Recap: Ohio State’s Season Comes To An End With 66-64 Loss To No. 9 Seed TCU In First Round Of NCAA Tournament

Ohio State (21-13) dropped a heartbreaker in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament when TCU (23-11) made a game-winning layup with 4.3 seconds remaining for a 66-64 victory.

Ohio State came into the game knowing it was going to be going up against a strong Horned Frogs’ defense, but whatever preparation the Buckeyes did for the pressure TCU brought wasn’t enough as they committed six turnovers in the first half.

However, the Buckeyes cleaned that up in the second half and put together a 15-1 run to get back in the game after being down by 15 at halftime. That effort ultimately fell just short.

The Buckeyes were the first to strike, with senior guard Bruce Thornton making a three-pointer. They took a 5-2 lead when freshman forward Amare Bynum made two free throws, but TCU score four straight to take its first lead of the game.

That was the start of an 8-0 run for the Horned Frogs that gave them a five-point lead at 14:50 while Ohio State went on a field-goal drought that lasted 4:36 and was ended by sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. on a baseline floater.

Ohio State got the game back to a one-point deficit by getting into the paint and knocking down some easy shots, with junior forward Devin Royal getting a dish from senior center Christoph Tilly to make it 14-13.

Neither team scored for nearly two minutes, but Micah Robinson of TCU ended that streak with a deep ball at 9:06 and Xavier Edmonds followed with another of his own after Mobley had a turnover. Edmonds added another before Mobley contributed a three of his own for a 23-18 score.

The Horned Frogs and Buckeyes traded buckets over the next few minutes until TCU scored eight straight points to take a 36-24 lead with 1:27 left in the first half. The run didn’t stop there, with Brock Harding knocking down a three to make it a 15-point lead.

Ohio State went into the locker room down 39-24 with a shooting percentage of 35.7 (10 of 28 from the field). The Horned Frogs forced six turnovers in the frame, scoring 10 points off of those, while they made just two turnovers and OSU scored two points off of them. TCU was shooting 7 of 13 from deep at halftime (53.8 percent).

Ohio State started the second half with four straight points to cut the deficit to 11 points, but couldn’t take advantage of TCU missing its first seven shots of the half and committing a turnover before its first points of the period.

It was nearly a four-minute scoring drought for the Buckeyes before Bynum was found by Thornton for a fast-break dunk to make the score 41-30 at 15:16. After two Horned Frog free throws, Mobley made a three to cut the gap to 10 points. He followed that with another to get within seven.

A layup from Royal capped a 10-0 run for OSU that made it a three-point game before TCU’s Jayden Pierre made a step-back three with the shot clock winding down at 11:49. David Punch was able to get the lead back to nine points with a three-point play.

A layup from Tilly and a floater from Mobley made it a five-point game again and sophomore guard Gabe Cupps made an open corner three to make it 49-47 with 8:50 left in the game.

A free throw from TCU and two from Royal made it a one-point game, and when Bynum came up with a steal and a layup, OSU took a 51-50 lead. The run for the Buckeyes continued when Royal was found in the paint two straight possessions for two layups and a five-point OSU lead.

The Horned Frogs got back on the board with a three-point play and by 4:28, it was just a one-point lead, 57-56, for Ohio State. TCU took the lead back with a fast-break layup.

After not scoring for 3:29, Ohio State took the lead back when Thornton got to the line and made both free throws to make it 59-58, OSU, with 2:08 left. Punch took it right back with another three-point play.

Royal tied it up at 61 with two free throws with just 1:16 remaining but Robinson knocked down an open three. Thornton answered with a tightly-contested three with 34 seconds left to tie the game back up at 64.

Edmonds made the game winner in the paint as the shot clock ran down, and Thornton bounced a half-court attempt off the backboard, ending Ohio State’s season.

Mobley led Ohio State with 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting while Royal (14), Bynum (12), Thornton (10) and Tilly (10) were each able to reach double digits.