It was a game of spurts, runs and counter-runs. Unfortunately for Northwestern, Ohio State had the biggest of them all.
The Buckeyes (14-7, 3-4 Big Ten) upended the Wildcats with a devastating 22-1 run during the final 6:18 in Saturday’s game at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Ohio State erased an eight-point deficit and emerged with a 65-52 win, leaving NU players and fans in shock.
“I still can’t believe what happened out there,” NU center Davor Duvancic said. “It’s just unbelievable. I don’t have an explanation.”
The Cats (8-9, 2-5), perhaps hung over from Wednesday’s miraculous comeback win against Iowa, had several lapses Saturday, the most crippling of which coming at the game’s most crucial time.
NU forward Vedran Vukusic hit the team’s final field goal with 7:20 left on the clock. He was fouled in the process, and his free throw gave the Cats a 51-43 advantage, the biggest margin for either team up to that point. It capped a 10-2 NU run that began following a media timeout at the 11:59 mark.
The Cats got the ball back after Ohio State’s J.J. Sullinger missed a tip-in, and as NU guard Michael Jenkins pulled back to set up the offense, the crowd gave the Cats a rousing ovation.
That’s when things fell apart.
Ohio State guard Jamar Butler stole the ball from Jenkins and raced the other way for a layup to cut the margin to six. On the next possession, Sullinger stripped the ball from center Mike Thompson and found Je’Kel Foster in transition, who made a layup and was fouled. A free throw later, NU’s lead was down to three.
NU lost its lead two possessions later when Sullinger blew by T.J. Parker for an easy layup to make it 52-51. On the next possession, Parker tossed an errant left-handed pass that ended up on press row, nowhere close to its intended target.
NU coach Bill Carmody, with a look of disgust, made a motion to remove his coat, as he had done during the Iowa game. Instead, he kept it on, while Ohio State kept up its pressure and onslaught.
“I just didn’t know what would work,” Carmody said. “Ohio State came to life in the last seven minutes and we sort of just petered out.”
Unlike Iowa, which made just 4 of 9 free throws at the end of regulation Wednesday, the Buckeyes made all seven of their foul shots in the game’s final four minutes. They also showed the 5,001 in attendance the proper way to close out a game by playing stifling defense.
Ohio State coach Thad Matta called the victory “one of the best team wins.”
The teams played most of the first half by exchanging scoring runs, with the Buckeyes delivering the first. Ohio State converted on each of its first three possessions to jump to a 7-0 lead.
NU responded with seven unanswered points to even the score, but then the Buckeyes went on a 5-0 run in a little more than a minute. The Cats answered with a 5-0 spurt of their own to tie the game at 12 midway through the first half.
Ohio State and NU exchanged runs of 8-1 and 8-2 to bring the score to 22-21 in favor of the Buckeyes with 2:23 remaining.
The teams traded baskets until halftime, with Ohio State up 29-27.
NU did not get its first lead until the 11:12 mark in the second half, when Vukusic’s short baseline jumper pulled the Cats ahead at 41-39.
Vukusic picked up his second foul with 13:40 remaining in the first half and played six minutes, scoring four points, before halftime. The Big Ten’s third-leading scorer finished with a team-leading 15 before fouling out with less than a minute to go.
Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].
