WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The odds were pretty good that Jaden Ivey was going to get the ball.
As Ohio State huddled with 25.3 seconds to play and the game tied at 78, coach Chris Holtmann had an idea that the star sophomore would get a shot at the game-winner. The Buckeyes drew up their defense, applied pressure and nearly forced Eric Hunter Jr. to turn it over.
Instead, the senior guard was able to flip the ball into Ivey's hands. As Ohio State's Gene Brown III applied pressure, Ivey launched a fadeaway 3-pointer from in front of the Purdue bench.
It found only net with 0.6 seconds to play, giving No. 6 Purdue (18-3, 7-3 Big Ten) an 81-78 win against No. 16 Ohio State (13-5, 6-3) and Ivey a second last-second game-winning 3-pointer against the Buckeyes in as many seasons.
It answered a pair of E.J. Liddell 3-pointers during the final 33.5 seconds left as Ohio State fought to overcome a 20-point second-half deficit.
When Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann opened his postgame press conference with, “Obviously an entertaining college basketball game,” it felt like the undersell of the season. The Buckeyes couldn’t hit a 3-pointer until the final few minutes, allowed an 8-0 run to open the second half and were down 52-32 with 14:35 to play and another sold-out Mackey Arena crowd could smell the blowout.
Instead, where the Buckeyes wilted at Indiana on Jan. 6, they settled in and chipped away. First, Cedric Russell scored seven straight points to trim a 60-45 deficit to 53-62 with 7:52 to play and settle the offense.
Freshman Malaki Branham was next, hitting a free throw with 3:37 left to bring it back to an 11-point deficit. He scored nine straight points, pulling the Buckeyes within 76-70 with 1:47 left and sowing unease within the home crowd.
Liddell took over from there, and nearly powered the Buckeyes into overtime. He hit a 3-pointer with 33.5 seconds left to pull Ohio State within 78-75 and, after a Kyle Young steal on the Purdue inbounds pass, canned one from the giant ‘P’ at center court to tie the game. Purdue (18-3, 7-3) called timeout with 25.3 to play, and the roar of the Buckeyes overpowered the groans of the home crowd.
Until Ivey’s shot, that is. Until that shot, Ohio State had outscored Purdue 13-2 in the final 2:35.
“Big-time players make big-time plays, and shout-out to him,” Liddell said of Ivey. “He’s a really good player and has been having a really good year. I felt like we had him in the right position, where we wanted, the fadeaway 3. You can’t ask for a better defensive possession than that, truthfully.”
Liddell and Branham finished with 20 points each to lead the Buckeyes, who scored on 11 of their final 12 possessions and hit their final five field goals. Ivey led all scorers with 21, just ahead of 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, who was a problem for Ohio State all afternoon.
Fifth-year graduate transfer guard Jamari Wheeler made his return to the lineup after missing the Minnesota game with a left foot injury. Wheeler made his 100th career start as part of a new lineup that also featured freshmen Branham and Meechie Johnson Jr., Liddell and sophomore Zed Key. The lineup sent senior Justin Ahrens, who had started 22 straight games for the Buckeyes, to the bench while mired in a shooting slump dating back to early December.
Wheeler would get one final three-quarter-court heave that came up short amid a cacophony of sound.
“I’d have been really disappointed if we didn’t fight through the final buzzer,” Holtmann said. “I’d have been devastated, because that can’t be who we ever are. I’m glad we did.”
