Amare Bynum (1) celebrates Ohio State’s 82-74 win over No. 8 Purdue. Credit: Cassandra D’Angelo | Lantern Photographer.
Ohio State’s season had reached a tipping point.
Fresh off a 17-point blowout loss at Iowa and watching its NCAA Tournament hopes begin to fade, the Buckeyes entered Sunday in desperate need of a statement win.
They delivered one.
Behind 41 combined points from Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr., Ohio State upset No. 8 Purdue 82-74 at the Schottenstein Center, injecting life into its postseason resume.
“One thing about this team is we know how to respond,” Thornton said.?
For the first time in four games, all five players of Ohio State’s starting lineup, Thornton, Mobley Jr., Devin Royal, Amare Bynum and Christoph Tilly were available.
“Our guys were ready, they were excited to play in this game [and] felt confident in our plan,” Head coach Jake Diebler said. “I think when they found out that we had everybody available, it kind of just amped it up a little bit more.”
After a season-low 23-point first half in its last game against Iowa, Ohio State put together a bounce-back opening 20-minute performance.
But early on, it was all Purdue.
The Boilermakers started 4-of-5 from 3-point range, jumping out to a 16-9 lead through the game’s opening seven minutes. But unlike Wednesday’s game against the Hawkeyes, where Ohio State folded after an early Iowa run, they came roaring back.
The Buckeyes went on a 14-3 run over the next 6:45 minutes, holding the Boilermakers to scoring droughts of 4:36 and 2:45 minutes.??
Ohio State gained its largest lead of the half, 30-24, with 3:28 remaining in the half behind a 3-pointer from Mobley Jr, who led the Buckeyes with 11 points at the break.?
Ohio State led 36-31 at halftime, as its interior defense held Purdue to 3-of-14 from two-point shot attempts.?
The Buckeyes, who entered Sunday 12-2 when leading at halftime, were 20 minutes away from boosting their NCAA Tournament chances, which clocked in at below a coin flip before the contest, with their first win over a top 10 opponent.?
Out of the break, the Buckeyes made four of their first five shots from the floor, to go ahead 50-36.
But Purdue rallied back, cutting the deficit to seven, revitalizing the Boilermaker-faithful as “Let’s Go Boilers” chants reigned down in the Schottenstein Center.?
Then, as he has in almost every second half throughout the season, Thornton came alive.?
The senior scored eight straight points for the Buckeyes to put Ohio State ahead 60-49 with under 10 minutes remaining.
The Buckeyes extended their lead to 67-51, but over the next four minutes, Ohio State would not make a field goal, and the Boilermakers cut the deficit to nine with 3:26 remaining.
After Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer hit a 3-pointer and Braden Smith made a layup, suddenly, the lead was down to six. It was the closest the game had been since the break, and the momentum was shifting towards Purdue.
The Buckeyes were in desperate need of a basket, and they got it from their freshman Bynum.?The forward knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from Taison Chatman to put Ohio State ahead 72-63 with 2:17 left.?
“I think it just shows the belief these guys have in each other for [Chatman] to make that pass, as an unselfish play,” Diebler said.?
In the final moments, Thornton put the Boilermakers away for good.?
Thornton made five-of-six free throws in the final minute to fend off Purdue’s late rally.
“He’s what college basketball is all about,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said about Thornton. “He could have ran, he could have transferred, he could have done all of that stuff. He stayed, he competed [and] he fought.”
And just like they did almost two years ago, when Diebler knocked off then-No. 2 Purdue as interim head coach, Buckeye fans flooded from the student section and onto the court, jumping up and down in excitement.
“I’m happy that our guys got to have that moment and our [Buckeye] NutHouse got to have that moment,” Diebler said.
