With 4.3 seconds left in the game, the Buckeyes trailed by two points after a clutch layup from Xavier Edmonds that gave TCU the lead and needed a miracle to move on.
Senior guard Bruce Thornton was able to tie the game up at 64 with 34 seconds left in the game with a highly-contested three-pointer, giving the Horned Frogs the ball. After Edmonds’ score, the Buckeyes needed to take the ball all the way down the court against a full-court press to get up a possible game-tying or winning shot.
Coming out of a timeout, the Ohio State was able to inbound the ball to Thornton, and he only was able to make it to half court, where he threw up a prayer with a full second left on the clock. The shot was on line, but a few feet too high, bouncing off the backboard to end the game.
Head coach Jake Diebler said that they drew up a play to get the ball to Thornton on the run, which they were able to do, but they didn’t end up getting the shot they wanted on the play.
“We got the ball to Bruce on the run and we had two outlets down the floor for a throw ahead,” he said. “I was watching him with the ball, so it was hard to see if those guys were open or not.”
He gave credit to the Horned Frogs defense for shutting down what Ohio State was attempting to do.
“I thought TCU corralled the ball well and maybe that limited (Thornton’s) ability to get the ball down the floor,” Diebler said. “We were trying to give it to him on the run and give him freedom to make a decision. We had a couple of outlets down the floor that, if we could get it to them, he could to get a look, or if we could get up there quick enough, we could use a timeout to set up the half-court.”
But the Buckeyes weren’t able to accomplish that and will have to wait until next season for another chance at March Madness. But with the way the game ended, and the energy the players felt in the building during the game, the Buckeyes are hungry to try to get back again in the 2026-27 season.
“It’s definitely fuel to the fire,” said sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. after the game. “It’s going to be motivation for me every day in the summer coming up and the work I’m ready to put in to make sure we get back to this position and go farther next time.”
Freshman forward Amare Bynum, who, like Mobley got his first taste of the NCAA Tournament, echoed the sophomore’s comments.
“We want to keep building that, me and Juni,” Bynum said. “When the guys come in, we’re going to be ready to go in the summer.”
