Without its top scorer and offensive maestro Bruce Thornton, Ohio State needed a savior on Thursday.
A win over Nebraska was necessary to keep the team's at-large NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Huskers defeated the Buckeyes 83-69 in Lincoln earlier this season, a game that Ohio State had Thornton's services for.
Enter Jamison Battle.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEBRASKA | 37 | 32 | 69 |
| OHIO STATE | 39 | 39 | 78 |
The team's star wing and biggest transfer portal acquisition this offseason put on a start-to-finish show in Value City Arena, dropping a season-high 32 points to push Ohio State (17-12, 7-11 Big Ten) past Nebraska (20-9, 10-8) 78-69.
Ohio State has now won three of its four games – all against teams with 17 wins or more – since interim head coach Jake Diebler took control of the team.
Sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. served as Battle's partner in crime, collecting 16 points with 10 rebounds. Freshman forward Devin Royal also proved a revelation for the Buckeyes again off a career-high 14 points against Michigan State, picking up 12 points and five boards.
First half
Battle brought the heat early.
Nebraska turned Ohio State over twice and nailed a triple to go up 3-0. Battle's responded with 11 straight points for the Buckeyes, knocking down three triples even if two were contested. A layup from Gayle set the score at 13-6 Buckeyes.
The Huskers answered back, launching a 15-2 extended run with triples from guards Jamarques Lawrence and Sam Hoiberg.
Freshman guard Taison Chatman, playing extra minutes in Ohio State's rotation to help fill the void left by Thornton, hit his first career three-pointer to cut the deficit to 23-20.
After some exchanges of points, Tominaga got going next for Nebraska, hitting a mid-range jumper and a triple to push his team's edge to 34-27. Gayle collected three free throws to cap a stretch of seven charity stripe makes in less than four minutes; freshman guard Scotty Middleton followed up with a triple.
Then Battle began again.
This time it was the transition game for the former Minnesota forward, getting to the rim off Nebraska turnovers for six consecutive points, four of them in fastbreak fashion. That capped a 12-1 extended run to build a 39-35 lead for the Buckeyes that was cut to 39-37 before halftime.
Second half
| NEBRASKA | STAT | OHIO STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 69 | POINTS | 78 |
| 26-67 (38.8%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 23-54 (42.6%) |
| 10-33 (30.3%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 8-21 (38.1%) |
| 7-8 (87.5%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 24-28 (85.7%) |
| 8 | TURNOVERS | 13 |
| 33 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 43 |
| 8 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 9 |
| 25 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 34 |
| 27 | BENCH POINTS | 25 |
| 1 | BLOCKS | 3 |
| 7 | STEALS | 2 |
| 15 | ASSISTS | 13 |
Ohio State wasted no time building its lead to start the second set of 20 minutes, opening on a 7-0 run highlighted by an and-one finish on an alley-oop from Felix Okpara.
Back-to-back triples from Lawrence stabilized the deficit for Nebraska at 50-45, but Middleton answered with a rainbow three over a strong contest to make it 53-45.
Another pair of back-to-back three-point plays, one the old-fashioned way, put the Huskers back within two but Battle answered with a triple to snap an 0-for-6 stretch for him from deep, then a mid-range jumper to make it 60-53.
Then Mast started chipping away for Nebraska. He knocked down two triples and two layups for 10 straight Husker points, whittling the lead down to 65-63 before Royal answered with two free throws as the clock dwindled under six minutes.
Nebraska forward Juwan Gary threw down a monstrous dunk and collected two free throws, Battle and Royal each cashed it a pair of their own foul shots to keep the edge at two scores with less than three minutes to play.
The latter of those sets of free throws sparked a 9-0 run that all but sent Nebraska packing with the Buckeyes ahead 78-67 with under a minute to play. A circus layup from Gayle accounted for two of those points.
Roddy made this btw pic.twitter.com/hpgDpM0ZpA
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 1, 2024
Battle closed his incredible outing in climactic fashion, knocking down a floater that pushed Ohio State's lead to an insurmountable 10 points at 77-67 with 1:32 to play.
What's next
Ohio State plays its final home game of the 2023-24 season against Michigan. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
Game notes
- Ohio State now leads its all-time series with Nebraska currently 17-5.
- Battle has hit at least four threes in nine games for Ohio State this season.
- Despite only scoring three points, Okpara had a big impact on the game, securing seven rebounds and two blocks with a +/- of +27. No other Buckeye went better than +11.
