaker three got Purdue on the board first.  The Buckeyes missed their first three shots and Purdue took advantage to take a 5-0 early lead. Ohio State finally got on the board when a Justice Sueing leaner in the middle of the lane went down and after a Purdue turnover, their third, Duane Washington converted a lay in while being fouled and converted at the stripe to tie it. Purdue regained the lead, scoring the next 5 to double up the Buckeyes, leading 10-5 before Sueing found Duane Washington, Jr in the left corner for a three to cut the lead to 2. A pair of Boilermaker buckets answered each time by a Kyle Young layup and Purdue took a 14-12 lead into the under 12 media timeout. The Buckeyes grabbed the lead when C.J. Walker found Gene Brown for three from the left wing. A Boiler free throw tied the score but the Buckeyes regained the lead when Walker found Justin Ahrens on the right wing and Ahrens drilled a triple to put the Buckeyes back up three. Sueing’s short jumper off the bounce put Ohio State up 5 and on a 8-1 run. A pair of free throws pulled Purdue back within 3, but Walker got to the rim for a lay up to put Ohio State right back up 5. The Boilermakers scored the next 5 to tie the score and with 6:31 left in the first 20 minutes, the score was deadlocked at 22. A pair of Purdue free throws had the Boilers on a 7-0 run and a 2-point lead. Sueing ended that run, driving the lane and being fouled and splitting the pair to cut the lead to one. The Boilers went back ahead three before Sueing found Musa Jallow along the baseline for a lay in while being fouled and Jallow buried the free throw to tie the score at 28. Purdue regained the lead just before the under 4 media timeout and with 3:44 to go in the first 20 minutes, Purdue was on top 30-28. Three straight Ohio State turnovers led to 6 straight Purdue points and an 8-0 run in total to force Chris Holtmann to call timeout, trailing 36-28. Ohio State answered the bell. Jimmy Sotos got to the rim off penetration and scored while getting fouled and he buried the freebie to cut the lead to five.  After a Boilermaker miss, in transition, Walker lobbed to Jallow for a lay in and Purdue called timeout as Ohio State cut the lead to three. Purdue would get a late bucket to take the five-point lead into the locker room with Purdue leading 38-33. Sueing led Ohio State with 7 and Duane Washington added 6 in the first 20 minutes. The Buckeyes hit 48% of their shot attempts but only 3 of 11 from long range. Purdue shot just 44% from the field and just 3 of 11 from beyond the arc but the Boilers had a big advantage at the free throw stripe, hitting all 11 of their attempts, while Ohio State got to the line just 5 times, hitting 4 of those.  As expected, Purdue dominated the glass in the first half, outrebounding Ohio State by an 18-11 margin.

Purdue scored early to go up 7, but on the next possession, Washington zipped a pass to a rolling Zed Key for a dunk to cut the lead back to 5. After a Boilermaker score, Sueing banged down a three to cut the lead to 4. A 6-0 Purdue run bumped the lead out to 10 forcing Ohio State to call timeout and with 15:53 remaining, Purdue enjoyed their largest lead of the game, 48-38. Out of the timeout, Walker found the bottom with a 10 footer and following a Purdue miss, Kyle Young caught at the block and found Musa Jallow streaking through the lane for a resounding dunk to cut the lead back to six. Following a Purdue offensive foul, Washington spun mid lane and got to the rim for a lay in to cut the lead to 4 and had Ohio State on a 6-0 run. Purdue ended that run, clanging in a three from the top to extend the lead back to 7. Sueing split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to six and at the under 12 media timeout, Purdue held a 51-45 advantage. Purdue would score the next 8 to take a commanding 14 point lead as the Buckeyes had gone 0 for their last 8 from the floor and getting loose with the basketball. Sueing buried a three from the top of the key to end the drought but another Boilermaker bucket put Purdue up 61-48 at the under 8 minute media timeout. A 6-2 Ohio State run trimmed the lead to 9, but the outside shots were not falling and the Buckeyes were battling score and clock with 4 minutes to go, trailing 63-54. A Purdue bucket pushed the lead back to 11 but a pair of Walker free throws and a Washington triple cut the lead to 6 with 2:50 to play. The Buckeyes had a chance to get the game to one possession but a Washington corner three clanged off the mark and Purdue scored on the ensuing possession to go back up 8 and the Buckeyes continued their struggles from the outside in attempts to slash into the lead. A Key free throw cut the lead to 7 but it would be too little too late for Ohio State.

It was always going to be a tough matchup for Ohio State with the lack of size inside but not having E.J. Liddell compounded matters.  Purdue, leaning on their big front line and knowing Ohio State lacked a scoring presence in the paint without Liddell, forced Ohio State way out on the perimeter and made things very difficult for the Buckeyes to get many open looks. For a stretch mid way through the second half, Ohio State look frustrated and got sloppy with the basketball which allowed Purdue to take a commanding lead that Ohio State just couldn’t overcome. The Buckeyes were always going to be thin across the front line this season but without arguably their best player and leading scorer, it was a rough go. Currently Liddell is day to day as he recovers from mononucleosis and Coach Chris Holtmann can’t get him back soon enough.  Along with Liddell, Buckeye fans also anticipate the long awaited debut of Seth Towns, the former All American forward from Harvard who will add much needed depth and scoring that this team desperately needs as they progress through the Big Ten season.

Ohio State will go out of conference for the final time as currently scheduled, playing in the CBS Sports Classic, being hosted this year in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.  The Buckeyes will take on UCLA on Saturday afternoon. Tip time is set for approximately 4:15 pm to be aired on CBS.