Ohio State wasn’t able to knock off undefeated No. 10 Nebraska, falling 72-69 at Value City Arena on Monday.
The Buckeyes (10-4, 2-2 Big Ten) came back from a 14-point first-half deficit to take a lead in the second half, but the Cornhuskers (15-0, 4-0) came through late to hold on to their undefeated record.
It didn’t take long for Nebraska to take a 10-1 lead, with senior guard Jamarques Lawrence knocking down a three-pointer from the corner, the second straight three for the Cornhuskers.
The Buckeyes started to knock some shots down, going on a 7-3 run with a three from sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. making the score 13-8 at 14:39. After the Huskers made a layup, Mobley converted a three-point play and junior forward Devin Royal found a cutting Amare Bynum for a dunk to bring OSU within two points.
But that wasn’t long-lasting, with Nebraska going on a 12-0 run immediately after to take a 14-point lead. It was senior guard Bruce Thornton who finally ended that streak with a layup, and senior center Christoph Tilly made one of his own on the next possession for a 27-17 score.
The Buckeyes made back-to-back threes, Tilly knocking down his first triple in his last nine games, dating back to the Buckeyes’ Nov. 25 win over Mount St. Mary’s. His shot made it 29-23.
Then, after four straight points from Nebraska, the Buckeyes scored five of their own to get within five points at 4:54.
Senior guard Sam Hoiberg and Mobley traded threes, and after a Nebraska layup with 1:47 left in the half, neither team scored the rest of the frame and the game went into halftime with the Buckeyes trailing 38-31.
Ohio State was being outshot, making just 38.7 percent of its field goals (12 of 31) while Nebraska was 14-of-28 shooting (50.0 percent). The Buckeyes were being outrebounded as well, 21 to 13.
Neither team was knocking shots down early in the second half, with Royal making two free throws to make it a 43-37 game nearly four minutes into the period. Mobley followed with two straight jumpers, bringing Ohio State within two points, but the Cornhuskers answered with four points of their own.
The Buckeyes came back with four more points to get back within two again, 47-45, on layups from Thornton and Bynum, the freshman’s coming at 11:42.
At 10:24 on two free throws from Thornton, the Buckeyes run continued and they took a 49-48 lead, which was the first of the game for OSU. That lead extended to three points on a three-pointer from Thornton with 8:38 remaining. Nebraska made a fast-break layup to make that a one-point lead, 53-52.
The Cornhuskers took the lead back with just over six minutes remaining on a three from senior forward Rienk Mast, but Mobley came right back with a make of his own from beyond the arc.
The Buckeyes and Huskers traded the lead back and forth for the next few possessions until a Mast three-point play put OSU down by two. That was the start of a 9-0 run for Nebraska while the Buckeyes were scoreless for 3:08. Nebraska led 65-58 with 2:18 left in the contest.
A Mobley three that bounced around the rim ended the run at 1:56, bringing Ohio State within five points, and after a Husker free throw, Royal nailed a jumper to get within four. The next time down the floor for Nebraska, Tilly stole the ball from Braden Fager and took it himself for a fast-break dunk and a two-point deficit.
The Buckeyes were led by Mobley in the contest, who scored 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, which included 5 of 13 from three. Thornton scored 16 points, making 6 of 12 shots and added a game-high seven assists. Royal also reached double digits with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
