Bruce Thornton, Ohio State Unable to Contain Minnesota in Loss
Interim coach Jake Diebler and Ohio State coming off their best win this season over then-No. 2 Purdue, marched into Minneapolis with their heads held high but were humbled by Minnesota in an 88-79 loss.
This was the Buckeyes' 17th straight road loss, dating back to Jan. 1, 2023, the longest streak in program history.
Just like Sunday against Purdue, Ohio State was outscored 8-0 to start the game. Minnesota got going very early, putting up 19 points in the first five-and-a-half minutes, including starting a perfect 4-4 from downtown.
Golden Gopher senior forward Dawson Garcia, who put up a career-high 36 points in the teams’ last matchup, had 10 points in seven minutes while the Buckeyes were stuck at nine.
But the Buckeyes began their comeback midway through the first. Senior forward Jamison Battle, who transferred from Minnesota after last season, started a perfect 3-3 from downtown amid a flurry of boos after coming up clutch in the second half against Purdue Sunday.
After Minnesota’s great start, the Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run. Down the stretch of the first, the teams really battled, although momentum heavily favored the Gophers for a majority of the half.
Minnesota junior guard Elijah Hawkins, despite putting up only seven points and four assists, played outstanding defense, holding Ohio State’s leading scorer sophomore guard Bruce Thornton to just two points.
In addition, the Gopher bigs dominated down low. The Buckeyes picked up just nine total rebounds in the first half — Minnesota had eight offensive rebounds in the first.
Despite this, the Buckeyes only trailed by eight at the half.
The shifty Hawkins controlled the second half. He opened the second 20 with back-to-back 3s, including creating four feet of space on stepback on sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr.
The Gophers also only played seven players. Hawkins led the way as the most impactful player, putting up a career-high 24 points to go along with Garcia’s 22 and nine rebounds and sophomore forward Pharrel Payne’s 15 and great interior defense.
It also didn’t help that Ohio State sophomore forward Felix Okpara didn’t play much in the second after picking up four fouls early in the half.
Late in the game, it didn’t seem like Ohio State could find any scoring beyond Thornton, who led the way with 25 points on 77 percent from the field. Battle went cold late but finished with 21.
Even late in the game, the Buckeyes were unable to foul Hawkins as he put on a myriad of moves on Ohio State’s defense.
The Buckeyes can hope to compete with a tough Michigan State team on the road as they head to East Lansing on Sunday at 4 p.m., streaming on CBS.
