Ohio State basketball: Meechie Johnson hits 3 to beat Seton Hall

The Ohio State basketball team hasn’t looked very good so far this year. They almost lost their opener against Akron, they struggled against Niagara, and then lost to Xavier. They really hadn’t played a good game of basketball yet this season.

That changed on Monday night against Seton Hall. The Buckeyes jumped out to an early lead in the first half and never gave it up. They were up by as much as 12 early in the second half, but their lead dwindled to a tie ball game with about 12 seconds left after a turnover.

After the turnover, Meechie Johnson stepped up big time. He hit a game-winning three with 2.8 seconds left to put the Ohio State basketball team up for good. They won a thriller 79-76. It was the type of game that this Buckeye team needed in order to get back on track.

E.J. Liddell was outstanding again. He had 28 points on 8/17 shooting including 10/10 from the free throw line. He was the best player on the court and it wasn’t particularly close. Justin Ahrens was also fantastic, adding 17 points on 5/8 shooting from distance.

Kyle Young was the other major contributor in this game. He had 12 points off the bench and did all the little things that are necessary to win a game like this. This team is much better with him out there on the floor. He’s one of the glue guys that the Buckeyes have to have.

Chris Holtmann played a lot of players in this game. He put 10 different guys on the floor at some point. It was a very interesting strategy and it seem to have worked. Even though not all of the players contributed greatly, Holtmann pushed the right buttons.

This is the type of coaching performance Holtmann needed after that Xavier game. This team has changed the narrative around it and the season now has a chance to turn around their early-season woes.