'Let the Madness begin': 6 takeaways from Ohio State's win against Nebraska
Jamison Battle wasn’t about to just let his play do the talking.
Thursday night at Value City Arena, Battle could’ve pointed to the scoreboard, the final stat sheet and strutted out of the arena without needing to say anything else. With Ohio State missing its captain and leading scorer in Bruce Thornton, Battle poured in a season-high 32 points to lead the suddenly surging Buckeyes past Nebraska, 78-69, in front of 13,090 fans.
It wasn’t just that Battle rained down three 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the game, or that he drew five shooting fouls to go 10 for 10 from the line, or that he hit five of six shots from inside the 3-point line. From the jump, this was a different Battle than the one the Buckeyes have seen this year.
After his second 3-pointer gave him Ohio State’s first eight points, he turned toward the sideline and yelled a few words. As the Buckeyes closed out the final minutes, Battle turned toward the student section and demonstratively waved his arms, yelling and thumping his chest. And when teammate Roddy Gayle Jr. was fouled with 57.2 seconds left and the lead at 10 points, the final outcome was so close Battle could taste it.
“I’m him!” he yelled toward the crowd, repeating it at least once before Gayle went to the line to close out Ohio State’s scoring.
Seated in the postgame interview room, Battle spread that line of thinking across the entire roster while nodding to the changing of the calendar.
“You can say ‘I’m him,’ but it’s a collective effort,” Battle said. “I won’t take all the weight on my shoulder. I know this team wants more than to just end the season after the Big Ten Tournament.”
That much is becoming more and more evident with each game the Buckeyes play for interim coach Jake Diebler. Fifteen days after athletic director Gene Smith fired coach Chris Holtmann with six games remaining in his seventh season, Ohio State has won three of four including a home win against No. 2 Purdue and Sunday’s last-second road win at Michigan State.
Battle had to sit that one out with an ankle injury he played through in a Feb. 22 homecoming loss at Minnesota. With Thornton unavailable due to a migraine, Battle said he wasn’t about to let the Buckeyes slip against a Nebraska team that had won four straight games by double figures and by an average of 18.0 points.
All he did was score the first 11 points of the game to get Ohio State going. He had 17 by halftime and 15 during the second half, helping answer any challenge Nebraska was able to mount, and was on the court for all but 70 seconds.
“There is a sense of urgency,” he said. “I’ve got three guaranteed games left of college basketball. My goal is, we’re going to do whatever it takes to win all those games and maybe even more.”
Those three games include Sunday’s senior day date with Michigan, a March 10 regular-season finale at Rutgers and whatever first game the Buckeyes will play in the Big Ten Tournament. If they beat the Wolverines and the Scarlet Knights, the Buckeyes will almost certainly avoid playing on the first day of the tournament.
Two weeks ago, Ohio State was 14-11 overall, 4-10 in the Big Ten and had lost 10 of its last 13 games. Now the Buckeyes have won three of four, added two Quad 1 wins to their NET ranking and are dreaming of the goals they talked about months ago when the preseason got underway.
“If you look at the calendar, it’s February 29th today,” he said. “Tomorrow is March. The madness begins tomorrow. We’re not ready to go home. That’s the mentality that we have, that March is upon us. Let the madness begin.”
Here are six other takeaways from Ohio State’s 78-69 win against Nebraska.
Ohio State wins in Bruce Thornton’s absence
If there’s been a warrior during the last two seasons for the Buckeyes, it’s been Bruce Thornton. Moved into a captain’s role as a freshman, the physical point guard immediately slotted into the starting lineup and never left. Thornton’s start at Michigan State was the 63rd to start his career, marking the longest such streak since Michael Redd started all 96 games he played from 1998-2000.
Thursday afternoon, though, Thornton started to develop migraine symptoms. When the official availability report published about two and a half hours before tip, it listed the sophomore as questionable. By the time the Buckeyes started to go through warmups, Thornton was unavailable.
“The message has been simple and it’s been the same the last two games: when you’re a man down you have to find a way to be a little more tougher and a little more together,” Diebler said. “I’m proud of the way our guys stepped up, missing such an important part like Bruce. We shouldn’t be surprised, because they did the same thing missing such an important piece in Jamison at Michigan State.”
Without Thornton, Ohio State’s leader in points, assists and minutes played, Diebler elevated fifth-year Baylor transfer Dale Bonner to the starting lineup for the first time this season. He played 33:07, his second-most minutes of the year, and missed all six of his shot attempts. Bonner finished with four rebounds, three assists and two turnovers, but Gayle cited the veteran as the reason why the Buckeyes were able to win.
“I think he put the weight on his shoulders to be our floor general,” he said. “When Dale’s in the game, he allows us to play very fast. Using his speed to be able to get downhill and in transition for easy baskets. We’ve been talking about playing fast all year. Not saying that Bruce don’t play fast, but saying Dale, with his speed, he’s just able to do things that many other people aren’t able to do.
“His stats might not have said Dale played a great game, but Dale was the difference-maker for me, honestly.”
The Buckeyes got contributions from several youthful sources. Freshman Scotty Middleton hit a season-high three 3-pointers to chip in nine points, his most since equaling that number at Penn State on Dec. 9. Freshman Devin Royal scored 13 points, giving him consecutive double-digit scoring efforts for the first time all year. Freshman Taison Chatman hit his first 3-pointer of the year.
It all helped compensate for the loss of Thornton.
“I was impressed how connected we were defensively because a lot of times (Thornton) has been a big voice for us on both sides of the ball,” Diebler said. “To see our guys step up and fill that void, which most people would’ve anticipated being an issue going into this game, we had a great deal of confidence that our guys were going to be really highly connected.”
The sophomore captain is expected to be back for Sunday’s game against Michigan.
“He and our medical team did absolutely everything they could,” Diebler said. “It just wasn’t in his best interest at that point in time to do it. We feel for him obviously. We know how tough he is and how much he loves this team.”
Felix Okpara has quietly impactful game
Battle, Gayle (16 points) and Royal combined to score 61 of Ohio State’s 78 points. That didn’t leave much for the rest of the Buckeyes, including sophomore starting center Felix Okpara. In 26:18, Okpara took four shots, made one and scored three points.
But while he was on the court, Ohio State outscored Nebraska by 28 points in what finished as a nine-point win. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg pointed to Okpara, who had seven rebounds and two blocks, as an impactful reason why the Buckeyes won.
“I thought Okpara was unbelievable tonight in the paint,” he said. “We did not finish well inside. This is now 35 games in a row where he’s had a blocked shot. He makes a difference in there. Even the shots we got in there, I think we were looking for him. We missed some shots right at the rim against their switch and just could not capitalize.”
At Michigan State, Okpara had 10 points and six rebounds. Diebler said this was the second straight game where the sophomore has been “really impactful” in a win.
“He had a couple shots he’ll make, but his defense, his rebounding, he altered shots,” he said. “I thought his communication and some of the switching he had to do, I was so impressed with him. This is now two games in a row and you’re seeing when he plays at that level, how much it can help us.”
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The last two games have been Ohio State’s most effective consecutive defensive performances in Big Ten play this year. According to KenPom.com, the Buckeyes held Michigan State to an adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 91.4 points per 100 possessions and Nebraska to a rating of 97.1.
It’s the first time this year Ohio State has held consecutive conference opponents below 100 points per 100 possessions.
Free throws prove to be a separator
Hoiberg said the Nebraska coaches instructed their players not to fall for Ohio State’s shot fakes, particularly from Gayle.
Ohio State went 24 for 28 from the free-throw line (85.7%); Nebraska was 7 for 8 (87.5%).
“The biggest thing we talked about was shot-fake discipline,” he said. “They do a really good job with their pump-fakes, and we were pogo sticks out there. We were jumping at everything and they get 28 free throws. It’s hard to win anywhere when you give up 28 free throws, especially when they make 24 of them.”
Battle was 10 for 10, moving him to 94.9% (56 for 59) this season. Gayle was 8 for 12, making him 106 for 125 (84.8%) this year. Gayle drew six fouls and Battle drew five.
“Roddy’s aggressiveness has been great for us,” Diebler said. “He’s attacking the paint at a high level. Him getting to the free-throw line, he and Jamison both, was important for us. They’re such great shooters (there), it’s a real weapon for us.”
Hoiberg: Ohio State preparation was ‘no different’
In the first meeting between these teams, Nebraska torched Ohio State from the 3-point line, hitting 14 of 26 3s in an 83-69 lead. The Cornhuskers led by as many as 18 points and for 23:50 of the game.
Thursday night, the Buckeyes led by 26:54 and for the final 21:50.
“They’re playing some really good basketball right now,” Hoiberg said. “They’re playing with a lot of passion. Jake’s doing a great job with this team. They came out of the gate with more energy than we did. We struggled finding Battle early in the game, he got it going and he played with great confidence. And when Battle’s confident, he’s a tough guy to shut off.”
Preparing for Ohio State the second time was little different than the first, he said.
“Oh, it’s no different,” he said, echoing the same thoughts as Purdue’s Matt Painter after Ohio State’s 73-69 win on Feb. 18. “Listen, I’m a huge Chris Holtmann fan. I think he’s an absolutely phenomenal basketball coach. I think he’s going to be back on his feet leading a team back to the top here in no time.
“As far as preparation, it’s not any different. It’s the same guys. You have to find a way to shut Battle off. You have to have urgency in your closeouts. We did not do that early. You have to get back in transition. We didn’t do a good job with that.”
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Roddy Gayle has quick-healing ankles
With 2:29 to play and Ohio State pulling away, Gayle scored on an acrobatic drive to the right block. His banked-in shot gave the Buckeyes a 73-67 lead, but he stayed on the ground as Nebraska tried to run the other way. Bonner took a charge on Jamarques Lawrence to snuff that out, and play was stopped as Gayle limped to the locker room with some assistance.
He returned a moment later, checked in with 1:14 remaining and grabbed three more rebounds to finish with 10. It was the first double-double of his career and only the fourth of the season for the Buckeyes. Zed Key has the other three.
Gayle downplayed the ankle injury.
“I done rolled my ankle so many times,” he said. “It heals pretty quick.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Let the Madness begin': 6 Ohio State takeaways from beating Nebraska
