Ohio State Rallies From Season-Worst First Half To Take Down Minnesota, 70-45
In a game that epitomized the phrase "tale of two halves," Ohio State rallied from their lowest-scoring half of the season to take down Minnesota, 70-45, to remain unbeaten at home.
Naturally, star junior E.J. Liddell led the way with a 16-point, 10-rebound effort for his sixth double-double of the season, but in a game where the Buckeyes struggled early, it took a total team effort to earn the win.
A two-point first half for Jamari Wheeler turned into a 13-point night, as the fifth-year senior guard knocked down three threes in the second half. It was a similar story for freshman guard Malaki Branham, who finished with 11 points after scoring only four in the first half.
Those offensive explosions, paired with a stifling defensive effort that forced more turnovers by Minnesota than made shots in the second half flipped the game completely on its head.
The Buckeyes followed up a season-worst, 23-point first half with a 47-point avalanche to cruise past Minnesota and improve to a perfect 11-0 at home.
Still, the opening 20 minutes could best be described as a slog as the Big Ten foes combine for a mere 48 points.
At one point, Minnesota had into seven straight misses over the course of a nearly five-minute drought. The scarlet and gray followed that up with a run of sloppy basketball that saw them turn the ball over seven times in ten possessions, leading to a 10-0 run for the Gophers.
Fortunately, the Bucks pieced together a small spurt over the final two minutes as they cut the Gophers lead to two heading into the intermission. It certainly could have been worse.
Despite playing their worst half of basketball this season, the No. 18 team in the country suddenly reemerged a different team out of the break. Sparked by five combined threes by Wheeler and Branham over the first nine minutes of the half, the Bucks went from down two to up 13 and never looked back.
There was an obvious emphasis on getting the ball inside as Liddell poured in 12 points after scoring just four in the first. Sophomore forward Zed Key hit a series of layups to finish with nine points.
Most importantly, Ohio State committed just two turnovers after coughing it up eight times in the first, while forcing eight Gopher turnovers and holding them to 20 points.
Following a surprising Michigan State loss to Penn State earlier in the evening, 62-58, Ohio State remains among the top four teams in the conference standings at 9-4. They'll host Iowa on Saturday in a rescheduled game from earlier this month.
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