Ohio State loses third straight game, second straight home loss in 70-67 loss to Minnesota-Eleven Warriors

The slide continues.

Ohio State has now lost three straight games after suffering its worst loss of the season, a 70-67 loss to a Minnesota team that became the only Big Ten program to go on the day without a conference win. The Buckeyes started 7-0 at home but have now lost back-to-back games for the first time in two seasons at the Schottenstein Center.

Ohio State’s effort was uninspired early on as Minnesota led almost the entire first half and went into the dressing room with a two-point lead. But the Buckeyes fought through a sluggish opening frame to regain the lead on the Gophers in the second half. It didn’t last long, however, as Minnesota took control shortly after and eventually established a double-digit lead.

The Buckeyes completed it in 8.6 seconds to put past several clutch plays by Brice Sensabaugh but ultimately failed to complete the comeback. A controversial foul call on a Bruce Thornton block allowed the Gophers to hit the game-winning free throw with less than two seconds left on the clock.

Zed Key returned after missing most of the last two games with a shoulder injury, and although the Buckeyes’ starting center didn’t start the game, they logged 30 minutes and amassed 10 points before it was all said and done. But even with Key on the floor, 6-foot-11 gopher forward Dawson Garcia caused problems for the Buckeye defense all evening. Garcia lost 12 points in the first half alone and finished the game with 28 points.

Despite possessing one of the nation’s elite offenses in terms of adjusted efficiency, the Buckeyes delivered their second straight flat performance in a loss. Ohio State shot just 37.5% from the field Thursday to deliver its worst night of shooting of the year.

First half

It was a slow start for the Buckeyes, who hit just two of their first 10 shots while Minnesota led with two possessions early on. Chris Holtmann called his first time-out before six minutes elapsed to give his team a jump-start, but the Gophers just kept scoring. By the 12 minute mark they had established a 19-10 lead.

Ohio State went on to score eight of the next 10 points after that, but just when it seemed like the Buckeyes had found their groove, they allowed Garcia to get going at the other end. The big gopher man caught fire to score 12 straight Minnesota points in just over three minutes of play, while keeping the Buckeyes at bay.

Season leaders Brice Sensabaugh and Justice Sueing both struggled from the floor as Ohio State combined shot 35.3% from the field in the first half. Minnesota, who came into play with the conference’s worst offense, put down 55.6% of their shots.

But Ohio State held back to stay within striking distance, and a quick 6-0 run from Sean McNeil ended the game in the final minute.

Minnesota responded with the final halftime win to go 37-35 at halftime in enemy territory. The Gophers took a 16:33 lead in the first 20 minutes.

Second half

Two early Bruce Thornton threes provided an early spark for the Buckeye offense, and even as Garcia and the Gophers kept knocking down shots, Ohio State managed to close the game at 3:38 and 2:21.

Sensabaugh didn’t start the second half for Ohio State, but 22 seconds after coming into play for the first time of the period, he collected his own rebound and converted one and one. The free throw brought the Buckeyes to 51:50 just under seven minutes after halftime and Minnesota called for a timeout. The lead was Ohio State’s first since his opening shot of the game.

However, the Gophers quickly took that momentum from the Scarlets and Grays over the next few minutes as they launched a 7-0 run to secure a two-ball possession lead as the half hit the halftime mark. While the Buckeyes missed seven of eight shots during that stretch, Minnesota pushed it to 10 points that went unanswered en route to a nine-point lead at 7:40.

By the 5:15 mark, Minnesota had scored 14 of the last 16 points in the ballgame to take a double-digit lead for the first time in the entire game. Ohio State threw the Gophers a full-court press to try to generate additional possessions, but still had significant catching up to do.

Ohio State cut the Gopher lead to four points to a McNeil runner with 2:21 left, and a Sensabaugh 3-pointer with 31 seconds left made it a two-point game. Minnesota missed the front end of a one-and-one at the other end, and Sensabaugh was fouled by Buckeye on next possession to tie the game at the free-throw line.

But after Thornton was called for a foul on an apparently clean block with 1.7 left, Minnesota hit one of two free throws and the Buckeyes threw the ball wide on a full-court inbound pass that effectively ended the game.

game notes

• Zed Key (shoulder) was listed as a pre-pick game-time decider, but came on as the first man from the Ohio State bench at 5:05 p.m. Key missed Sunday’s entire Maryland game and all but four minutes of last week’s Purdue loss.

• Eugene Brown first started the season when Ohio State fielded a centerless starting five against Minnesota. Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Brice Sensabaugh and Justice Sueing also received the nods as starters.

• Ohio State won its three previous encounters with the Gophers from March 2021. The Buckeyes defeated Minnesota 70-45 in the teams’ last meeting on February 15, 2022.

• Chris Holtmann has won five of his last eight games against the Gophers since becoming Ohio State head coach in 2017.

• Minnesota entered the game as the only Big Ten team without a win in conference play.