No. 2 seeded Ohio State played No. 7 seed Penn State Basketball for the third time this season during their quarterfinal game of the Big Ten Tournament, on Friday at Madison Square Garden. For the third consecutive time they took a loss, this time 69-68.
The game was a close one that ended with a last second shot attempt by the Buckeyes following a lead pass from Tony Carr to Josh Reeves that put the Nittany Lions up by one with 3.1 seconds left on the clock.
The Buckeyes fought hard during the contest which was close for the majority of the game. But Penn State’s Tony Carr was too much for Ohio State to handle and certainly was the impact player of the game scoring 25 on the night.
As all attention was focused on Carr, he was able to get the Buckeyes defense leaning during the Nittany Lions final offensive possession just enough for him to find Josh Reaves for the deciding bucket.
Ohio State’s leader throughout the season Keita Bates-Diop had a solid game on 50% shooting from the field while scoring 25 points. Bates-Diop was also doubled and ended up losing the ball late in the second period which lead to Reeves score for the eventual game winning shot.
The scarlet and grey put up a fight but became a little bit too one dimensional and reliant on their big man, Big Ten Player of the Year, Bates-Diop. The defense was staggering from the Nittany Lions all night and they were able to come up with a big steal on Ohio State’s best player when it mattered the most.
This loss will most likely sting the Buckeyes a great deal as they have now been swept by Penn State this season, once on a hail mary buzzer-beater in Columbus to lose by three on Jan. 25. Their second loss was a blowout by 17 on Feb. 15. The Buckeyes would have liked to get their payback on one of their rivals but the guard play and hustle from Penn State looked to be the difference on Friday night as the Buckeyes fell short once again.
Ohio State missed a chance to advance in the tournament as Penn State will go on to play the winner of No. 3 seed Purdue and Rutgers on Saturday.
The Buckeyes still have a shot at a national championship however as the NCAA Tournament seeding will be released next week in which, despite the loss, the Buckeyes will more than likely still be seeded and have a shot to reach the Final Four.
The NCAA Tournament bracket will be released on TBS on Sunday, March 11.
