Ohio State Holds On To Upset No. 8 Purdue To Keep March Madness Hopes Alive
In a must-win situation heading into the final weeks of the regular season, the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to get a signature win as they defeated the 8th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers in Columbus on Sunday.
Ohio State Maintains Control Throughout
Despite the final score making it seem closer than it actually was, the Buckeyes were in firm control from the jump. Much of that came down to Ohio State’s impeccable offensive gameplan and overall play, as they shot a blistering 51% from the field. The Buckeyes also made sure to make every trip to the free-throw line count, as they knocked down 25 of their 32 attempts from the charity stripe to effectively thwart Purdue’s second-half comeback attempt.
While it isn’t easy to outperform the star-studded backcourt that Purdue possesses, the Buckeyes guards were able to find a way to overcome the talent gap in the win. Both Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr. were the stars of the show for Ohio State, as they each put together their best performances of the season. Thornton had 20 points and 5 rebounds, while Mobley Jr. would knock down 5 threes to finish with a game-high 21 points in the win.
Both Thornton and Mobley Jr. would serve as the backbone of Ohio State’s three-point attack in this game, as they combined for 8 of the team’s 9 made triples. Ohio State would also get one more key performance by Forward Devin Royal, who scored 12 points and hauled in 9 rebounds in a quality outing for the junior. Royal is currently averaging a career-high 14 points per game this season for Ohio State.
Purdue Bench Fails To Provide Scoring Support In Loss
In what’s become an all-too-common occurrence this season for Purdue, their bench once again failed to provide much offensive relief. The Boilermakers’ second unit would only manage to score 5 points despite seeing plenty of playing time from multiple bench players. Those 5 points from the bench matched a season-low for Purdue, which has had to lean heavily on its starters this season to generate any offensive production.
While Purdue has been able to overcome its bench’s shortcomings this season, that overreliance on its starters took its toll in today’s loss. That was especially evident in the performance of Purdue’s star Braden Smith, who seemed gassed midway through the second half after playing heavy minutes yet again. Smith scored 20 points but shot just 7-of-19 from the field.
The two biggest reasons the Boilermakers were able to string together a late second-half run were due in part to the continued outstanding play of Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Loyer sank 5 threes to finish with 15 points in an efficient outing on offense, while Kaufman-Ren would finish with a near double-double of 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Ohio State Potentially Punches Ticket to March Madness Following the Win
There was quite a bit riding on this game for the Buckeyes heading into it, as Ohio State has been projected between an 11-seed and a First Four in the latest NCAA Tournament projections. Much of the reason for that 50/50 split is due in part to the Buckeyes overall record against Quad 1 teams, as well as their latest struggle. Ohio State came into the game with a 1-10 record against Quad 1 opponents.
This upset win could have secured the Buckeyes an at-large bid for the tournament, but Ohio State will still need to win out if it hopes to improve its seeding in March. Thankfully for the Buckeyes, they have a pretty light end to the Big 10 conference season, as their two final opponents will be a road game against Penn State and then a matchup at home against Indiana to close out the regular season.
