Connor Lemons
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Balanced scoring attack carries Ohio State past Virginia Tech in second-round NIT bout, 81-73
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Photo courtesy of Ohio State Hoops Twitter// @OhioStateHoops
The Hokies gave Ohio State one heck of a punch in the second half, but the Buckeyes withstood it and will move on in the NIT.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (22-13) won’t be cutting down nets in Columbus this year, but woke up on Saturday morning four wins away from cutting them down in the NIT final at Hinkle Fieldhouse. After beating Cornell 88-83 in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday, the Buckeyes welcomed the Virginia Tech Hokies to Columbus this afternoon, with the winner advancing to play the winner of Wake Forest and Georgia this week.
Hoping to improve his 7-2 record as head coach, Jake Diebler’s Buckeyes were without freshman guard/wing Scotty Middleton for the second consecutive game as he tends to a family emergency in Florida. Earlier in the week, Diebler said that he expected Middleton to be back in time to play on Saturday, but it became clear by Friday that was not going to happen.
Diebler went with the same starting five Ohio State has utilized most of this season — Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr., Evan Mahaffey, Felix Okpara, and Jamison Battle. Thornton sprained his ankle against Cornell but was able to practice all week. Fifth-year head coach Mike Young went with a starting five of Sean Pedulla, Hunter Cattoor, Robbie Beran, MJ Collins, and Lynn Kidd.
The Buckeyes didn’t inspire much confidence early on, missing their first five shots and falling behind 7-0 just over three minutes into the game. Gayle was trying to take advantage of the matchup with the smaller Pedulla, but Virginia Tech was quick to help and forcing multiple misses from the sophomore guard. Gayle’s three-pointer over Pedulla 3:42 into the game gave Ohio State its first made basket, with the score 7-3 at the first media timeout a minute later.
Ohio State went on an 10-0 run to take a 16-12 lead, getting multiple buckets from Thornton as well as individual baskets from Gayle, Bonner, and Key. They weren’t able to do it early on when Tech was hitting shots, but once they cooled down Ohio State really began to push it down the floor. The 10-0 run was capped off by an impressive slam from Gayle on a halfcourt lob from Thornton, where Gayle had to re-adjust mid-air and bring the ball back from the right side and slam it home. Virginia Tech got baskets from Pedulla and Mylyjael Poteat after the Ohio State run, however, and the Buckeyes lead was just 17-16 at the under-eight timeout with eight minutes left in the half.
After Virginia Tech tied the game 17-17, Ohio State outscored the Hokies 19-9 over the final eight minutes and took a 36-26 lead into the halftime break. The Buckeyes got baskets from eight different players in the first half, including three-pointers from Taison Chatman and Dale Bonner, as well as a pair of dunks from Gayle. The Buckeyes shot 46.9% in the first half but mostly stayed away from the three ball, taking 72% of their first-half shots from inside the arc. The Hokies shot 36.7% in the first half and got a combined 13 points in the first half from Cattoor and Kidd.
Thornton scored through contact from Beran and hit the ensuing free throw to make it 45-32 with just over 16 minutes remaining in the game — Ohio State’s largest lead at that point. The Buckeyes then went on a lull, not scoring for the next 2:33 until a media timeout was called at the 13:25 mark. Despite the short nap the Buckeyes took, they still held a 45-35 lead thanks to Virginia Tech only hitting 4 of its first 14 shots of the second half.
The Hokies didn’t let Ohio State run away with it, keeping the deficit within nine or so points for a good part of the second half. Both teams started to rack up fouls, with the Buckeyes getting into the bonus with 12:56 remaining in the game and Virginia Tech getting there roughly three minutes later. With both teams shooting free throws for the final 10 or so minutes on every foul, getting to the basket and drawing contact became the name of the game. After Bonner was fouled by Patrick Wessler and hit both free throws to make it 59-50, Pedulla scored through contact against Thornton and drew the foul, completing the three-point play to make it 59-53 with 8:41 remaining in the game.
After Pedulla split a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game, Battle went down to the other end and was fouled by Patrick Wessler — his third of the game. Battle knocked down both, making it 63-56 Ohio State with 7:44 remaining.
Virginia Tech made it a one-possession game by the final media timeout, with the Buckeyes clinging to a 67-64 lead with 3:52 remaining. The two teams were taking turns attacking the rack and drawing fouls, and it was going to come down to who took care of the ball better and hit their free throws.
Try as they might, the Hokies weren’t able to catch Ohio State and complete the comeback. It was a spirited effort from Cattoor and Pedulla in particular, but the Buckeye defense clamped down when it needed to and beat Virginia Tech 81-73 to advance to the NIT quarterfinal.
If you weren’t around Saturday night to see Ohio State improve to 8-2 under Diebler and advance to the NIT quarterfinals, here are a few key moments, plays, and runs that powered the Buckeyes to victory:
For the second straight game, the Buckeyes started slow and fell behind early. Virginia Tech jumped out to a 7-0 lead, getting baskets from Kidd and Collins. Ohio State turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes, with Okpara, Battle, and Gayle all being guilty of one early giveaway.
Starting at the 12:42 mark and lasting for the next 3:44, Ohio State went on a 10-0 run that put them ahead of the Hokies, 16-12. Thornton had multiple buckets during the run, but the capper was a fastbreak lob that the Buckeyes point guard threw to Gayle from halfcourt. Gayle went up, had to readjust mid-air with the ball off to his right, and then pulled it back down to slam it home to make it 16-12.
Gayle was Ohio State’s leading scorer at halftime with nine points, but eight different Buckeyes scored in the opening 20 minutes, and Gayle was the only one with more than two made baskets. Ohio State shot 46.9% in the first half as a team, with Bonner, Battle, Thornton, Okpara, Chatman, Royal, and Key all scoring as well.
Chatman rarely played when Chris Holtmann was coach, and while his minutes increased marginally when Diebler took over, he’s still averaged just five minutes per game since the coaching change. However, he has been a pretty reliable for at least one three-pointer per game lately.
Despite only playing more than six minutes one time in the last 10 games, he has knocked down at least one triple in four of the last five games. On Saturday, Chatman drilled a three-pointer in a tie game with 6:13 remaining in the first half, putting the Buckeyes up 22-19.
After racking up his first career double-double against Illinois and coming four rebounds and one assist shy of a triple double against Iowa in the game before, Thornton once again flirted with a triple-double against the Hokies on Saturday.
Thornton was already at 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists with 10 minutes remaining in the game, and finished with 12 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in 33 minutes before exiting with 1:44 remaining with a knee or leg injury.
The Buckeyes led by as much as 13 in the second half, but Pedulla scored five straight points starting at the 8:41 mark to make it 59-55 Buckeyes with 8:16 remaining in the game. The Hokies were setting clean screens to get Pedulla going downhill, and he was repeatedly drawing contact from Thornton. With both teams in the bonus, Pedulla went to the line as an 81% free throw shooter and tightened things up a bit.
With Ohio State leading 71-64 with 1:44 remaining, Thornton tried to split a double team between Kidd and Pedulla and was tripped, hitting the ground hard as Pedulla was called for a foul. Thornton had to be helped off the floor, and could not take the free throws.
Virginia Tech picked Okpara — who is shooting 59.3% at the line — to take them. He split the pair, which put Ohio State up 72-44 and just under two minutes remaining in the game.
Ohio State (22-13) will face the winner of Wake Forest and Georgia in the quarterfinals of the NIT on either Tuesday or Wednesday night. If Wake Forest wins, Ohio State will travel to Winston-Salem to play the Demon Deacons. If Georgia wins, Ohio State will host the Bulldogs in Columbus. Tip-off time and broadcast information are still TBD.
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Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy of Ohio State Hoops Twitter// @OhioStateHoops
The Hokies gave Ohio State one heck of a punch in the second half, but the Buckeyes withstood it and will move on in the NIT.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (22-13) won’t be cutting down nets in Columbus this year, but woke up on Saturday morning four wins away from cutting them down in the NIT final at Hinkle Fieldhouse. After beating Cornell 88-83 in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday, the Buckeyes welcomed the Virginia Tech Hokies to Columbus this afternoon, with the winner advancing to play the winner of Wake Forest and Georgia this week.
Hoping to improve his 7-2 record as head coach, Jake Diebler’s Buckeyes were without freshman guard/wing Scotty Middleton for the second consecutive game as he tends to a family emergency in Florida. Earlier in the week, Diebler said that he expected Middleton to be back in time to play on Saturday, but it became clear by Friday that was not going to happen.
Diebler went with the same starting five Ohio State has utilized most of this season — Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr., Evan Mahaffey, Felix Okpara, and Jamison Battle. Thornton sprained his ankle against Cornell but was able to practice all week. Fifth-year head coach Mike Young went with a starting five of Sean Pedulla, Hunter Cattoor, Robbie Beran, MJ Collins, and Lynn Kidd.
The Buckeyes didn’t inspire much confidence early on, missing their first five shots and falling behind 7-0 just over three minutes into the game. Gayle was trying to take advantage of the matchup with the smaller Pedulla, but Virginia Tech was quick to help and forcing multiple misses from the sophomore guard. Gayle’s three-pointer over Pedulla 3:42 into the game gave Ohio State its first made basket, with the score 7-3 at the first media timeout a minute later.
Ohio State went on an 10-0 run to take a 16-12 lead, getting multiple buckets from Thornton as well as individual baskets from Gayle, Bonner, and Key. They weren’t able to do it early on when Tech was hitting shots, but once they cooled down Ohio State really began to push it down the floor. The 10-0 run was capped off by an impressive slam from Gayle on a halfcourt lob from Thornton, where Gayle had to re-adjust mid-air and bring the ball back from the right side and slam it home. Virginia Tech got baskets from Pedulla and Mylyjael Poteat after the Ohio State run, however, and the Buckeyes lead was just 17-16 at the under-eight timeout with eight minutes left in the half.
After Virginia Tech tied the game 17-17, Ohio State outscored the Hokies 19-9 over the final eight minutes and took a 36-26 lead into the halftime break. The Buckeyes got baskets from eight different players in the first half, including three-pointers from Taison Chatman and Dale Bonner, as well as a pair of dunks from Gayle. The Buckeyes shot 46.9% in the first half but mostly stayed away from the three ball, taking 72% of their first-half shots from inside the arc. The Hokies shot 36.7% in the first half and got a combined 13 points in the first half from Cattoor and Kidd.
Thornton scored through contact from Beran and hit the ensuing free throw to make it 45-32 with just over 16 minutes remaining in the game — Ohio State’s largest lead at that point. The Buckeyes then went on a lull, not scoring for the next 2:33 until a media timeout was called at the 13:25 mark. Despite the short nap the Buckeyes took, they still held a 45-35 lead thanks to Virginia Tech only hitting 4 of its first 14 shots of the second half.
The Hokies didn’t let Ohio State run away with it, keeping the deficit within nine or so points for a good part of the second half. Both teams started to rack up fouls, with the Buckeyes getting into the bonus with 12:56 remaining in the game and Virginia Tech getting there roughly three minutes later. With both teams shooting free throws for the final 10 or so minutes on every foul, getting to the basket and drawing contact became the name of the game. After Bonner was fouled by Patrick Wessler and hit both free throws to make it 59-50, Pedulla scored through contact against Thornton and drew the foul, completing the three-point play to make it 59-53 with 8:41 remaining in the game.
After Pedulla split a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game, Battle went down to the other end and was fouled by Patrick Wessler — his third of the game. Battle knocked down both, making it 63-56 Ohio State with 7:44 remaining.
Virginia Tech made it a one-possession game by the final media timeout, with the Buckeyes clinging to a 67-64 lead with 3:52 remaining. The two teams were taking turns attacking the rack and drawing fouls, and it was going to come down to who took care of the ball better and hit their free throws.
Try as they might, the Hokies weren’t able to catch Ohio State and complete the comeback. It was a spirited effort from Cattoor and Pedulla in particular, but the Buckeye defense clamped down when it needed to and beat Virginia Tech 81-73 to advance to the NIT quarterfinal.
If you weren’t around Saturday night to see Ohio State improve to 8-2 under Diebler and advance to the NIT quarterfinals, here are a few key moments, plays, and runs that powered the Buckeyes to victory:
Slow start, turnovers aplenty
For the second straight game, the Buckeyes started slow and fell behind early. Virginia Tech jumped out to a 7-0 lead, getting baskets from Kidd and Collins. Ohio State turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes, with Okpara, Battle, and Gayle all being guilty of one early giveaway.
Thornton, Gayle spark 10-0 run
Starting at the 12:42 mark and lasting for the next 3:44, Ohio State went on a 10-0 run that put them ahead of the Hokies, 16-12. Thornton had multiple buckets during the run, but the capper was a fastbreak lob that the Buckeyes point guard threw to Gayle from halfcourt. Gayle went up, had to readjust mid-air with the ball off to his right, and then pulled it back down to slam it home to make it 16-12.
Gayle leads balanced first-half attack
Gayle was Ohio State’s leading scorer at halftime with nine points, but eight different Buckeyes scored in the opening 20 minutes, and Gayle was the only one with more than two made baskets. Ohio State shot 46.9% in the first half as a team, with Bonner, Battle, Thornton, Okpara, Chatman, Royal, and Key all scoring as well.
Chatman shows drills another three, continuing stretch of good play in sparse time
Chatman rarely played when Chris Holtmann was coach, and while his minutes increased marginally when Diebler took over, he’s still averaged just five minutes per game since the coaching change. However, he has been a pretty reliable for at least one three-pointer per game lately.
Despite only playing more than six minutes one time in the last 10 games, he has knocked down at least one triple in four of the last five games. On Saturday, Chatman drilled a three-pointer in a tie game with 6:13 remaining in the first half, putting the Buckeyes up 22-19.
Thornton flirts with a triple-double once again
After racking up his first career double-double against Illinois and coming four rebounds and one assist shy of a triple double against Iowa in the game before, Thornton once again flirted with a triple-double against the Hokies on Saturday.
Thornton was already at 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists with 10 minutes remaining in the game, and finished with 12 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in 33 minutes before exiting with 1:44 remaining with a knee or leg injury.
Pedulla scores five in a row to cut Ohio State’s lead to four
The Buckeyes led by as much as 13 in the second half, but Pedulla scored five straight points starting at the 8:41 mark to make it 59-55 Buckeyes with 8:16 remaining in the game. The Hokies were setting clean screens to get Pedulla going downhill, and he was repeatedly drawing contact from Thornton. With both teams in the bonus, Pedulla went to the line as an 81% free throw shooter and tightened things up a bit.
Okpara splits Thornton’s free throws to give Ohio State 72-64 lead
With Ohio State leading 71-64 with 1:44 remaining, Thornton tried to split a double team between Kidd and Pedulla and was tripped, hitting the ground hard as Pedulla was called for a foul. Thornton had to be helped off the floor, and could not take the free throws.
Virginia Tech picked Okpara — who is shooting 59.3% at the line — to take them. He split the pair, which put Ohio State up 72-44 and just under two minutes remaining in the game.
Up Next
Ohio State (22-13) will face the winner of Wake Forest and Georgia in the quarterfinals of the NIT on either Tuesday or Wednesday night. If Wake Forest wins, Ohio State will travel to Winston-Salem to play the Demon Deacons. If Georgia wins, Ohio State will host the Bulldogs in Columbus. Tip-off time and broadcast information are still TBD.
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