LINCOLN, Neb. — In a season in which Ohio State has been most consistent at being inconsistent, why should last night have been any different?
Leading by 15 points with less than nine minutes to play against a Nebraska team that had won two Big Ten games, the 11th-ranked Buckeyes watched their lead get reduced to five in the final three minutes before escaping the Devaney Center with a 63-56 victory.
“We let up,” said guard Lenzelle Smith Jr., who led Ohio State (16-4, 7-2 Big Ten) with a season-high 21 points. “We were manhandling them the whole game and we got into a comfort zone and said, ‘Yeah, we won this game.’
“In the Big Ten, no game is won. As long as there’s time on the clock, there’s always a chance for a team to come back.”
Smith said the way the game played out at the end elicited a mixed message from coach Thad Matta in the locker room afterward.
“He said we didn’t play well. There are some things we’ve got to work on,” Smith said. “But we’re 7-2. We got the win. We did what we came here to do. But we’ve got to get better.”
The victory moved the Buckeyes into a tie for second place in the Big Ten halfway through the conference schedule.
Nebraska, which trailed 53-38 with less than nine minutes to play, crashed the offensive boards for second and third shots and got as close as 58-53 with 2:40 remaining. The Cornhuskers had three shots on their next possession to get closer, but none of them fell.
Smith and Aaron Craft made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute to keep the Cornhuskers at bay.
“We could have gotten it to three late if we just tip one in,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “Who knows what could have happened then?”