For roughly the 10,000th time this season, when it seemed Ohio State's NCAA Tournament hopes were on life support, the Buckeyes took themselves from a great valley to a mountaintop.
Coming off perhaps its worst performance of the season at Iowa, Ohio State banded together behind a scorching outing from John Mobley Jr. and stunned No. 8 Purdue (22-7, 12-7 Big Ten) in the Schottenstein Center in an 80-71 win.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #8 PURDUE | 31 | 43 | 74 |
| OHIO STATE | 36 | 46 | 82 |
Mobley racked up 21 points and made 5-of-11 3-point attempts, adding a team-high three assists for Ohio State (18-11, 10-8). Three teammates also reached double-figures: Star guard Bruce Thornton (20 points), Amare Bynum (14) and Devin Royal (12).
Guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn led the way for the Boilermakers, scoring 20 and 19 points.
First Half
| PURDUE | STAT | OHIO STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 74 | POINTS | 82 |
| 28-63 (44.4%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 24-47 (51.1%) |
| 11-29 (37.9%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 9-24 (37.5%) |
| 7-10 (70%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 25-32 (78.1%) |
| 6 | TURNOVERS | 7 |
| 29 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 36 |
| 10 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 10 |
| 19 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 26 |
| 5 | BENCH POINTS | 8 |
| 0 | BLOCKS | 3 |
| 5 | STEALS | 3 |
| 13 | ASSISTS | 9 |
Purdue gained steady separation in the opening seven minutes through a collection of 3-point shots.
Guard Fletcher Loyer gave the Boilermakers an early 5-4 lead off a 3-pointer, then Smith drained a triple before an attempted lob from Thornton was intercepted and taken the other way for a Smith fast-break bucket. Two more 3-pointers by guard C.J. Cox made it a 16-9 Purdue lead.
The Buckeyes bounced back. A crisp Mobley pass set Amare Bynum up for a thunderous two-handed flush to capture momentum, then Mobley canned his first 3-pointer after three misses to start the game to cut the lead to one point. Christoph Tilly equalized at 16 with a free throw and had an open layup to take the lead, but missed as he lost his balance and Loyer hit a transition triple.
Mobley had the immediate answer with a right-corner 3-pointer to tie the contest again at 19, then cashed in a baseline jumper for a lead. A Bynum floater with a friendly roll closed the 7-0 Ohio State run that put it up two scores for the first time, 23-19.
Center Ivan Njegovan gave Ohio State an unexpected source of momentum next. He blocked a shot from star Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, then collected an offensive rebound and slammed it back with two hands on the offensive end. Cox hit a three for Purdue, but a Njegovan screen knocked Loyer to the floor to hand Mobley a wide-open triple and the Buckeyes a 30-24 advantage.
Purdue ate into its deficit with 3-pointers from Smith and Loyer, but Thornton carved through three defenders with an incredible string of dribble moves to put Ohio State up 36-31 at half.
Second Half
Ohio State came out of the locker room with an unquenchable thirst to extinguish the Boilermakers.
The Buckeyes took off on a 12-3 run, Mobley collecting five of the points, including another 3-pointer, and Royal tacking on four. Taison Chatman answered a Kaufman-Renn mid-range jumper with one of his own and Ohio State led 50-36 at the first media timeout of the half.
Kaufman-Renn kept heating up, stringing together another seven points to pull Purdue back within 52-45. But Njegovan slapped out two missed shots for offensive rebounds and a third-chance 3-pointer from Thornton fell through the net. Smith cashed in two free throws, Thornton answered with another triple.
Bruce Thornton from DEEP.
— CBS Sports College Basketball (@CBSSportsCBB) March 1, 2026
The Buckeyes stretch their lead back to 10!
CBS | Paramount + pic.twitter.com/4B6uZWETcK
Thornton again stretched the lead back to double digits on a one-legged elbow jumper. A steal and layup by Chatman fed into a circus Mobley 3-pointer as he fell to the floor. Two Royal free throws pushed the lead to 16 points before the Boilermakers stopped the bleeding.
Purdue made one last-ditch effort to get back into the game, first with a 7-0 run and then back-to-back baskets aided by an illegal screen from Royal in the backcourt. The lead got trimmed all the way down to six points. But on the other end, Chatman passed on an open layup to kick to Bynum for a 3-pointer and the freshman rewarded his loyalty with sweet nylon to make it a nine-point Buckeye lead once more.
Royal put an exclamation point on things with a putback slam that made it 74-63 Ohio State with 1:40 to play. A standing ovation welcomed Thornton to the free-throw line with 20 seconds left and the Buckeyes up eight, a mass of Purdue fans filing out of the stadium alongside the applause.
What's Next?
Ohio State plays its final road game of the season at Penn State on Wednesday. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. on Peacock.
Game Notes
- Bruce Thornton is now 30 points away from breaking Dennis Hopson's school record for career points, which is 2,096.
- Ohio State improves to 89-94 all-time against Purdue.
- Jake Diebler is now 3-0 vs. Purdue.
- The win was the Buckeyes’ first victory against a top-20 opponent this season.
- Jake Diebler lost a challenge for the first time this season, wanting a foul called against Kaufman-Renn for a shove of Thornton.
- Ohio State students and fans stormed the court after the win.
Scenes from the post-Purdue court storm pic.twitter.com/iDKoncmQeS
— Andy Anders (@AndyAnders55) March 1, 2026
