Ohio State completed the regular season with their 4th straight win and 5th in 6 tries under interim coach Jake Diebler, pulling away in the second half to drub host Rutgers 73-51 sending the Scarlet Knights down to their 5th loss in 6 games. Ohio State finishes the season 19-12 and 9-11 while Rutgers falls to 15-16 and 7-13.  The Buckeyes led by 10 before Rutgers converted their first field goal and never trailed despite the Scarlet Knights closing to within two at the half. A 16-2 run early in the second half enabled Ohio State to pull away and coast to their 2nd straight road win and put their name firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble. Ohio State got hot in the second half and hit 50% of their shot attempts for the game, including 7 of 20 from three, while holding Rutgers to just 27% shooting on the afternoon. Despite turning it over 15 times, Ohio State forced 11 of their own, which led to a 14 advantage on the fast break. Ohio State put 4 in baubles, led by Roddy Gayle’s game high 14. Bruce Thornton added 11 and Jamison Battle chipped in 10. Felix Okpara also added 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks to help lead Ohio State to the win. Rutgers was led by 11 from Aundre Hyatt and 10 from Cliff Omoruyi.

Ohio State got off to a quick start. After Rutgers got the tap and promptly turned it over, Ohio State broke backcourt pressure and Evan Mahaffey found Jamison Battle in the right corner for a three. The Buckeyes kept pouring it on, adding a three from Roddy Gayle and a rebound and score from Felix Okpara to put Ohio State up 8-0 before the Knights finally got on the board with a free throw and at the under 16, the Buckeyes led 8-1. Ohio State added to the lead when Devin Royal bagged a pair of free throws and Zed Key split a pair. The Scarlet Knights cut into the lead with a pair of free throws and secured their first field goal with a dunk at the 12:33 mark. Taison Chatman banked in a triple from the top after Mahaffey grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out and at the under 12 media timeout, Ohio State led 14-5. Rutgers cut into the lead when a pick and roll led to an uncontested dunk, but on the other end, Okpara tipped in a Thornton miss to answer. A pair of Rutgers free throws and a three cut the lead to 4. Two Thornton free throws stopped the mini Rutgers run and at the under 8, the Buckeyes led 18-12.  Dale Bonner hit a corner three on Ohio State’s first possession out of the timeout but a Rutgers three cut back into the lead. Thornton answered, getting to the rim off the bounce and scoring. After a defensive stop and pick and roll led to an easy Okpara bucket. Rutgers hit a 15 footer on their end and after a Buckeye turnover, their 8th thus far, a rebound and put back through contact sent the teams to their benches for the under 4 and with a free throw coming, Ohio State led 25-19. Out of the timeout, the free throw dropped to complete the old-fashioned three point play, cutting the lead to 5. Two free throws by Thornton upped the lead back to 7 and when Thornton grabbed a bad pass, Gayle hit a runner on the other end. A pair of Scarlet Knight buckets cut back into the lead before Key split a pair of free throws. Two Rutgers free throws trimmed the lead to 4 and as Rutgers regained possession,  with 46 seconds remaining, the Knights took a timeout as Ohio State’s lead was trimmed to 30-26. An offensive rebound put back cut the lead to 2 and Jake Diebler took a timeout with 16 seconds left in the half.  With 2 seconds left in the half, Thornton was whistled for traveling and a Rutgers attempt at the horn clanged off target as Ohio State, who led by as many as 10 on two separate occasions, took a 30-28 lead into the locker room despite going scoreless in the last 2 plus minutes of the half. Rutgers’ comeback was fueled in large part by 9 Buckeye first half turnovers. Both teams played solid half court defense as Ohio State shot just 41% from the floor, including 4 of 10 from long range. Rutgers, who scored 8 of the last 10 points of the half to get within 2, shot an anemic 31% and just 2 of 10 from beyond the arc. Bruce Thornton and Felix Okpara had 6 each to lead Ohio State, while Aundre Hyatt led Rutgers with 8. 

Ohio State kicked off the second half scoring when Okpara bagged a pair of free throws. Rutgers answered with a short jumper in the paint, but Gayle lobbed to Okpara for a dunk to answer. Ohio State extended the lead when Battle hit a short jumper in the lane. After a defensive stop, Royal had his pocket picked in the backcourt for an uncontested dunk. It would stay right there until the under 16 media timeout with Ohio State holding a 36-32 lead. Coming out of the timeout, Rutgers split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three, but a wide open Battle triple on the other end answered and put Ohio State back up 6. After the Buckeyes forced a miss, Gayle finished a circus scoop and score on their end and all of a sudden the Buckeyes were back up 8. After an offensive foul turned it back over to Ohio State and the Buckeyes made them pay as Gayle drilled a corner three to give Ohio State an 11 point lead. Rutgers split a pair of free throws to stop an 8-0 Buckeye run and with both teams getting a little sloppy with the basketball, the under 12 media timeout was called without any additional scoring and Ohio State leading 44-34. Rutgers had the possession out of the timeout and Scotty Middleton picked off an errant pass and took it the other way for a lay in.  Rutgers split a pair of free throws and on the other end, Mahaffey grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked to Thornton for a three and Ohio State led by 14. The Buckeyes lead grew to 15 when Middleton buried a triple from the top and Jake Diebler took a timeout with 9:09 to play and Ohio State on a 16-2 run and leading 52-35. Rutgers cut into the lead with a pair of free throws, but Gayle found Royal with a wrap-around post pass for a dunk and at the under 8, Ohio State led 54-37. Out of the timeout, Gayle scored at the rim and after a Rutgers turnover, Ohio State broke the Rutgers press with Battle finding Royal for a dunk and the Buckeyes had opened up a 21 point lead. An old-fashioned three point play for Rutgers was answered by a Gayle jumper just above the stripe. Rutgers called a timeout with 5:32 to play after they drilled a three but Ohio State still led 60-43. After Battle scored with a finger roll in the lane, Rutgers knocked down two freebies. A backcourt foul walked it to the other end where Bonner drilled one of two to put the Buckeyes up 18. A Dale Bonner three and a Buckeye steal led to a transition lay up by Bonner as the Buckeyes were pouring it on and with 3:15 to play and at the under 4 media timeout, Ohio State led 68-45. Thornton went to the stripe out of the timeout and drilled the pair as Ohio State was on an 8-0 run. The run increased when Mahaffey bagged a pair of free throws and after a Rutgers three stopped the run as both teams emptied their benches, Rutgers split a pair of free throws. Taison Chatman split a pair of free throws and Rutgers scored at the rim to complete the scoring as Ohio State walked off the floor with their second straight road win. 

That’s a wrap on the regular season. It was a tumultuous trip through the Big Ten schedule, but one that finishes with a flourish as the Buckeyes seem to be clicking on all cylinders heading into the postseason. They aren’t just winning basketball games, they are playing with a high level of confidence on both ends of the floor and the tempo that they have played with under interim coach Jake Diebler is what we had hoped we would see all year long. The biggest improvement since the coaching change has been on the defensive end.  The level of connectivity and activity on that end has offset some of the lulls on offense and has allowed them to get our in transition where they have shined. Will it be enough to get them into the NCAA tournament, time will tell, but another quad 2 win certainly helps. They will likely need 2 wins in Minneapolis to get in, but there is certainly a chance and right now they are a team that nobody wants to play. They will be either the 9, 10 or 11 seed and their seed will not be finalized until the Big Ten completes play later tonight. Until then, the Buckeyes will carry the momentum into tourney prep and get primed for a deep run next week.

The Buckeyes will next tip it up on either Wednesday or Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis. Tip time and network for that one will be determined when the seed is finalized.

-Jason Harris