Ohio State basketball: Tanner Holden wins it at the buzzer vs. Rutgers

The Ohio State basketball team came into Thursday night feeling pretty good about themselves. They were 5-2 and ranked 25th in the country heading into their game against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights came in and gave the Buckeyes all they could handle.

In the end, that ended up almost being too much for the Buckeyes. Despite a strong start that saw Ohio State lead by as much as 11, they couldn’t sustain it in the second half. Ohio State still beat Rutgers in their Big Ten opener 67-66, thanks to Tanner Holden.

Zed Key was also unbelievable in this game, dominating down low for much of the game. He finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds on 9-12 shooting. He was the best player on the floor for either team in this game. The Buckeyes wouldn’t have had a chance to win if not for him.

That’s why it was curious that Chris Holtmann didn’t give him the ball with the game on the line. With 7 seconds left, Holtmann drew up a play for Brice Sensabaugh instead of Key. Sensabaugh got it blocked and that looked like it was going to be all she wrote for the Buckeyes.

Then came Holden. After Rutgers missed a free throw on the back end of a one-and-one, Holden hit a game-winning three as time expired. It was the biggest shot of his career and a great way to introduce himself to Ohio State basketball fans who are unfamiliar with him.

This is a solid win for the Buckeyes. Rutgers is a good basketball team. It would have hurt to lose this game after having control of it in the first half. But give credit to Chris Holtmann’s guys. They did a great job not giving up and fighting to get the win.

Ohio State now takes on North Carolina in a week for their next game. The Tar Heels have been sliding recently, so that might be an easier game than we initially thought.