Ohio State basketball stops their skid, beats Minnesota

The Ohio State basketball team was finally able to stop their four-game skid as they beat Minnesota in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

It looked like the Ohio State basketball team was going to run away with it early. They jumped out to a 13-0 lead on Minnesota. They were clicking offensively and defensively. Then the game got a little bit closer at the beginning of the second half.

Minnesota cut the lead down to as much as four. It looked like they might fight their way back in and complete the upset. But in the end, Ohio State was able to finish it at the end 79-75 despite some very nervous moments.

Ohio State was able to distribute their shots more widely, which I have been harping on for the last two weeks. The Buckeyes had four players who finished in double figures. Justice Sueing had 15 points and 7 rebounds while Duane Washington added 16 points on 6-9 shooting.

Musa Jallow played some really good basketball off the bench. He gave the Buckeyes so excellent minutes, going 4-4 from the field and scoring 8 points. He was great defensively too, collecting two steals and two blocks. Jallow deserves to get more minutes against Purdue based on this effort.

Kyle Young was also really good early. He had 11 points and was very good in the first half. E.J. Liddell had 14 but was an inefficient 5-14 from the field. It was a total team effort to win this game, which is where the Buckeyes are at their best.

There are two concerning things that they have to clean up before tomorrow; turnovers and rebounding. The Buckeyes committed 15 turnovers. That number has to go down if they want to win tomorrow. The rebounding has to improve too. Ohio State got outrebounded 42-37 and allowed 16 offensive rebounds.

Ohio State didn’t hit a shot in the final three and a half minutes of the game and still won. They have to be better on offense in late-game scenarios. Turning the ball over as much as they did late killed them too. They have to execute better late or they will be an easy out in the NCAA Tournament.

Buckeyes will take on Purdue tomorrow. They better hit their free-throws, as they were just 19-28 from the line today. Hopefully, they can play a little better in that one.