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Buckeyes stun top-ranked Duke, earn signature early-season win

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•11/30/21•

SpencerHolbrook

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EJ Liddell and the Buckeyes stunned No. 1 Duke. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State came into its matchup with Duke fresh off a last-second defeat.

The Buckeyes blew a late lead in their last time out to take a heart-breaking loss.

This time, however, they flipped the script. And it happened to come against the No. 1 team in the country.

Ohio State stunned top-ranked Duke inside the Schottenstein Center on Tuesday night with a shocking 71-66 win, overcoming a 15-point deficit in the second half to pull off a signature win early in the season.

Zed Key had a career-high 20 points to lead the Buckeyes to the win that puts the Buckeyes basketball program in the national spotlight for the night.

Lettermen Row is breaking down the stunning upset with Three Points on how the Buckeyes pulled off the win over the top-ranked Blue Devils.

Ohio State gets key stops when it needs them

Ohio State gave up 43 first-half points to Duke and seemed to be reeling. But the Buckeyes held the Blue Devils to just 23 second-half points and ended the game on a 12-0 run to come back on the country’s top-ranked team and earn a stunning early-season result that will generate plenty of buzz around the Big Ten — and the country. Ohio State limited Duke’s superstar-led lineup late, and they earned a win because of it.

Zed Key developing nicely as go-to big for Ohio State

The development plan for Zed Key seems to be working well for Chris Holtmann and the Ohio State coaching staff. After averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 31 games last season, Key has doubled his average scoring through the first quarter of the year. He’s playing more confidently, and he’s scoring at a clip that can help the Buckeyes throughout the year. In a tough matchup against a good Duke defense, Key hit double-digits for the fourth time this season and had a career-high 20 points for the Buckeyes.

He was a major factor in the comeback effort, and he’ll need to play a huge role for this team heading into the final month of nonconference play.

Buckeyes overcome turnovers, free-throw issues to pull massive upset

Ohio State turned the ball over 12 times, including nine in the first half. It shot just 50 percent from the free-throw line. But when the Buckeyes needed ball security on key possessions to claw their way back from a 15-point deficit, they got them. Ohio State hit big shots in big moments and overcame its turnover struggles to sink Duke and pull off a stunning upset that will send shockwaves through college basketball, especially after the Blue Devils just took down Gonzaga last weekend.

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