In what has been coined as bubble week, Ohio State played the first of two critical games against teams joining themselves on the NCAA tournament bubble. At the end of the night, in a battle between two desperate teams,  the Buckeyes moved a step closer to a bid, damaging Nebraska’s hopes, downing the visiting Cornhuskers 116-114 in double overtime in Ohio State’s home finale. Ohio State won their second straight to improve to 17-13, 9-10, while the suddenly reeling Huskers dropped their 4th straight and 5th in their last 6 to fall to 17-13, 7-12.The Buckeyes led for all but less than a minute of regulation, leading by as many as 11 before Nebraska came back late to force overtime. In the first overtime, Nebraska led for the majority of the extra frame before a pair of late threes brought Ohio State back to force the second overtime where Ohio State fell behind again, but led by Bruce Thornton, Micah Parrish and late John Mobley, Jr free throws, the Buckeyes survived to fight another day and keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. Ohio State shot 53% for the game assisting on half their made field goals, while hitting 12 of 32 from three. Nebraska hit on 53% of their shot attempts, including 12 of 28 from long range. Ohio State nailed 32 of 44 from the stripe, none bigger than the final four by Mobley and Nebraska made 20 of 28. Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 29 points and 9 assists, while Devin Royal and Micah Parrish added 22 each with Royal pulling down 8 rebounds and Parrish ripping down 6. John Mobley, Jr. added 20 and Sean Stewart chipped in 13 to go along with 7 rebounds. Nebraska got a game high 43 points by Brice Williams in a tremendous effort, while Juwan Gary added 24. Connor Essegian and Andrew Morgan added 16 and 14 respectively. 

Ohio State got off to a good start and thanks to 7 early Bruce Thornton points, the Buckeyes led 12-6 after 5 minutes. Devin Royal contributed with an old-fashioned three point play and Sean Stewart added a 15 foot jumper as Ohio State opened 5 of 7 shooting. Micah Parrish came out of the under 16 minute media timeout with a trip to the stripe where he canned the pair and after Nebraska scored on their end, Aaron Bradshaw scored five straight including a three from the head of the key to give Ohio State a 19-8 lead at the under 12 media timeout, The Huskers answered the Buckeyes with a 5 point trip to slice into the lead before Royal grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, but missed his free throw opportunity attempting to make it a three point play. After a Husker hoop, John Mobley, Jr. outscored Nebraska 5-1 capped by a three from the top to put Ohio State back up by 10. The Huskers answered with a 7-1 run of their own and at the under 8, the Buckeye lead was trimmed to 27-23. The run upped to 9-1 cutting the Buckeye lead to two before Mobley buried a right corner three and in transition Royal scored at the rim to increase the lead back to 7. After a quick Husker score, Bradshaw was fouled attempting a three and he hit all three as the Buckeyes led by 8 with 5 minutes left in the first half. A Nebraska triple was followed by a three by Parrish from the left wing and at the under 4 media timeout, the Buckeyes led 38-30. A 7-2 Husker run cut the lead to just three prompting Jake Diebler to call a timeout with 48 seconds remaining. A quick Thornton runner out of the timeout fell as Ohio State was looking for a two for one in the closing seconds. After Nebraska scored with 8 seconds to go, the Buckeyes raced the ball up the floor and Thornton fed Mobley who released from the logo and it fell for three at the horn giving Ohio State a 45-39 lead at the break as the two for one plan worked to perfection as the Buckeyes outscored the Huskers 5-1 in the final 40 seconds. Both teams hit 57% of their shot attempts with the Buckeyes knocking down 6 of 15 from long range, while Nebraska made just 2 of 9. Ohio State struggled from the stripe, hitting just 7 of 11, while Nebraska knocked down 5 of 8. The Buckeyes, who never trailed in the opening 20 minutes despite being outrebounded by Nebraska 15-11, forced 6 Husker turnovers while turning it over just 4 times themselves. John Mobley, Jr and Bruce Thornton each scored 11 first half points with the latter adding 5 assists and Devin Royal adding 8. Nebraska was led by 12 each from Brice Williams and Juwan Gary. 

The Huskers opened the second half hitting three triples and out scoring the Buckeyes 9-2 to take their first lead. Mobley put the Buckeyes back in front with a dribble drive and score and after Nebraska shifted back in front again, Royal grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to give Ohio State a 51-50 lead at the under 16 media timeout. Out of the timeout, Nebraska went to the stripe and split the pair to tie the game and on the other end Stewart tipped in a Mobley runner. After a defensive stop, Royal completed an old-fashioned three point play to put the Buckeyes up 5. After a Husker hoop, a Stewart bucket and a Parrish three forced Nebraska to take a timeout with 13:24 left in the game and Ohio State on a 10-2 run to lead 61-53. A Thornton runner added to the run and the lead before a Nebraska bucket stopped the 7-0 run and took the game to the under 12 media timeout with Ohio State on top 63-55. A missed Husker free throw out of the timeout and on the other end, Thornton lobbed to Royal who was fouled scoring off the glass and the ensuing free throw dropped to increase the lead to 11. The Huskers weren’t going away and after a 5-0 run, they were within 6. The Buckeyes had suddenly gone cold from the floor and Jake Diebler called a timeout with 9:25 to play and Ohio State leading 66-60. The Husker run increased to 7 as Nebraska was within 4. The run ended when Nebraska was whistled for a flagrant foul putting Royal to the line where he buried the pair putting the Buckeyes up 6 with just over 8 to play and with the ball back, Thornton hit a runner to complete a 4 point possession. After a transition bucket by Nebraska, Stewart buried a 17 foot jumper to answer. The teams exchanged buckets on the next few possessions with Sean Stewart scoring at the rim and Parrish knocking down a three and a pair of freebies to give Ohio State an 8 point lead with 4 minutes to play. A Husker three cut into the lead but a Mobley step back 18 footer dropped on the other end. An offensive rebound and score by Nebraska was followed by a heavily contested Thornton runner along the right side of the paint and Nebraska called a timeout with 2:55 to play and the Buckeyes leading 83-76. Nebraska executed a beautiful backdoor cut for two, but a pair of Thornton free throws kept the margin at 7 with time becoming a factor. A pair of Nebraska free throws and a pair of Royal freebies kept the lead at 7 with 2 minutes to play. The Huskers kept coming, scoring the next 5 to cut the lead to 2 with 1:23 to play. A foul put Stewart to the line for two with 58 seconds to play and he split the pair to put Ohio State up 3. Nebraska attacked the rim where Stewart was waiting and he swatted the shot out of bounds. Nebraska wasn’t done and a bucket with a free throw tied the score with 42 seconds left. Ohio State advanced to the forecourt and took a timeout with 35.2 on the game clock and the score deadlocked at 88. A foul put Mobley on the line, who split the pair and Ohio State led by just one with 16.8 seconds to play. Nebraska called a timeout with 14 seconds left. A foul on Ohio State’s Micah Parrish with 8 seconds to play put the Huskers on the line and after the first one dropped, the second clanged off target and Ohio State was unable to get a shot off before the horn as the game went to overtime as the Huskers out scored Ohio State 13-6 in the final 3 minutes to force the extra period.

Nebraska opened overtime with a three and after a Buckeye turnover, a Husker bucket put Nebraska up 5 in a hurry. A pair of Stewart free throws cut the deficit to 3, but two on the other end upped the Husker lead back to 5. Parrish split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 4 with just over 2 to play and on the other end Nebraska split a pair of their own. A Thornton triple cut the lead to 2 with 1:30 left, but Nebraska answered with a jumper with just over a minute to play. A Parrish step back triple from the left wing cut the lead to just 1. After a defensive stop gave the ball back to Ohio State with 15.2 to play and Nebraska leading 99-98. Royal, driving to the rim was fouled putting him on the stripe where he knocked down the first and Nebraska took a timeout with 7.4 remaining and the game tied at 99. Coming out of the timeout, Royal went back to the line for his second and it clanged off target. Nebraska grabbed the rebound and raced the other way and missed a wild shot at the horn sending the game to a second overtime. 

Nebraska opened the second overtime like they did the first, drilling a triple, but on the other end Royal split a pair of free throws. The Huskers split a pair on their end and Thornton answered with a short jumper to bring Ohio State to within a point. The Buckeyes went ahead when Parrish grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled attempting a put back. His free throws both dropped as Ohio State took their first lead since late in regulation and 2:47 to play. Thornton drilled a three to extend the lead with just over a minute to play, but on the other end an old-fashioned three point play answered and it was a one point lead again. A cold-blooded three by Parrish put the Buckeyes back up 4 and Jake Diebler took a timeout with 43 seconds to play and Ohio State leading 110-106. A defensive stop and rebound by Evan Mahaffey forced Nebraska to foul, putting Mahaffey on the stripe where he split the pair. Mahaffey grabbed another defensive rebound and he was fouled again, marching the teams back to the other end for more Mahaffey free throws. He split the pair again and on the other end, Nebraska scored with contact and the free throw dropped to cut the lead to 3 with 10 seconds left to play. Mobley was fouled in the backcourt with 8.8 to play and he bagged the pair. Nebraska scored on an uncontested lay up. Nebraska fouled on the inbound putting Mobley on the line again where he made both to seal it. Nebraska hit a three at the horn but it was academic as the Buckeyes escaped with a huge late season win. 

In a battle of two teams fighting and clawing to hear their name called on Selection Sunday in just over a week, both teams showed tremendous heart and fight, but in the end, Ohio State was able to make one more play and escape with a huge home win. By most accounts, the Buckeyes and the Huskers were teetering as an 11 seed and part of the last 4 in or last 4 byes, so a win in this game was paramount. A loss, and it would probably be nearly impossible for Ohio State to find a way into the field, but with the win, the odds increase astronomically. They probably need one more win, whether it comes in the regular season finale at Indiana or in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Tournament to feel secure about their chances, but to play meaningful basketball in March is a position this program hasn’t been in for a few years. While just getting in isn’t where the program wants to be and Jake Diebler readily admits that, in year one to have them where they are in spite of all the adversity they’ve faced all season, says a lot about the coaching staff and the makeup of this group. They will look for another big road, quad 1 win on Saturday afternoon to all but punch their ticket and assuredly they will be ready to go. Outside of the game, this was the final home game for a group of seniors and managers and support staff. Micah Parrish, although he only spent a year at Ohio State, became one of the more impact transfers this program has had and we thank him for becoming a Buckeye. We also thank Ques Glover, who spent his final year as a Buckeye. While his impact on the floor was more of a role player, he has been impactful at times handling the basketball with his motor and quickness. And lastly and certainly not last, we really want to thank Kalen Etzler for his time in the Scarlet and Gray. While his career may not have turned out like he may have thought, he stayed loyal and did the dirty work in practice and behind closed doors that nobody sees. Although he has a year of eligibility left, he will graduate from The Ohio State University and he and his family should be extremely proud of the type of young man he is and he will always be a Buckeye. Having said that, it’s not over yet and there is still meaningful basketball left to play. 

Ohio State finishes the regular season in Bloomington, Indiana, taking on the Hoosiers on Saturday afternoon for a 3:45 tip on CBS.

-Jason Harris