On Senior Night, the Buckeyes battled Nebraska in the home finale at the Schottenstein Center. Ohio State won in a grueling extended battle, 116-114, in double overtime. The Buckeyes kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive as they moved to 17-13 (9-10). It was an early dose of March Madness in Columbus, Ohio.
Despite the victory, there are again major points of concern for the Buckeyes. The Nebraska bench outscored the Ohio State bench 34-10. Nebraska star Brice Williams scored a whopping 43 points. Ohio State once again struggled around the rim, being outrebounded 38-34 and outscored in the paint 44-38.
The glass is half full, though, as those margins were closer in his game than they had been for a while, and the Buckeye starters were on fire. Four of the five of them scored 20 or more points, and the fifth hit double digits. Devin Royal had 22 points and eight rebounds.
Sean Stewart had 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out. Micah Parrish had 22 points and six rebounds. John Mobley Jr. had 20 points. Buckeye leader Bruce Thornton had 29 points, nine assists, and 48 (out of 50) minutes in this game. If these five can stay this hot, they will make the NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes got some help Tuesday night, too, as four ranked teams that they played all came up with wins. Texas A&M, whom the Buckeyes lost to early this year, upset #1 Auburn. More importantly, three teams the Buckeyes beat this year got wins. #19 Kentucky, Texas, and #18 Purdue all won, helping Ohio State’s wins and strength of schedule look a little bit better.
Ohio State now will close the regular season on Saturday at Indiana. They’ll battle a Hoosiers team that is like them, on the bubble, with a similar record (OSU 17-13, IU 18-12), in what very well could be a NCAA Tournament elimination game. Survive and advance, Buckeyes!