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Buckeyes send seniors off with 84-61 blowout of Michigan, keep March dreams alive
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State is now 4-1 under interim head coach Jake Diebler following Sunday’s win.
“Tomorrow is March. Let the madness begin.”
Those were the words of Jamison Battle following Ohio State’s win (18-12, 8-11) over Nebraska Thursday night. Sunday’s battle with the Michigan Wolverines (8-22, 3-16) was the Buckeyes’ first game during the wild and wacky month of March and was also an opportunity to even the score after the Wolverines beat Ohio State 73-65 in Ann Arbor back on January 15.
On top of the obvious implications for the season that came with Sunday’s bout with That Team Up North, Ohio State was also honoring four seniors. Jamison Battle, Dale Bonner, Owen Spencer, and Zed Key were all honored before the game with a framed jersey. Key still has eligibility if he wants to return next season, but with the uncertainty regarding the coaching situation, it looks unlikely at the moment.
For Senior Day, Jake Diebler went with a starting five of Bruce Thornton, Dale Bonner, Jamison Battle, Zed Key, and Owen Spencer. Losers of 11 of their last 12, Michigan went with a starting five of Dug McDaniel, Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter, Terrance Williams, and Tarris Reed.
The two rival programs combined to go 3-for-12 over the first 4:12, with the Buckeyes leading 4-2 at the first media timeout. Key started the game with a thunderous dunk right on Tschetter’s head that immediately engaged the crowd, but Ohio State missed its next three shots, which settled things down for Michigan.
Ohio State opened up a 10-2 lead early, but McDaniel pulled the Wolverines back into it with five consecutive points. Michigan then cut it to a one-point deficit, but the Buckeyes responded with a 7-0 run and led 19-13 at the under-eight media timeout with 7:37 remaining in the half.
The Wolverines fell behind early in the half but quickly got it back to a one-possession game, keeping it close for the majority of the first 20 minutes. But Ohio State outscored Michigan 7-3 over the final 3:35 to go into the halftime locker room up 32-27. The Buckeyes got eight points from Thornton and eight more from Key in the first half. Six different Buckeyes turned the ball over in the first half alone, preventing them from turning a five-point lead into something much bigger.
Michigan got a combined 17 points from McDaniel and Williams and shot an even 40% as a team in the first half. Ohio State shot 44.4% in the first half.
Ohio State came out of the halftime locker room and went on the offensive, opening the half with a 10-0 run, making it 42-27 not even three minutes into the second half and forcing a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines responded with buckets from McDaniel, Williams, and Youssef Khayat, pulling it back to 42-34 by the first media timeout.
The deficit for Michigan continued to float back and forth between six for most of the second half, with the Buckeyes pushing it back to 13 momentarily on a Gayle and-one layup with 8:42 left in the game. A Tarris Reed foul with 7:21 remaining took this one to the under-eight timeout with Ohio State up 60-49. The Buckeyes weren’t hitting many jumpers, but Thornton and Gayle were getting downhill easily in the second half to score or draw fouls.
Try as they might, the Wolverines were never able to string together enough buckets to get back within a possession or two, as the Buckeyes salted it away over the last several minutes and won, 84-61. The win was Ohio State’s third in a row, and improves Jake Diebler’s record as interim head coach to 4-1, with one game remaining in the regular season.
If you weren’t around this afternoon to see Ohio State extend its winning streak to three games and keep its slim tournament hopes alive, here are a few key moments, plays, and runs that played a part in the win:
Battle missed the first shot of the game, and on the other end, Reed turned the ball over. On Ohio State’s second possession of the game, Key was handed the ball at the top of the arc and immediately attacked the basket, throwing down a massive dunk right over the top of Tschetter to open the scoring 47 seconds into the game.
The Buckeyes took an early 10-2 lead after seven minutes, but McDaniel — Michigan’s leading scorer — knocked down a three-pointer and a layup off the glass in a span of 36 seconds to make it a one-possession game, 10-7, with 11:37 left in the first half.
The fighting Jake Dieblers never trailed in the first half, but missed layups kept the Wolverines in this one when the Buckeyes should’ve been running away. Ohio State went 6-for-11 on layups over the first 20 minutes, with Gayle, Battle, and Evan Mahaffey all missing at least once.
Thornton was fouled by McDaniel on the first possession of the second half and hit both free throws to make it 34-27. The Buckeyes then got baskets from Gayle, Mahaffey, and Okpara to make it 40-27 not even three minutes into the second half.
The 8-0 run then became a 10-0 run when a Tschetter turnover turned into a fastbreak slam for Gayle, making it 42-27 and giving Ohio State its biggest lead of the afternoon.
With Ohio State leading 46-38, Scotty Middleton lost control of the ball and Burnett grabbed it, streaking down the floor for an open basket. Key got down there in time to contest it, but the 6-foot-4 guard from Chicago rose up and slammed one down on Key’s head, making it 46-40 and getting the Michigan bench riled up.
Jamison Battle got a lot of attention from the Wolverines after his 32-point game last time out, and Ohio State struggled to get him open looks for most of the game. But with 6:39 left on the clock, Gayle drew a double team near the basket and then found Battle open in the corner closest to Ohio State’s bench. The sophomore hit the senior with a perfect chest pass, and Battle drained it to put the Buckeyes up two touchdowns on their rivals from up north.
It’s an odd schedule twist, but Ohio State (18-12, 8-11) now has six days off to prepare for Rutgers. The Buckeyes will travel to New Jersey at the end of the week and will face the Scarlet Knights on Sunday. Rutgers (15-13, 7-10) is in the same boat as Ohio State — trying to dig themselves out of the bottom four and get a bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
Ohio State’s game against Rutgers will be their senior day. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
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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
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State is now 4-1 under interim head coach Jake Diebler following Sunday’s win.
“Tomorrow is March. Let the madness begin.”
Those were the words of Jamison Battle following Ohio State’s win (18-12, 8-11) over Nebraska Thursday night. Sunday’s battle with the Michigan Wolverines (8-22, 3-16) was the Buckeyes’ first game during the wild and wacky month of March and was also an opportunity to even the score after the Wolverines beat Ohio State 73-65 in Ann Arbor back on January 15.
On top of the obvious implications for the season that came with Sunday’s bout with That Team Up North, Ohio State was also honoring four seniors. Jamison Battle, Dale Bonner, Owen Spencer, and Zed Key were all honored before the game with a framed jersey. Key still has eligibility if he wants to return next season, but with the uncertainty regarding the coaching situation, it looks unlikely at the moment.
For Senior Day, Jake Diebler went with a starting five of Bruce Thornton, Dale Bonner, Jamison Battle, Zed Key, and Owen Spencer. Losers of 11 of their last 12, Michigan went with a starting five of Dug McDaniel, Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter, Terrance Williams, and Tarris Reed.
The two rival programs combined to go 3-for-12 over the first 4:12, with the Buckeyes leading 4-2 at the first media timeout. Key started the game with a thunderous dunk right on Tschetter’s head that immediately engaged the crowd, but Ohio State missed its next three shots, which settled things down for Michigan.
ZED KEY
The senior opens his senior day with a gigantic flush.
: CBS pic.twitter.com/aMwwV7175c
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 3, 2024
Ohio State opened up a 10-2 lead early, but McDaniel pulled the Wolverines back into it with five consecutive points. Michigan then cut it to a one-point deficit, but the Buckeyes responded with a 7-0 run and led 19-13 at the under-eight media timeout with 7:37 remaining in the half.
The Wolverines fell behind early in the half but quickly got it back to a one-possession game, keeping it close for the majority of the first 20 minutes. But Ohio State outscored Michigan 7-3 over the final 3:35 to go into the halftime locker room up 32-27. The Buckeyes got eight points from Thornton and eight more from Key in the first half. Six different Buckeyes turned the ball over in the first half alone, preventing them from turning a five-point lead into something much bigger.
Michigan got a combined 17 points from McDaniel and Williams and shot an even 40% as a team in the first half. Ohio State shot 44.4% in the first half.
Ohio State came out of the halftime locker room and went on the offensive, opening the half with a 10-0 run, making it 42-27 not even three minutes into the second half and forcing a Michigan timeout. The Wolverines responded with buckets from McDaniel, Williams, and Youssef Khayat, pulling it back to 42-34 by the first media timeout.
The deficit for Michigan continued to float back and forth between six for most of the second half, with the Buckeyes pushing it back to 13 momentarily on a Gayle and-one layup with 8:42 left in the game. A Tarris Reed foul with 7:21 remaining took this one to the under-eight timeout with Ohio State up 60-49. The Buckeyes weren’t hitting many jumpers, but Thornton and Gayle were getting downhill easily in the second half to score or draw fouls.
Try as they might, the Wolverines were never able to string together enough buckets to get back within a possession or two, as the Buckeyes salted it away over the last several minutes and won, 84-61. The win was Ohio State’s third in a row, and improves Jake Diebler’s record as interim head coach to 4-1, with one game remaining in the regular season.
If you weren’t around this afternoon to see Ohio State extend its winning streak to three games and keep its slim tournament hopes alive, here are a few key moments, plays, and runs that played a part in the win:
Welcome to the Thunder Dome, Will Tschetter
Battle missed the first shot of the game, and on the other end, Reed turned the ball over. On Ohio State’s second possession of the game, Key was handed the ball at the top of the arc and immediately attacked the basket, throwing down a massive dunk right over the top of Tschetter to open the scoring 47 seconds into the game.
McDaniel tightens things up a bit
The Buckeyes took an early 10-2 lead after seven minutes, but McDaniel — Michigan’s leading scorer — knocked down a three-pointer and a layup off the glass in a span of 36 seconds to make it a one-possession game, 10-7, with 11:37 left in the first half.
Missed layups hurt Ohio State in the first half
The fighting Jake Dieblers never trailed in the first half, but missed layups kept the Wolverines in this one when the Buckeyes should’ve been running away. Ohio State went 6-for-11 on layups over the first 20 minutes, with Gayle, Battle, and Evan Mahaffey all missing at least once.
Buckeyes open the second half with a 10-0 run
Thornton was fouled by McDaniel on the first possession of the second half and hit both free throws to make it 34-27. The Buckeyes then got baskets from Gayle, Mahaffey, and Okpara to make it 40-27 not even three minutes into the second half.
The 8-0 run then became a 10-0 run when a Tschetter turnover turned into a fastbreak slam for Gayle, making it 42-27 and giving Ohio State its biggest lead of the afternoon.
Burnett pays Key back, gets Wolverines back within six
With Ohio State leading 46-38, Scotty Middleton lost control of the ball and Burnett grabbed it, streaking down the floor for an open basket. Key got down there in time to contest it, but the 6-foot-4 guard from Chicago rose up and slammed one down on Key’s head, making it 46-40 and getting the Michigan bench riled up.
Battle’s three makes it 65-51
Jamison Battle got a lot of attention from the Wolverines after his 32-point game last time out, and Ohio State struggled to get him open looks for most of the game. But with 6:39 left on the clock, Gayle drew a double team near the basket and then found Battle open in the corner closest to Ohio State’s bench. The sophomore hit the senior with a perfect chest pass, and Battle drained it to put the Buckeyes up two touchdowns on their rivals from up north.
Up Next:
It’s an odd schedule twist, but Ohio State (18-12, 8-11) now has six days off to prepare for Rutgers. The Buckeyes will travel to New Jersey at the end of the week and will face the Scarlet Knights on Sunday. Rutgers (15-13, 7-10) is in the same boat as Ohio State — trying to dig themselves out of the bottom four and get a bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
Ohio State’s game against Rutgers will be their senior day. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
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