Ohio State got back to playing winning basketball, going on the road and despite struggling offensively much of the night, brought home a 89-88 double-overtime victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Buckeyes, winners of 4 out of their last 5, improved to 10-5, 2-2 while Minnesota lost their second straight and dropped to 8-7, 0-4. A game that featured 24 lead changes, Ohio State tied it in the closing seconds of regulation when Devin Royal took a John Mobley, Jr. pass and dunked as he was fouled and but missed the free throw and the Buckeyes missed a pair of follow ups sending the game to overtime where Minnesota never trailed but a brain cramp backcourt foul in the closing seconds of the first overtime by the Gophers allowed Ohio State to tie it and send the game to a second overtime where they opened the 2nd extra frame with an 8-0 run to take control and survive a late Gopher flurry to finish off a hard fought road win. Ohio State rebounded after a terrible shooting first half to shoot 56.5% in the second half to get it to overtime and ultimately shoot 43% for the game which included just 27% from beyond the arc. Minnesota shot 45.7% and hit 12 of 20 from long range. The Buckeyes won in large part due to the free throw shooting, drilling 29 of their 33 attempts compared to just 12 of 29 for the Gophers. Devin Royal led Ohio State with 19 points and 7 rebounds, and Bruce Thornton added 18. Ques Glover hit 4 big free throws late in the second overtime and finished with 13, while John Mobley, Jr. chipped in 12 to go along with 4 assists. Micah Parrish also scored 11 points and added 7 rebounds in the win. Minnesota got a game high 21 from Parker Fox, 20 from Lu’Cye Patterson, and 18 each from Mike Mitchell and Isaac Asuma, while leading scorer, Dawson Garcia, who came in averaging over 20 per game was held to just 5 before fouling out at the end of regulation.
The teams alternated buckets in the early going after John Mobley, Jr. opened the scoring by getting into the paint off the dribble and his leaner dropped. After a Gopher hoop, Devin Royal banked in a leaner in the paint. Royal added a pair of free throws after another Gopher bucket and the Buckeyes led by a pair. A 6-2 Minnesota run led into the first media timeout as the Gophers took a 10-8 lead to the bench, with the lone Buckeye score coming from an offensive rebound and dunk by Aaron Bradshaw. Colin White’s right corner three put Ohio State back in front, but the Gophers scored the next 4 to take a 14-11 lead into the under 12 media timeout. Bruce Thornton got on the board with a pump fake and a couple dribbles to free space and hit the short jumper and after a Gopher turnover, Bradshaw hit a jumper at the stripe to put the Buckeyes back on top. The lead changed hands quickly as Minnesota scored quickly on the other end. The Buckeyes regained the lead when excellent ball movement led to a Thornton triple from the right wing forcing Minnesota to take a 30 second timeout with Ohio State leading 18-16 and just under 9 to play in the first half. Minnesota came out of the timeout and grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to tie it, but the Buckeyes answered when Mobley found Royal cutting back door for a lay-in and at the under 8, Ohio State led 20-18. The Buckeyes extended the lead when Mobley got into the lane and scored off the window with a scoop. The Gophers scored the next 5 to grab the lead, but a Parrish left corner three stopped the run and put the Buckeyes back on top at the under 4 media timeout, 25-23. Two free throws by Royal extended the lead but a quick Minny three cut the lead to 1 and a Gopher dunk forced Jake Diebler to take a timeout with 29 seconds left in the first half and the Gophers leading 28-27. Neither team could muster anything in the closing seconds as the Gophers took a 1 point lead into the locker room as Minnesota closed the half on a 5-0 run. A pathetic half offensively for Ohio State, shooting just 33% from the floor which included a miserable 3 of 15 from beyond the arc. The Gophers weren’t much better, hitting on 38.7% and 3 of 12 from downtown. A 16-10 advantage for Minnesota in the paint was the difference in a half that saw 11 lead changes. Devin Royal led Ohio State with 8 first half points while Minnesota was led by Parker Fox who had a game high 11 at the break.
The Buckeyes opened the second half scoring at the stripe where Royal knocked down a pair putting Ohio State back ahead and Royal banked in a leaner from the right block to extend the lead. A pair of free throws got Minnesota on the board for the first time in the second half and after a pair of Ohio State turnovers, the Gophers scored to regain the lead. Parrish scored on a dribble drive from the right wing to change the lead again, but a bucket and foul on the other end took the game to the under 16 media timeout as Minnesota was once again leading 34-33. Out of the timeout, the free throw dropped to complete the three point play and put the Gophers up a a pair. A technical foul on the Gophers put Thornton on the stripe and he dropped in the pair to tie the game. Ohio State regained the lead when Ques Glover scored on a baseline drive and reverse lay in, but a three on the other end answered and the lead changed hands once again. Thornton got to the rim and scooped it in off the glass, but another Gopher triple answered. A Mobley three from the left wing was answered by a Gopher three, but a Glover three from the top put the Buckeyes ahead at the under 12, 45-44. Stewart added to the lead, scoring from just above the left block, but Minnesota answered with 7 in a row to go back in front by 4 and Jake Diebler took a timeout at the 9:21 mark with Minnesota leading 51-47. A Stewart dunk out of the timeout, taking a feed from Royal to cut the deficit to 2 and at the under 8, Minnesota was clinging to a 55-49 lead. 2 Gopher freebies extended the lead, but 2 on the other end by Thornton kept the deficit at 2. A Gopher triple after an offensive rebound extended the Minnesota lead, but on the other end Royal went to the line and split the pair cutting the deficit to 4 with just over 6 minutes to play. Another Gopher three added to the lead, but a runner by Parrish banked in to cut the deficit to 5. After a defensive stop, the Buckeyes got out in transition where Parrish fed Stewart at the rim for a flush and Minnesota took a timeout with 4:29 to play and the Gopher lead trimmed to 59-56. A tip in extended the lead for Minnesota, but a pair of Royal free throws answered and after a Minnesota turnover, Royal grabbed an offensive rebound and scored at the rim to get Ohio State to within 1. Minnesota split a pair of freebies and Parrish drove the lane and scored off the window to tie the game with just under 2 to play. After Minnesota missed two free throws, the Buckeyes turned it over and in transition Minnesota took the lead with a dunk and Ohio State took a timeout with 1:14 to play and the Gophers leading 64-62. The Buckeyes turned it over again out of the timeout, but a steal on the other end and a Parrish three that seemingly took the lead for Ohio State was negated when Coach Diebler took a timeout with 16 seconds to play. Out of the timeout, Mobley found Royal at the rim and he flushed it while being fouled to tie the score and Minnesota took a timeout with 5.3 seconds to play and the game deadlocked at 64. Out of the timeout, Royal missed the freebie and after a pair of offensive rebounds and opportunities, Ohio State couldn’t get a shot to fall and the game went to overtime.
Ohio State got the tip but a questionable travelling call on Thornton gave the ball to Minnesota where a tough fade away in the paint fell. A Glover pull up 10 footer tied the game. Minnesota broke the tie at the stripe with a pair of freebies and after a Buckeye turnover, a Gopher hoop extended the lead to 4 with 1;40 to play. Two Thortnon free throws trimmed the lead to 2, but a Gopher jumper answered with a minute to play. A pair of Parrish free throws cut the lead back to 2 with 44 seconds left. Minnesota took a timeout with 40 seconds to play leading 72-70. The Gophers turned it over to the Buckeyes with 23 seconds to play after an official review and a very questionable travelling call on Parrish turned the ball back to Minnesota with 11 seconds to play. Ohio State fouled on the inbound and Minnesota missed the first. After Ohio State took a timeout, the second free throw fell, putting Minnesota up 3. Minnesota fouled Mobley advancing the ball up court and Mobley missed the first and made the second, cutting the lead to 2 with just under 8 seconds to play. The Buckeyes fouled immediately on the inbounds and both freebies were missed and Minnesota inexplicably fouled Mobley in the backcourt with 4.2 seconds remaining. Mobley buried the pair to tie the game. A long three at the horn clanged off target and the game went to a second OT.
Thornton opened the second overtime with a triple and after a defensive stop, an old-fashioned three point play by Bradshaw extended the lead to 6, their largest lead thus far. A Glover runner added to the lead. Minnesota stopped the 8-0 Buckeye run with a 15 foot jumper, but a pair of Thornton free throws kept the Gophers at arm’s length. Minnesota scored the next 4 to cut the lead to 4 with 24 seconds to play. Minnesota started playing the foul game, putting Mobley on the line where he canned two. A Gopher triple cut the lead to 3 and after nearly turning it over in the backcourt, Thornton fed Glover who was fouled. Glover knocked down both to put Ohio State up 5 with 10 seconds left. Another Gopher three with 5 seconds to play cut the lead to 2 and Glover was immediately fouled. Glover buried the pair to seal it. A wild three with a tenth of a second to play cut the Buckeye lead to 1 but it would be too little too late for Minnesota as Ohio State escaped with the win.
As they always say, a road win is a good win, but it was definitely not a thing of beauty for the Buckeyes who can safely say were bailed out in this one. Despite not playing their best basketball, they found a way to win and a big reason why was the free throw shooting. The stripe hasn’t been a strength for this basketball team all season long, but it absolutely was on this night. While the Gophers struggled at the line, the Buckeyes took advantage and ultimately won it even though one of the misses ironically could have won the game in regulation. Still, they did what they had to do and grinded out a tough, physical game and made enough plays to survive. Consistency is still something this group is striving to find, but any time you can get a win, especially when the outside shot isn’t falling, it’s a good night. Minnesota is definitely not a team that will contend in the Big Ten and very possibly will finish near or at the bottom of the standings, so Ohio State needed this one in a big way and fortunately the plane trip home will be a happy one. They will have to be much, much better at home on Thursday, but coming off a tough, road win builds confidence and heading into a game with a solid Oregon team off a win is obviously preferred.
The Buckeyes head back home for another quick turn around, hosting 15th ranked Oregon in the Schott on Thursday evening. Tip time is scheduled for 6PM and airing on BTN.
-Jason Harris