It didn’t take a miracle finish tonight, but it did take a full 40 minutes of physical basketball. The Buckeyes, who were playing without leading scorer and point guard, Bruce Thornton, out with a migraine, got a big night from Jamison Battle, who scored a game and season high 32 points to lead Ohio State to their 3rd win in 4 games under interim coach Jake Diebler, downing Nebraska in the penultimate home game of the season, 78-69. Ohio State improves to 17-12 and 7-11, while Nebraska slips to 20-9, 10-8. Ohio State utilized a late first half 13-3 run to turn a 7 point deficit into a 2 point halftime lead, building a lead as large as 11 in the second half to get a big quad 2 win. Ohio State’s defense turned up the pressure late in the first half and the entire 2nd half, holding Nebraska to 34% shooting on the night, while hitting 44% themselves, including 8 of 21 from downtown. The Buckeyes also hit the glass in a big way, out rebounding the Huskers by 10 and were the aggressor for much of the night, getting into the paint, forcing the action and it resulted in a 28 to 8 differential in free throw attempts. In addition to Battle’s big night, Roddy Gayle added 16 and 10 rebounds for his 3rd double-double on the season, and Devin Royal chipped in 13. Nebraska was led by Rienk Mast and Jamarques Lawrence, who each scored 14.
A pair of offensive rebounds and a triple put Nebraska on the board first as Ohio State turned it over on its first two possessions. A Jamison Battle triple knotted the score and after a Buckeye steal, Battle got fouled attacking the rim in transition. Battle knocked down the ensuing free throws to give the Buckeyes the early lead. On the next Husker possession, Battle picked off a pass and went the other way and pulled at the top of the key and drilled another three. A Husker triple on the other end stopped the 8-0 Buckeye run and cut the lead to 2, but Battle drilled yet another three to answer. Roddy Gayle grabbed a Nebraska miss and went coast to coast, finishing at the rim with a reverse lay-in as Ohio State had it rolling early. A Nebraska offensive foul turned it back to the Buckeyes, but not before the under 16 media timeout and the teams retreated to their respective benches with Ohio State leading 13-6. Out of the timeout, the Huskers went on a 8-0 run to regain the lead, before excellent ball movement led to Evan Mahaffey banking in a jumper from just above the right block. The Huskers scored the next 5 before Jake Diebler called a timeout with Nebraska now leading 19-15, having out scored Ohio State 13-2 over the last 4 minutes. Out of the timeout, a Buckeye turnover led to an easy transition lay up, but Devin Royal knocked down a 10 footer to get Ohio State back on the board. After the Huskers scored on their end, Taison Chatman drilled a three from the left wing to get Ohio State to within 3. A Buckeye turnover led to another Nebraska bucket and after Gayle was fouled attempting a shot in the paint, the under 8 minute media timeout was called with Nebraska holding a 25-20 lead. Gayle went to the stripe after the timeout and knocked down the pair to cut the Husker lead back to 3 and after a Nebraska miss, Ohio State turned it over again leading to an easy transition lay-in. Gayle got back to the stripe on the next possession where he knocked down two to get the deficit back to 3. A 4-0 Husker run extended the lead to 7 before a left corner three by Scotty Middleton found the bottom. Nebraska answered with a three of their own before Gayle went to the line on back to back trips and hit 3 of 4 and at the under 4, Nebraska led 34-30. Nebraska went to the stripe out of the timeout and split the pair but Ohio State scored the next 5 to get even. A Middleton three was followed by a transition lay-in by Battle forcing Nebraska to take a timeout with 2:10 left in the half and the game tied at 35. Nebraska turned it over to Ohio State out of the timeout and Battle took a hesitation dribble near the paint and went to the rim to lay it in, putting Ohio State back ahead. A pair of Battle freebies extended the lead. A pair of Nebraska free throws stopped the 9-0 Ohio State run and end the scoring for the first 20 minutes with Ohio State out-scoring Nebraska 13-3 over the final 4:57 to take a 39-37 lead into the locker room. The Buckeyes led, despite allowing Nebraska to score 9 points off of 8 turnovers. Ohio State shot 41% from the floor and hit 6 of 16 from three as compared to Nebraska , who hit 44% and 5 of 15 from deep. The Buckeyes out rebounded Nebraska in the first 20 minutes by a 20-16 count and took advantage of 5 Nebraska turnovers, to score 8. Jamison Battle led Ohio State at the half with a game high 17 and Roddy Gayle added 9. Kesei Tominaga scored 9 to pace the Cornhuskers.
The Buckeyes came out of the locker room with a purpose, scoring the first 7 points of the second half to build a 9 point lead. Gayle got it started, scoring off a dribble drive and after Royal lobbed to Felix Okpara who got it to go through contact and finished the old-fashioned three point play with the free throw, Ohio State was rolling. A two man game between Battle and Royal, led to Royal banking one off the glass before Nebraska finally got on the board at the 15:30 mark to stop the 7-0 run and at the first media timeout, Ohio State led 46-39. A Royal 17 footer extended the lead before a long Husker 3 quieted the crowd and cut the lead to 6. After a Battle runner fell, another Husker triple cut back into the lead, but a Middleton triple from the top answered. Nebraska hit a runner mid-paint and after Battle was fouled trying to score in the lane, the under 12 media timeout was called with Ohio State holding a 53-47 lead. Battle knocked down both free throws coming out of the timeout, but an old-fashioned three point play on the other end after an offensive rebound trimmed the lead back to 5. After a Buckeye miss, a Husker triple sliced the lead down to 2, but quickly the other way, a down screen freed up Battle, who drilled a three to answer. After a Husker turnover, Battle drilled a jumper just below the top of the key, but a Husker three trimmed the lead back to 4. On the other end, Royal tipped in his own miss as he was fouled and his free throw fell, completing the old-fashioned three point play and extended the Buckeye lead to 7. A Nebraska tip in, which appeared to be offensive goaltending, trimmed the lead and at the under 8 media timeout, Ohio State led 63-58. A Husker bucket out of the timeout closed the deficit to 3, but a Gayle rebound and score answered. Nebraska came right back with a three and, attacking the rim, Royal got to the line, knocking down the pair to put Ohio State up 4. A Husker dunk, with authority, cut the lead back to 2, but a pair of Battle free throws kept Ohio State up two possessions and at the final media timeout to go and 3:58 remaining, Ohio State led 69-65. A pair of Nebraska free throws cut the lead to two before empty possessions each way put the ball back into Ohio State’s hands and Jake Diebler took a timeout with 3:10 to play. A pair of Royal free throws after he was fouled grabbing an offensive rebound, extended the lead and after a defensive stop, Gayle got to the rim and scored with a scoop off the glass. An offensive foul on the other end gave the ball back to the Buckeyes and Battle was fouled as he attacked the rim. Both freebies fell to extend the lead to 8 and after another defensive stop, Battle dropped in a short jumper in the middle of the lane and Nebraska called a timeout with 1:31 to play and Ohio State leading 77-67 and the crowd was on their feet. Gayle missed three of four free throws before a Husker bucket fell and after a Nebraska timeout, Ohio State advanced to the front court as the horn sounded in the Buckeye win.
The Buckeyes continue to surprise. On the surface this was a winnable game against a Nebraska team that struggles away from home, but finding out just before the game they would be without the services of Bruce Thornton, the task seemed much less likely. Jake Diebler has these guys playing good basketball. It’s a different style than we’ve been used to, pushing the pace at every opportunity and playing an attacking and physical brand of basketball that’s ultimately turning into big victories down the stretch of the season. The question was who was going to step up in Bruce’s absence and that was answered quickly as Battle came out red hot from three. It continued for 40 minutes as he was able to score at all three levels and was able to get to the line where he converted all 10 of his attempts. Roddy Gayle was on the attack all night long, taking the ball to the rack and getting to the line at a high rate and doing all the little things to help this team get a big win. Collectively, the entire team was connected on the defensive end, forcing Nebraska into tough shots and in most cases, limiting them to one and done. Coming off the bench, Devin Royal made his presence known on both ends for a second straight game and continues to grow up before our very eyes. All of a sudden, the NCAA tournament hopes are not out of the question. Sitting at 17 wins with 2 to go and a pair of quad 1 wins and a quad 2 tonight, and the way they are playing right now, there is some hope. Short of winning the Big Ten tournament, winning these final two very winnable games is a must and at least one in the tournament will put them firmly on the bubble and at the very least put them in the conversation.
Ohio State will host Michigan in the home finale on Sunday afternoon. Tip time is scheduled for 4PM on CBS.
-Jason Harris
[TS_Poll id=”2″]