Current:Home > ScamsBenjamin Ashford|Ohio State shocks No. 2 Purdue four days after firing men's basketball coach -AssetLink
Benjamin Ashford|Ohio State shocks No. 2 Purdue four days after firing men's basketball coach
Poinbank View
Date:2025-04-11 07:26:02
COLUMBUS,Benjamin Ashford Ohio — Value City Arena was empty about three hours before Ohio State's game against No. 2 Purdue on Sunday save for a specific section of the court.
From near midcourt toward the tunnel leading into the area housing the visitors’ locker room, roughly two dozen scarlet-clad ushers and arena personnel went over their gameplan for the afternoon. They were ready, should a reeling Ohio State team knock off Big Ten-leading Purdue, to get Zach Edey and his teammates off the court with as little incident as possible.
Sunday afternoon, practice made perfect. Four days after athletic director Gene Smith fired coach Chris Holtmann, interim coach Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes notched their most impressive win of the season by taking down the Boilermakers, 73-69, inside an arena that was nearly packed.
The win is Ohio State's first against a top-five team since it beat No. 1 Duke on Nov. 30, 2021. The Buckeyes had lost three straight such games since then, each of them actually to Purdue.
Ohio State (15-11, 5-10 Big Ten) led for the final 22:28 against Purdue (23-3, 12-3). The Buckeyes had lost nine of their last 11 games while Purdue boasted the nation's fifth-longest active win streak at nine.
Purdue tied it at 65-all on a Lance Jones 3-pointer with 1:39 left, but Jamison Battle reclaimed the lead on a jumper in the paint and after Zed Key stripped Edey, Battle drew a foul and hit two free throws with 34.1 seconds left to extend his streak without misses to 36.
That four-point lead was enough.
The Buckeyes pulled out all the stops. Instead of throwing out T-shirts to “the loudest fans” in the arena, as is tradition, Ohio State put program legend Aaron Craft on the scoreboard, where he pumped up the crowd just before tipoff. During a first-half timeout, 2022 first-round NBA pick Malaki Branham was recognized, and he gave Diebler a hug before heading into the stands.
The capper came during the final media timeout of the half, with Purdue leading 28-25. As “One Shining Moment” played over the speakers, Ohio State tacitly recognized the 1998-99 team whose Final Four appearance was vacated due to NCAA violations. The loudest applause at the end came for Scoonie Penn, who upon his arrival at the arena told The Dispatch that Ohio State would win Sunday.
At least, the loudest applause until Battle got going as the Buckeyes took control during the second half. After having gone 2 for 13 from 3 in his last three games, the Minnesota graduate transfer who came to Ohio State to reach the NCAA Tournament took a pass out of the post from Evan Mahaffey to hit a 3 for a 44-38 lead.
Mahaffey had tipped the ball away from Edey, to the crowd’s delight, and there was more to come. Edey was stripped on the next possession and failed to secure the loose ball, leading to a runout capped by a Battle 3-pointer as the roar continued to build. It grew louder still when Key stripped Edey and finally reached a crescendo when Battle buried a 3 from the left wing.
Three shots. Sixty-one seconds. A 12-point Ohio State lead. The Buckeyes were rolling, and although Purdue kept fighting, so did Ohio State.
Thornton led the Buckeyes with 22 points.
When Austin Parks, who had played in just one game since the Dec. 21 blowout against New Orleans, scored with 3:07 left in the first half, it marked his first career field goal as well as the first Ohio State lead of the afternoon. It also continued a late-half run from the Buckeyes, who trailed 28-21 when Zach Edey dished an offensive rebound to Mason Gillis for a floater in the paint with 5:51 left in the half.
Zed Key got it started when, seemingly stuck on the left baseline, he managed to spin free and hit a floater. Bruce Thornton followed on the next possession by drawing a foul on Edey, sending him to the bench for the remainder of the half with two fouls and 4:30 remaining. Thornton hit the free throws, and what would become a 14-2 run to close the half was underway.
The final points came from freshman Devin Royal, who grabbed a Key miss, spun and put it back to set the halftime score at 35-30. It could’ve been more, as Ohio State continually extended the final possession of the half when Roddy Gayle Jr. drew a foul while hustling for an offensive rebound and Scotty Middleton tipped an offensive rebound out for one final look, but when the ball got back to the freshman he airballed a 3-pointer from the left corner.
The run belied the start of the game, when Purdue scored the first eight points before Thornton got the Buckeyes on the board with a three-point play with 17:31 left. At the half, Edey had only 6 points and five rebounds.
veryGood! (29)
Related
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Caught in a lie, CEO of embattled firm caring for NYC migrants resigns
- Cleveland Cavaliers executive Koby Altman charged with operating vehicle while impaired
- Colorado State's Jay Norvell says he was trying to fire up team with remark on Deion Sanders
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- $245 million slugger Anthony Rendon questions Angels with update on latest injury
- Untangling Elon Musk's Fiery Dating History—and the 11 Kids it Produced
- Man arrested after appearing to grope female reporter in the middle of her live report in Spain
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Hundreds protest against the Malaysian government after deputy premier’s graft charges were dropped
Ranking
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Poison ivy is poised to be one of the big winners of a warming world
- Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert Break Up After 7 Years of Marriage
- Maui death toll from wildfires drops to at least 97; officials say 31 still missing
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Star studded strikes: Celebrities show up for WGA, SAG-AFTRA pickets
- What is UAW? What to know about the union at the heart of industry-wide auto workers strike
- Mike Babcock resigns as Blue Jackets coach amid investigation involving players’ photos
Recommendation
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
US: Mexico extradites Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Sinaloa cartel leader ‘El Chapo,’ to United States
Rural hospitals are closing maternity wards. People are seeking options to give birth closer to home
Lots of indoor farms are shutting down as their businesses struggle. So why are more being built?
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness announce their separation after 27 years of marriage
Long Island serial killings: A timeline of the investigation
'Wait Wait' for September 16, 2023: With Not My Job guest Hillary Rodham Clinton