Ohio State stopped their 3 game losing streak, roaring back from a 13 point halftime deficit and as many as 16 down in total, out scoring Purdue 20-4 in the opening 8 minutes of the second half to take their first lead and although they fell behind again by as many as 6, they finished the final 5:56 on an 18-9 run to upset of 11th ranked Purdue in their own building, grabbing a huge 73-70 road win and in the process halted Purdue’s 7 game overall and 26 game home winning streak. The Boilermakers were the recipient of a loss in Columbus in Coach Jake Diebler’s head coaching debut a year ago and although the venue changed, the results were the same this time as the Buckeyes grabbed a much needed win. Ohio State rebounded from a tough shooting first half to hit on 67% of their shots in the second half, 8 of 12 from three to outscore Purdue 45-29 in the second half, holding the Boilers to 38% shooting in the second half, 48% for the game. The Buckeyes hit 53% for the game and 11 of 23 from three and 14 of 17 from the stripe to overcome 18 turnovers to win in an environment that is as tough a place to win as any in college basketball. Ohio State improves to 11-8 and 3-5, while Purdue drops to 15-5 and 7-2. Micah Parrish scored 17 of his team and career high 22 points in the second half thanks to 5 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc in the second 20 minutes. Devin Royal added 16 and Bruce Thornton 11 in the winning effort. Purdue was led by Trey Kauffman-Renn with 26, while Fletcher Loyer chipped in 16 and Braden Smith added 11. 

Purdue raced out to an early lead, knocking down 5 of their first 7 shots to take a 10-5 lead into the first media timeout. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, had missed 4 of their first 6 attempts, with the only 2 buckets coming from a long wing three from John Mobley, Jr. and a pick and roll with Mobley and Aaron Bradshaw leading to a Bradshaw lay-in. Purdue extended their lead to 14-7 with Devin Royal’s 2 free throws being the lone score for the Buckeyes. At the 13:05 mark, Boilermaker star Braden Smith picked up his second personal foul, sending him to the pine and Mobley hit 2 freebies. After an old-fashioned three point play for Purdue, a driving Ques Glover fed Royal sliding along the baseline for a dunk and at the under 12 media timeout, Purdue led 17-11 with Buckeye guard John Mobley, Jr heading back to the locker room after being scratched in the eye.  6 straight Boiler points and a turnover forced Jake Diebler to call a timeout at the 8:12 mark with Purdue opening up a 23-11 lead. The Purdue run went to 12-2 with Ohio State’s only bucket coming on a Royal 15 foot jumper that banked through. A driving layup and three free throws by Royal cut the lead to 11. After a pair of Purdue free throws, Micah Parrish splashed in a triple and at the under 4, Purdue led 31-21. After 2 Boiler free throws dropped, Parrish hit a 17 foot jumper, but on the other end, Parrish picked up his third personal, creating a three point play for Purdue to extend the lead to 13. Glover answered, hitting 2 of 3 free throws after being fouled attempting a three, but a three on the other end extended the Purdue lead to 14. Another Buckeye turnover and two Boiler free throws matched Purdue’s largest lead of the half, before a Thornton triple dropped just before the break sent the team’s to the locker room with Purdue cruising to a 41-28 lead. 8 Buckeye turnovers led to 15 Purdue points fueling the big halftime margin. In addition to the points off turnovers, Purdue was red hot from the floor, hitting 60% of their shot attempts, while the Buckeyes struggled to just a 38% mark that included 3 of 11 from three. The Boilermakers also dominated in the paint, out scoring the Buckeyes 16-6, while out rebounding the Buckeyes 15-9. Devin Royal led Ohio State in the first 20 minutes with 11, while Purdue’s Trey Kauffman-Renn led all scorers with 14. 

Thornton opened the 2nd half the way he ended the first, drilling a three from the left wing and after a Boilermaker turnover, Thornton got to the stripe and hit the pair to slice the Purdue lead to 8. A Bradshaw bucket cut the lead to 6, but after a turnover each way, Purdue scored at the rim, stopping the Ohio State 10-0 run dating back to the end of the first half. A long Bradshaw jumper and a 10 foot baseline jumper by Glover got the Buckeyes a little closer and an offensive foul whistled on a bad screen by Purdue turned it back over to Ohio State and also sent the teams to their benches for the under 16 media timeout with Purdue clinging to a 43-39 lead. Out of the timeout, back to back triples by Parrish put the Buckeyes ahead for the first time and forced Purdue to call a timeout as Ohio State had scored 10 straight and was on a 20-2 run to take a 45-43 lead with 14:07 to play. After Purdue tied it out of the timeout, Thornton answered with a three, but Purdue came right back with a three of their own to re-tie the score and after an offensive foul turned it back over to Purdue, the under 12 media timeout was called at the 11:36 mark with the game deadlocked at 48. The Buckeyes broke the tie when Sean Stewart hit a straight on three at the end of the shot clock and after a Purdue bucket, Mobley hit a runner high off the window. Back to back Purdue buckets forced Jake Diebler to take a 30 second timeout with 8:35 remaining and the Boilermakers back in front 54-53. 5 more Boilermaker points forced another Buckeye timeout and with 7:10 to go, Purdue was on a 9-0 run to lead 59-53. A short jumper by Sean Stewart got the Buckeyes back to within 4 and after a defensive stop, Parrish hit a long three from the left wing. Another defensive stop later a lob from Thornton to Royal for a dunk put Ohio State back ahead and added to the lead when Parrish split the defense and scored off the window, forcing Purdue to take a timeout at the 3:55 mark with Ohio State on a 9-0 run and leading 62-59. The run continued out of the timeout when Parrish splashed another three from the right wing and after a Boiler turnover, Parrish drilled yet another three from the right corner and the Buckeyes led by 9 with just over 2 ½ to play. A pair of Purdue freebies stopped the 15-0 Buckeye run and a Boiler bucket with just under 2 to play cut the lead to 5. After a pair of Buckeye turnovers, Purdue scored on back to back possessions and Ohio State took their final timeout with 45.7 seconds to play and the Boilermakers on an 8-0 run to close to within 1, 68-67. A Mobley corner jumper, that looked like a three, but called a two, caught nothing but net with 30 seconds left and after a defensive stop, Ohio State turned it over with 10.9 to play leading by 3. A backcourt foul put Purdue on the stripe with 9 seconds left. Purdue drained the pair and Purdue, with fouls to give, fouled in the backcourt with 5 seconds left. Another foul with 3.6 to play put Royal at the stripe where he bagged the pair. The Buckeyes fouled in the backcourt and after they made the first, trying to intentionally miss the second, hit a board ball giving the ball back to Ohio State. Another Boiler foul put Royal back on the stripe with 1.9 to play where he made the first and after missing the second, a three quarter court attempt for the Boilers fell well short as the horn sounded and the Buckeyes celebrated the upset win. 

What a massive win for these Buckeyes. After coming up just short in losing 4 of their last 5 and actually outscoring their opponents in conference play since the Maryland loss despite the 2-5 record coming in, they just were not able to get over the hump. It looked like more of the same for 19 minutes, but a Thornton triple just before the first half horn may have been the spark they needed as they opened the second half on a 17-2 run to grab their first lead. Showing their continued fight after they fell behind again, a 15-0 run to get a 9 point lead and hang on for a rare opponent win in that building says so much about the fight and drive of this ball club. They clearly believe in each other and their coaches with the way they never quit. This is a difficult league and despite having no real elite teams, every game is going to be a dog fight so a win like this may be something that can carry them forward and create a little momentum moving forward. They still struggle with valuing the basketball, but assisting on 13 of 24 made buckets shows how unselfish this group is and always willing to make the extra pass. Is this the win that carries them forward, time will tell, but for now it was certainly a huge road win that makes up for some of the home struggles. What a last couple days for Buckeye nation. A football national championship last night and a massive upset road win for the men’s basketball team tonight, as always it’s great to be a Buckeye.

Ohio State will be off for the next six days before hosting Iowa in the Schott on Monday night. Tip time is scheduled for 8PM on FS1.

-Jason Harris