Ohio State survives second-half Wisconsin comeback, advances in Big Ten Tournament

A lot can change in five weeks.

Back on Feb. 2, Ohio State entered the half trailing Wisconsin by 16 points, having just watched head coach Chris Holtmann get a double technical and be ejected from The Schottenstein Center after arguing a foul call. That was a low point amid a nine-game Buckeyes skid cluttered with valleys.

Flash forward to Wednesday night in Chicago’s United Center, a peak of Ohio State’s late-season glow up. Holtmann’s squad took an 18-point lead into the break. On the flip side, that was the largest halftime deficit the Badgers — firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble — have faced this season.

But a lot can change in 15 minutes of postseason basketball, too.

The Buckeyes saw their second-half lead of 27 points dwindle to five with two minutes and change remaining. Ohio State was at risk of allowing the largest comeback in the Big Ten Tournament. Ever.

The Buckeyes were on the other side of history nine years ago when they staged an 18-point, come-from-behind win over Nebraska.

Wisconsin came into the night with 18 games decided by five points or fewer this season, six more such games than any other team in the league. Except, this time, all head coach Greg Gard’s team did was make things close — too close for comfort, really.

Despite troubles at the free throw line, Ohio State held on for a 65-57 win over the Badgers (17-14, 9-11 Big Ten), marking the Buckeyes’ third victory in their last four games.

Ohio State (14-18, 5-15), the No. 13 seed in the league field, will now play fifth-seeded Iowa in the second round Thursday night.

The Buckeyes dominated the first half, as evidenced by their 68.2% clip through the opening 20 minutes of action. Bruce Thornton and Sean McNeil were the heartbeat of an Ohio State offense that looked better than ever — completely unrecognizable to the one that provided a meager 14 points in the first half at home against Michigan State on Feb. 12.

Thornton and McNeil combined for 23 of Ohio State’s 36 first-half points.

It was sixth-year forward Justice Sueing, however, who put Ohio State’s wheels in motion. Five straight Sueing points, three of which came on a 3-pointer from the right wing, gave the Buckeyes an early 7-2 advantage. Sueing, Thornton and McNeil all finished with 15-plus points.

“We had a good kick to us to start this,” Sueing said postgame. “We knew we had to come out with aggression and execute our game plan. We were able to get a comfortable lead.

“Obviously we need to work on maintaining that as we continue on in the tournament, but a couple months ago, you couldn’t have said that we’d have been able to stay as poised as we were today.”

At first, though, the Buckeyes were in complete control of the game on both ends of the floor. They were making scoring on a Wisconsin defense that’s top 25 in KenPom defensive efficiency look easy, often targeting Badgers standout freshman Connor Essegian with their actions.

Here's a look at the Thornton steal-and-score.

Note: Isaac Likekele has 9 personal fouls over the last two games. He already picked up two fouls in the span of 16 seconds in the first half of tonight's contest. pic.twitter.com/yxlJzqgSgN

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) March 8, 2023

But Ohio State also created opportunities for itself on defense. Thornton had a pair of steal-and-scores, as the Buckeyes — who, uncharacteristically, registered 11 fastbreak points — forced 10 Wisconsin turnovers, 1.3 more than the Badgers’ season average.

Ohio State made nine consecutive field goals down the stretch of the first period. Wisconsin, which started 5-of-10 on layups, experienced serious difficulty finishing around the basket. The Badgers didn’t fare much better from outside. In fact, they didn’t make a single 3-pointer in the opening frame and, until their second-half comeback bid, were just 1-of-14 from beyond the arc.

“I feel like seeing those shots not go in definitely played on us, and it affected our defense,” Wisconsin senior forward Tyler Wahl said. “They were super aggressive. We were not sound on defense by the start of it, and from the shots not going in, we just dug ourselves in a huge hole, and it was hard to come back from that.”

Essegian and Chucky Hepburn — Wisconsin’s top-two scorers and 3-point getters — combined for only five first-half points.

They weren’t the ones to get the Badgers out of their funk. That was Wahl and junior guard Jordan Davis.

After the Buckeyes increased their lead to 27, Wahl started to get going inside. Then Davis scored Wisconsin’s next five points. Three of those came via the Badgers’ first 3-pointer of the night.

That triple was the start of a momentum-shifting 28-10 Wisconsin run in front a Badger-friendly crowd.

The first leg of the surge consisted of nine straight Wisconsin points. Holtmann called a timeout. And, initially, it looked like that did the trick. Out of the break, McNeil netted a corner 3-pointer and then notched a transition layup following a Wisconsin turnover.

The Badgers pushed back again. Their next punch landed to the tune of an 8-0 flurry. Wahl was responsible for each of those eight points, scoring almost exclusively with his back to the basket.

But, since, the Badgers have answered with another run: this one is an 8-0 surge, and it's been all Tyler Wahl (mostly in the post).

Wahl now has 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Note: Ohio State's Justice Sueing (12 points, 4 rebounds) has 4 personal fouls. pic.twitter.com/Eksxtdk7cL

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) March 9, 2023

Another Holtmann timeout, and another quick Buckeyes answer. But this one was even more fleeting. All Ohio State had to offer was a Sueing turnaround jumper — the Buckeyes’ lone field goal in the final 11 minutes of play.

As was often the case early this season, the Buckeyes were foiled by on-ball pressure, committing nine second-half turnovers. They made just one of their final eight field goal attempts.

After Wisconsin sank three straight 3-pointers, including a bank triple from Wahl that made it 57-52 with 2:13 to go, Ohio State had to settle the game at the free throw line, where it had shot 93.8% over the previous four contests.

The Buckeyes missed four free throws in the final minute and a half. Luckily for them, Wisconsin didn’t make another 3-pointer. The Badgers converted only one of its final seven field goal attempts.

Wisconsin will have to sweat out its NCAA Tournament fate.

Ohio State had to sweat out what appeared to be a blowout win Wednesday night. But it wasn’t quite like that — McNeil talked postgame about how much “fun” the Buckeyes were having when they were playing as well as they were in the first 25 minutes.

For Holtmann, closing out the game was about getting back to that “fun.”

“I just kept reminding them, ‘Relax and have fun,'” he said. “This is a fun game. Gotta relax and have fun. It’s not life and death. It’s a lot for young kids. I thought we had some guys play a little bit tighter maybe than what certainly they were doing earlier.

“So as much as possible, I was trying to just play with a smile on your face, relax, and we’ll live with the results.”