The Ohio State basketball team came into Tuesday night's game against the Cornhuskers needing to win the game. It was senior night, and both teams came into the game on the NCAA Tournament bubble. A loss at home to Nebraska would certainly burst Ohio State's bubble.
Ohio State busted out to an early lead, but that didn't last. John Mobley Jr. hit a deep three at the buzzer in order to give the Buckeyes a six-point halftime lead. Once the second half started, Nebraska took their first lead of the game. They just kept hanging around, never really letting Ohio State get rid of them.
Anyone who has watched this Ohio State Buckeyes team this year knows that's what they do. They have had issues closing out multiple games this season when things get tight. Sure enough, it was a tie game with 35 seconds left in the game. The game went to overtime. In fact, it went into double overtime.
The Ohio State basketball team's NCAA Tournament hopes are over barring a huge Big Ten Tourney run
Mobley was 1/4 from the free-throw line in regulation. He came into this game as a 91% free-throw shooter. If he would have made just one more of those, this game wouldn't have gone to overtime. That just underscores just how un-clutch this team is.
And yet, the Buckeyes were somehow able to scrape out the victory in double overtime. They won the game 116-114, and this win kept their hopes of making the NCAA Tournament alive. They still have to beat Indiana in the final game of the season to have any hope of that happening.
Ohio State looked like they were collapsing down the stretch of the season. This win doesn't guarantee them a berth in the NCAA Tournament, but it does keep them from being knocked out. They have survived to fight another day.
Jake Diebler did a bad job coaching this team down the stretch. This is his first full season as a head coach, so he has some leeway. Still, this team needs to play better late in games.