Buckeyes snap losing skid after more late drama

Ohio State needed a win.

The Buckeyes didn’t just need a win to advance to the quarterfinal of the Big Ten Tournament. No, they needed a win to officially put their four-game losing streak in the rearview as they enter March Madness. And while they almost blew a late double-digit lead, they escaped with a badly-needed victory inside Lucas Oil Stadium.

The No. 5 seed Buckeyes never trailed — but barely survived — in a 79-75 decision over Minnesota in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. Now, they move on to Friday afternoon, when they’ll meet No. 4-seed Purdue in the quarterfinal.

Ohio State wasn’t dominant. The Buckeyes survived a late Minnesota surge that made the final minute interesting. While the Buckeyes had plenty of opportunities to stretch their lead and blow out the Gophers, they let Minnesota hang around for most of the game. Minnesota cut what had been a double-digit Ohio State lead down to a single point the final minute. But the Buckeyes found ways to advance for their first win since Feb. 18.

With the win, the Buckeyes have less than 24 hours to prepare for Purdue, which beat the Buckeyes twice in the regular season. Before the Buckeyes can move on to their next game Friday afternoon, though, Lettermen Row is breaking down the win over Minnesota with Three Points.

Ohio State survives, will face Purdue

With a win in the second round to snap a four-game losing streak, the Buckeyes now advance to the Big Ten quarterfinal. They’ll face a familiar opponent in fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday afternoon. The Boilermakers have already beaten the Buckeyes twice in the regular season, both in Columbus and in West Lafayette. Ohio State has struggled to score against Purdue, averaging just 62.5 points per game in those two losses this season. The Buckeyes will certainly face a tough test in the quarterfinal on Friday. But that’s the grind of the Big Ten Tournament, and the Buckeyes are one game closer to their goal of winning a conference title.

Buckeyes never trail, barely survive

Ohio State opened the game on a 13-o run, a much-needed momentum grab, and never gave the lead back in a wire-to-wire win over Minnesota — its first victory in over three weeks. Of course, the Gophers made their share of runs to make the game interesting, especially with a late push in the final minutes. But the Buckeyes continued to battle, and four players finished in double figures scoring for Chris Holtmann’s team.

Ohio State carried a 12-point lead into halftime. But Minnesota forced the Buckeyes into bad turnovers in the final minutes and continued to apply pressure. Ohio State didn’t hit a field goal in the final three minutes and nearly blew a massive lead in the final minutes for what could have been a crushing loss. But the Buckeyes barely survived to advance to the weekend of the Big Ten Tournament.

Buckeyes have plenty to clean up following close win

Ohio State and Minnesota played in a game that featured 26 total turnovers, including 15 of its own. The Buckeyes showed improvements on defense and held Minnesota to 36 percent from the floor and forced 11 Gophers turnovers. While Ohio State will enjoy the defensive improvement as it enters the weekend of the Big Ten Tournament, it still has plenty to clean up in order to beat Purdue and reach the Big Ten semifinal. Maybe the most glaring weakness for the Buckeyes? They haven’t been able to close out games, and that trend nearly cost the Buckeyes the game, which would have been their fifth-straight loss. But the Buckeyes made enough free throws in the final seconds to preserve a win and advance. They’ll need to be much better against Purdue to advance on Friday.