Ohio State falters late, drops home defeat to No. 15 Wisconsin
Home court has been the gold standard in Big Ten play. When the sun came up on Value City Arena on Wednesday morning, conference teams playing inside their own arenas had won nine straight Big Ten games and 14 of the last 15.
Ohio State, and by extension its home building, did not play along. With No. 15 Wisconsin in the house, the Buckeyes (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) battled, held a lead with nearly five minutes to play but fell, 71-60, to the Badgers (12-3, 4-0).
The loss is Ohio State’s second in a row leading into Monday’s noon tip at Michigan.
Max Klesmit, who came in averaging 7.2 points per game, put Wisconsin ahead for good with a 3-pointer that made it 57-56 with 5:16 to play as part of a 10-0 run for the Badgers. Wisconsin would close the game on a 19-4 run
Scoreless at halftime, Klesmit scored all 18 of his points during the second half to power the Badgers.
Trailing 48-42 as the midpoint of the second half approached, Ohio State mounted a comeback thanks to Okpara. A Battle drive and finish against Chucky Hepburn made it 48-44, and two possessions later Okpara was in position to collect a Bruce Thornton 3-point miss.
He scored, drew a foul, flexed both of his arms and hit the free throw with 10:35 left to pull within one. Wisconsin got the ball to its primary post player, Steven Crowl, when he snagged an offensive rebound, but Okpara rejected the shot attempt with authority.
The Buckeyes then capitalized with a Scotty Middleton 3-pointer from the left wing, reclaiming the lead at 50-48 and marking an 8-0 run. Not only that, but it got the crowd roaring for the first time all night, giving Ohio State some much-needed extra juice.
It just wouldn't be enough.
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The Buckeyes led for 16:37 of the first half but went into the locker room trailing 35-33 at the half. Battle’s fourth 3-pointer of the half came on a feed from Evan Mahaffey in the post, giving Ohio State a 33-29 lead with 1:49 to play, but Wisconsin’s John Blackwell answered 17 seconds later by swishing a 3-pointer over Battle to pull within a point.
The Buckeyes committed a shot clock violation when Mahaffey got stuck with the ball under the rim as the horn sounded, and with 46 seconds left Connor Essegian hit a 3 to set the halftime score. Both teams would have one more possession, but Gayle misfired on a 3 that gave Wisconsin the ball with about 20 seconds left and Chucky Hepburn missed a 3 at the buzzer.
It was a 6-0 run for the Badgers, who trailed by as many as eight points with 7:51 to play. It was Battle who gave the Buckeyes that 25-17 lead when he threw in a 3-pointer just before the buzzer after Thornton had kept the possession alive by tracking down a loose ball deep in Ohio State’s backcourt along the sideline.
The shot came a minute and a half after another dramatic make: with the shot clock about to expire, Battle collected the ball, stepped just behind the arc and swished the shot as the crowd roared in anticipation before the ball even left his fingers. He closed the half with 14 points and was 4 for 5 from 3-point range.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State battles, falls late to No. 15 Wisconsin
