Buckeyes Come Up With Big Win Over Nebraska, 67-66

Nothing is going to come easy for this Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team. That much has been clear all season long. Wednesday night’s 67-66 win over Nebraska was a microcosm of the uphill battle Thad Matta faces with this team. Fortunately for him and his team, the end result was ultimately what they are looking for.

Marc Loving’s uncontested layup off an inbound pass from C.J. Jackson with less than a second left in the game gave the Buckeyes the final lead of the game, putting their conference win streak at two after starting 0-4.

Loving’s final bucket capped of a solid night for the senior. He scored 15 points to lead the Buckeyes, and also added 11 rebounds while playing all but two minutes of the game.

For Ohio State to even get in position to win the game late, they had to climb out of the significant hole they left themselves in after a dreadful first half.

Kam Williams’ three pointer gave the Buckeyes an early 7-2 lead, but the Huskers’ started to get hot.

A 15-4 run by Nebraska had Ohio State playing from behind for the rest of the first half.

The Buckeyes only aided the home team’s cause by committing 11 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. They turned the ball over 11 times in the entire game in their win over Michigan State last Sunday.

Nebraska’s lead grew to as many as 12, but Ohio State cut it to 8 as the teams went to the break.

The second half was a much different story for the Buckeyes on both ends of the floor. After struggling to hold on to the basketball in the first half, they did not turn the ball over once in the final 20 minutes.

Ohio State played aggressively, attacking the rim in a way that was nowhere to be found in the first half. Of their 38 points scored in the paint, 30 of them came in the second half.

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After cutting the Nebraska lead to one three times around the midway mark of the second half, Trevor Thompson’s dunk gave the Buckeyes their first lead since the 16-minute mark of the first half.

The final 8 minutes were a back and forth affair, the lead changing hands five times, including Loving’s game-winner.

Free throw shooting was atrocious on both sides of the floor. The Huskers were 11-20 from the line, which looked competent compared to the Buckeyes’ 7-16 effort. Both teams missed critical free throws in the second half that would wind up being a critical blow for whoever wound up on the wrong side of the final score.

Four of the five Buckeyes starters scored double digits. Jae’Sean Tate and JaQuan Lyle chipped in 13 points each. Nebraska’s Tai Webster led all scorers with 18.

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The win moves the Buckeyes to 12-7 overall. They will return to Columbus where they will look to continue their momentum against Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 1:00.