Pittsburgh Beats Ohio State 67-66 At the Buzzer
Pittsburgh beat Ohio State at the buzzer for the second consecutive season on Friday night. There is no doubt this was a frustrating loss for the Ohio State men. Pittsburgh Guard Damarco Minor hit a shot from Pitt’s half-court logo as time expired to hand Ohio State its first loss of the 2025-26 season.
After the last-second loss to Pittsburgh, Ohio State is now 6-1. This was a back-and-forth heartbreak loss, a lot like last year. It is fair to wonder if the duplicate loss to Pittsburgh will sidetrack the Buckeyes, who failed to make the Tournament last season. Do you think Ohio State will make the NCAA Tournament?
Pittsburgh and Ohio State Scoring Summary
Pittsburgh is 5-3 after winning this game at the last minute. Pittsburgh moved out to an early lead, led by two 7-0 runs sparked by Minor, who raced the Panthers out to a 16-4 lead just more than five minutes into the ballgame, with Ohio State starting 2-of-7 from the field and struggling to find its offense. The Buckeyes’ only sustained offense of the first half against Pittsburgh came in the next 3:17 of game action.
John Mobley Jr. hit a three-pointer to start a string of three quick three-pointers for the Buckeyes, with freshman forward Amare Bynum and Devin Royal tacking on made jump shots. Buckeye center Ivan Njegovan hit a nice baby hook over two defenders to cap an 11-0 run that brought Ohio State back within a point, 16-15.
However, turnovers and poor defensive rebounding were the main storylines of the first half for the Buckeyes. For example, they gave the ball away eight times and allowed 10 offensive rebounds in that half. Pittsburgh had a 40-26 advantage on field goal attempts. Turnovers fueled a 9-0 Panthers run that surged the lead right back to double digits as the Buckeyes went five minutes without a basket.
After some light scoring exchanges, the Buckeyes felt fortunate to enter halftime trailing just 34-24. Royal, after struggling in the first half, got to the track and twice for layups to catalyze a 6-0 run to start the second half for the Buckeyes. Pittsburgh only led 39-35 when he was done.
Bruce Thornton split two defenders for a layup to knot the contest at 44. Then, a quartet of free throws by Ohio State center Christoph Tilly and guard Gabe Cupps granted the Buckeyes their first lead of the ballgame at 48-47 with 8:41 to play.
Pittsburgh grabbed the lead back with a layup, Thornton answered with a layup through the foul, then flexed and shouted into the ESPN camera located behind the baseline. That was a highlight of the game, but the Panthers came scratching back, slicing the lead to 58-57 with 3:26 to play. Royal had two big baskets in the paint, but a trio of Panther free throws tied the game again at 64 as the clock ticked down under 90 seconds.
Thornton fought his way into the paint to cash in a floater. Corhen hit two free throws to tie the game at 64. Bynum put back a miss to make it 66-64 Ohio State with under four seconds remaining, but Minor’s game-winner followed, and Ohio State’s heart was broken again.
Conclusion
It’s the second consecutive year Pittsburgh has beaten the Buckeyes on a buzzer-beater after Panther forward Zack Austin drained his own last-second 3-pointer in overtime on November 29, 2024, for a 91-90 win. Ohio State’s first road trip of the season continues with its Big Ten opener at Northwestern on December 6 at 2 p.m. The Game is on the Big Ten Network. If Ohio State is 4 games above .500 in conference play, they will make the playoff.
