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February 29, 2016Whether the NCAA schedule-makers meant to do it or not, Ohio State’s two biggest home games of the season fell in the same week: the second to last week of the regular season. While they were eventually blown out by Michigan State, the Bucks were able to secure one of their biggest wins of the season Sunday afternoon, when they beat Iowa. The win over the Hawkeyes kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Ohio State gets demolished by Michigan State at home, 62-81
The Buckeyes came into Tuesday night knowing that they still needed a couple big wins over ranked teams to get into the NCAA Tournament, and their two games this week would play a big part on that. After hearing the unfortunate news that one of their best players, Jae’Sean Tate was going to miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury, they were going into one of their biggest games of the season without the heart and soul of their team, which head coach Thad Matta pointed out following the game.
“I think he’s the heart and soul of this team. We challenge our guys when we have a man down, we need to man up. It’s one of those things you hate for Jae’Sean. But, with that said, you need to find a way to regroup again.”
Ohio State, who was down just 36-31 at halftime, couldn’t find a way to stop Sparty’s offense in the second half – when they were outscored 45-31 – to go on and lose to one of the best teams in the country, 81-62.
One of the main reasons they couldn’t stop the Spartans? Bryn Forbes. The guard made 7-of-10 shots from beyond the arc to go along with his 27 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal on the night. National Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine (17 points, five rebounds, eight assists) also played very well, like he has all season. Along with Forbes and Valentine, the Bucks had tough time on defense all night. They allowed Michigan State to shoot 54.4 percent from the floor and an incredible 63.6 percent from behind the three-point line.
Junior Marc Loving made sure to comment on the Spartan’s impressive offense following the game.
“They set great screens and they have tremendous patients on offense. The screens were phenomenal to the point where they were getting a lot of looks and were able to knock those shots down.”
In the loss, just two Buckeyes scored in double figures: Marc Loving (19 points, three rebounds) and JaQuan Lyle (16 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal). Although Ohio State made 90.5 percent from the free-throw line, they shot just 39.6 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.
With the loss to one of the best teams in the country and the Big Ten, the Bucks missed out on a shot to notch an impressive win to add to their resume. It also ended their four game winning streak.
Bucks upset Iowa on Senior Night, 68-64
Iowa, who had already lost two consecutive games, came to Columbus to challenge an Ohio State team that was not only in a must-win situation for their NCAA Tournament hopes, but also a team that was playing their last home game of the season.
Led by a game-high 25 points from Marc Loving – along with three rebounds and two steals – the Buckeyes came out of the gates looking for the upset, holding a 35-30 lead at halftime. Although the Hawkeyes had the lead late in the game, Ohio State finished the game on a 12-2 run to secure one of their biggest wins of the year. Their play down the stretch caught the eye of Matta.
“I think we played harder. We didn’t play well throughout stretches and I challenged guys to get lower in their defensive stance and to do different things. To their credit, they did that. I thought we did a great job moving the ball down the stretch. I thought all five guys played harder.”
Kam Williams, who did not score until their there was 8:08 remaining in the game, finished with 11 points to help the Bucks pull off the upset down the stretch. Loving (6-of-8 from behind the three-point line) and Keita Bates-Diop (8-of-11 from the field, led the Bucks, along with Williams. The sharpshooter, who had 11 points down the stretch, commented on his shot and the confidence that he has in himself.
“I’m a pretty confident basketball player, so I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing no matter what … just because I’m missing shots doesn’t mean that I have to stop being aggressive. My three’s weren’t going down so I tried to attack the paint a little bit.”
Outside of Loving and Williams, Bates-Diop (19 points, six rebounds, one assist, two steals, four blocks) also scored in double figures. He also had the game-clinching block to disallow an Iowa layup with just seconds remaining and the Bucks up just two.
It was their first win against a ranked Big Ten opponent this season and their 18th consecutive season with at least one win against a ranked conference opponent. With just one game left in the regular season, Matta realizes how important a win like this is to a team that’s fighting to make it into the NCAA Tournament.
“This was a great win because of we won the game but also because of how we had to win it. We came together and timeouts were electric. The huddles on the floor were electric. Guys like Jae’sean Tate normally bring that energy to the table. It was great to make the plays we needed to make down the stretch. Hopefully we can continue to build off of this down the stretch.”
Following the game, the Buckeyes Facetimed Tate, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, and presented him with the game ball as well.
Iowa’s loss gave Indiana at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title heading into the final week.
Coming up this week:
Saturday at No. 6 Michigan State (24-5, 11-5), 12:00 p.m. ET