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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
LOST THE LAST “FOUR-MINUTE WAR”
The term “four-minute war” has become a cliche Ohio State is fond of using. The Buckeyes view the four minutes between each media timeouts as individual “wars” they have to win. None is more important than the last one, during which many games – including Sunday’s – are won or lost.
The Buckeyes went into the final media break trailing by one with exactly four minutes left, and a little more than three minutes of action later they were down by eight.
“There was no pressure,” E.J. Liddell said. “Everybody just emphasized it was winning time, and in these situations we come out on top. We just had to execute, we get stops. That's just not how it went tonight.”
Not at all.
Hunter Dickinson, the behemoth of a 7-foot-2 big man, continued his strong night that ended with 22 points by draining a pair of free throws. Both teams subsequently missed shots to keep it a three-point game, and then Justice Sueing made his most costly play on a subpar individual day. The fourth-year junior forward decided to go behind his back with a pass that led to a turnover and and-one layup by Isaiah Livers to make it a six-point game.
“We were trying to get what we want,” Holtmann said. “I think we would've got it. He just made a read. I'm not quite sure why he made the read.”
Washington, coming to Sueing's defense, said: “One little mistake toward the game is not why we lost the game. Simple. So whoever says that, that's not the truth, and I'm going to have his back on that. (He) definitely could have played better, but everybody could have.”
He’s right. That mattered, especially in a game with both offenses lighting up the scoreboard by shooting better than 50 percent from the floor and nearly 50 percent from 3. Yet Ohio State also had an opportunity to respond quickly and get back on track.
Liddell knocked down a pair of free throws the next trip down the court. But over the course of the 2 minutes and 9 seconds following Sueing’s blunder, a six-point deficit turned into a nine-point deficit with just 23 ticks remaining. Over that stretch, Michigan scored on all four of its possessions against a defense that saw its struggles on full display at the worst possible time.
As Liddell said, the Buckeyes had to execute and get stops. They didn’t, so they lost.
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