North Carolina Beats Ohio State 71-70, Buckeyes Fall to 8-3 After Missed Ranking Chance
North Carolina beat Ohio State in Men’s Basketball, Saturday, December 22, 71-70. The game between North Carolina and Ohio State was about as close as a basketball game can be, with Ohio State having the ball at the end of the game with North Carolina and calling a timeout with just four seconds remaining in the game. Ultimately, North Carolina beat Ohio State 71-70, and Ohio State is now 8-3. Do you think a good showing in this game will be good for Ohio State?
North Carolina and Ohio State Summary
No. 12 North Carolina survived a scare from Ohio State and held on to win 71-70. Henri Vasser scored the winning basket on a dunk with 7.2 seconds remaining. This was after John Mobley Junior hit a three-pointer for the Buckeyes and was fouled. He successfully converted the free throw for a four-point play, which gave Ohio State the lead with 48.7 seconds left to play. That put Ohio State ahead 70-67.
Also playing well for North Carolina was Seth Trimble, who was playing his first game for the Tarheels since November 9 after breaking his left arm in a training mishap. Trimble assisted on the winning basket, and Trimble had 17 points, two rebounds and three assists for North Carolina in the win.
John Mobley Jr. missed a three-pointer for the Buckeyes that would have won them this game. Darin Royal grabbed the rebound of the missed shot and tried a last-second layup for the Buckeyes; however, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson blocked the shot and the game ended. Royal led Ohio State with 18 points; he also had eight rebounds and two assists. Mobley Jr. had thirteen points, three rebounds, and four assists.
Bruce Thornton had sixteen points for Ohio State and four rebounds, four assists. Trimble did a nice job on him defensively. It was probably the case that if Thornton had a better game, Ohio State would have one.
The game between North Carolina and Ohio State had a fantastic ending, but North Carolina led 34-31 at halftime. The Buckeyes just could not come back in the second half. Ohio State (8-3) has now lost three of its last five games after starting 6-0. The Buckeyes came into the weekend averaging 87.6 points per game, which was on track to be the Buckeyes’ most since the 1969-70 campaign when they scored 88.1 points per game. This game hurt that average.
News and Notes
The Tarheels are ranked number 12 in the polls. This win could have helped Ohio State. It is fair to wonder, after losses to Illinois and North Carolina, if Ohio State is destined for great thing this season. Probably not, the best teams are better than them.
Bruce Thornton usually leads Ohio State in scoring this season, but Devin Royal led the team in scoring in this game.
Both teams had 39 rebounds in this game. This is an indication of how close the game was.
The Tarheels had 22 assists in this game, and Ohio State had only seventeen.
Caleb Wilson led the Tarheels with twenty points.
There was a Tarheel starter who had zero points. That Tarheel is named Kyan Evans.
All of the Ohio State starting players scored in double figures, but the Buckeyes got no bench points in this game against North Carolina.
Conclusion
This was the second game of the CBS Sports Classic, after Kentucky beat St. John’s earlier in the day, 78-66. Ohio State gets a reprieve with a Tuesday game against Grambling State. If it is any indication, the Ohio State just beat the Gambling football team 2025 70-0. North Carolina plays East Carolina.
