Trailing 78-77 with seven seconds remaining in double overtime following an Indiana basket, Ohio State point guard C.J. Jackson took the inbound pass and raced up the court, pausing for a split second before launching a deep three-pointer that hit nothing but net, giving Ohio State an 80-78 lead with just a couple of seconds remaining in the game. The Hoosiers’ desperation heave fell short and the No. 16 Buckeyes (24-7, 15-3) walked out of Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana with a wild, wild win on a wet and warm Friday night.
“I knew where all of our guys were,” Jackson said after the game. “J.T. was the trail man because he took it out, but I just felt like I had the best look that we were going to get with the time left.”
Jackson, who scored 13 points, was one of five Buckeye scorers in double figures. They were led by Keita Bates-Diop, who had a game-high 24 points in a game-high 45 minutes.
Ohio State battled foul trouble throughout the game, as both Kaleb Wesson and Andre Wesson fouled out. Jae’Sean Tate played with four fouls for the game’s final 15 minutes.
The Buckeyes were outscored 32-4 in bench points, but they did get a healthy 76 points from their starters.
For Indiana, they were just never able to get over the Ohio State hump. The Buckeyes led by as much as 12 points in the first half, but the Hoosiers (16-14, 9-9) eventually eliminated the entire lead by intermission.
Ohio State led by as many as seven in the second half, while Indiana had just one lead — by two points. It tied their largest lead of the game.
A pair of free throws by Indiana’s Justin Smith with 2:18 left in regulation tied the game at 63-63. Ohio State would miss their final three shots of regulation, and the Hoosiers would miss a pair of layups in that span to send the game to its first overtime.
A pair of free throws by Indiana’s Robert Johnson with seven seconds remaining in the first overtime tied the game at 70-70. Jae’Sean Tate took the inbound pass and dribbled up court, but his pass to Keita Bates-Diop on the wing was tipped by C.J. Jackson and they didn’t get a shot off before the clock expired.
To start the second overtime, Bates-Diop was fouled on a layup attempt, which he missed, and then only made one of his two free throws. Indiana forward Juwan Morgan then missed a pair of free throws, but eventually followed that up with a dunk to give the Hoosiers a 72-71 lead. About one minute later, Tate answered with a layup to get the lead back for the Buckeyes.
Two free throws by Morgan on the next possession gave the lead back to Indiana, but another layup by Tate recaptured the lead for Ohio State at 75-74. Smith and Bates-Diop then traded layups to give OSU a 77-76 lead.
With 16 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Indiana gave the ball to Morgan, who drove and scored with seven seconds remaining, giving Indiana the 78-77 lead.
It was after this basket that C.J. Jackson then hit his clutch three to give the Buckeyes the eventual 80-78 win.
“It’s been an unbelievable way to cap an unbelievable season,” said Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann. “This team does have a grit to it that is necessary in a game like this, particularly on the road. I think at the end of the day, that’s what you’re trying to preach from day one. You hope you have guys that have that to them, that have that stuff inside of them that we all look at and can identify as resiliency and grit, and they did that.”
For Holtmann, he couldn’t have asked for a better first regular season at Ohio State.
“This has been as remarkable of a regular season as anything I’ve ever been a part of in coaching,” he said. “I won’t take that for granted, it’s been incredibly special.”
The win keeps Ohio State’s Big Ten title hopes alive, as they now move to 15-3 in conference play and 24-7 overall. Michigan State (27-3, 15-2) plays at Wisconsin Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm on CBS. The Spartans have won 11 in a row.
Up next for the Buckeyes is a game one week from tonight in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Box Score
[C.J. Jackson photo courtesy ohiostatebuckeyes.com]