The most talked about losing streak in perhaps Ohio State basketball history is over. After losing seventeen straight road games dating back to January of 2023, the Buckeyes won at Michigan State in dramatic fashion to put that conversation to an end.
It looked to be another loss for OSU early on, with the Spartans taking modest control of the game throughout, leading by 12 a couple of times and enjoying a ten point or so lead for a large part of the second half.
But OSU stayed tough and wouldn’t go down without a fight, clawing things back to six points on a couple of occasions before getting within one possession and swapping the lead late to set up the dramatics.
With the game tied and just over six seconds left, Bruce Thornton began a last ditch, full-court drive along the sideline in traffic before finding Dale Bonner who lofted an off-balance three pointer that hit nothing but net with .02 seconds left to win the game.
Ohio State wouldn’t have been in that position had it not been for freshman Devin Royal who had a career high 14 points on 6-of-8 shots from the field. His poise and ability to make plays in big spots kept the Buckeyes in arm’s reach throughout the second half.
But it wasn’t just Royal.
Three other OSU players finished in double figures. Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 12, Bruce Thornton chipped in 11, and Felix Okpara tallied ten and also played great defense on the back-end.
STREAK SNAPPED ‼️
THE BUCKEYES WIN.#Team125 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/4YZZF7WYAP
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) February 25, 2024
With the win, Ohio State improves its overall record to 16-12 and its conference mark to 6-11. The Buckeyes will try to build on the dramatics when they host Nebraska at home on Thursday.
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