No. 21 Ohio State out-muscled by No. 23 Texas A&M 78-64, pick up first loss of the season

The Aggies went to the free throw line early and often, sweeping the home-and-home, two-year series in the process.

The early portion of Ohio State’s schedule had a bit of a country twang to it this season, as the No. 21 Buckeyes (2-1) faced two Texas teams in their first three games of the year.

Jake Diebler’s Buckeyes beat a ranked Texas team last week in Las Vegas at the Hall of Fame Invitational to start the season 1-0. Following a blowout win over Youngstown State earlier this week, Ohio State took a flight down to the Lone Star state, putting their undefeated record on the line against the No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies (3-1) in College Station.

Looking to avenge last year’s home loss to the Aggies, Diebler went with a starting five of Bruce Thornton, Meechie Johnson, Micah Parrish, Sean Stewart, and Aaron Bradshaw — the same lineup he’s started in each of the first two games of the year.

Buzz Williams went with the same starting lineup he used on Monday night against Lamar, save for one change. Instead of starting senior guard Jace Carter, Williams slotted in 6-foot-7 senior forward Andersson Garcia. The starting five of Wade Taylor, Zhuric Phelps, Jace Carter, Solomon Washington, and Pharrel Payne combined to score 46 points against the Cardinals, and as a team A&M put up 97 points.

It was clunky to start, with the teams combining for just eight points over the first five minutes. Texas A&M took a slight 5-3 lead into the first media timeout as the squads jostled to create any kind of rhythm on offense. Meechie Johnson, who has struggled with turnovers early in the season, had two more in the first four minutes of this one.

Thornton opened the scoring for Ohio State with a three-pointer, but then the Buckeyes went 6:22 without scoring until Bradshaw slammed home a lob from John Mobley Jr. at the 12:18 mark to make it 12-5. During that time, A&M went on a 12-0 run. CJ Wilcher answered Bradshaw’s bucket with a three-pointer moments later, making it 15-5 A&M at the under-12 media timeout.

Ohio State’s first-half defense was encouraging, holding A&M to under 24% shooting in the first half and forcing seven turnovers. After falling behind 18-8, the Buckeyes were able to lean on the defense and score just enough to stay within arm’s reach. Stewart split a pair of free throws and Mobley finally knocked down a three-pointer with 6:30 left in the half to make it 18-12.

The Aggies outscored Ohio State 13-10 over the final six-plus minutes of the first half to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room at halftime. The big difference in the opening 20 minutes was the free throw disparity — Texas A&M was 15-for-18 from the line, while Ohio State was 3-for-4. The Buckeyes may have gotten there more often if they looked for higher percentage shots, but in the first half more than half of their shots were from beyond the arc.

A&M came out in the second half and knocked down three-pointers on each of the first two possessions of the second half to give the Aggies their biggest lead of the game, 37-22. It took A&M over five minutes to score its first six points in the first half, but not even 90 seconds to do it in the second half.

The Buckeyes picked up three more fouls in the first 3:54 of the second half, sending A&M to the free throw line six more times before the first media timeout. The Aggies hit all six free throws, and took a 43-27 lead into the under-16 timeout.

Ohio State had a chance to cut A&M’s lead to single-digits for a moment, but the Aggies ripped off a quick 6-0 run to go ahead 51-33 with 12:26 remaining in the game. Thornton scored four consecutive points a few minutes later to cut the lead down to 56-45, but Obaseki answered with a three-point play to put A&M up, 59-45.

After being mostly a non-factor in the first half with just three points, Bruce Thornton played much better in the second half and finished with 11. It wasn’t nearly enough to get Ohio State back in this game, however, as the Buckeyes would eventually fall to the Aggies (for the second straight year), 78-64.

Thornton led Ohio State with 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting in 30 minutes. Mobley scored 13, and Parrish scored 10. Taylor and Obaseki combined for 30 points for the Aggies, who shot 54.2% in the second half.

If you weren’t around Friday night to watch Ohio State drop a tough game in College Station and fall to 2-1, here are a few of the key moments that ultimately led to the Buckeyes falling on the road:

---

Buckeyes score first, but then go over six minutes without scoring

Thornton opened the scoring with a three-pointer 1:20 into the game, but then Ohio State went over six minutes without scoring, allowing A&M to go on a 12-0 run and take firm control of this game in the first half. The Buckeyes played strong defense despite going completely cold offensively, so the game didn’t completely get out of hand in the first half.

Bradshaw dunked home a lob from Mobley to make it 12-5 with 12:18 remaining in the first half to stop the cold streak, but the tables had tilted firmly in favor of the home team.

---

Phelps free throws puts A&M up double-digits

Quez Glover knocked down a difficult, fadeaway three-pointer with 9:40 left in the first half to get Ohio State back within nine points, 17-8. After the teams exchanged six straight empty possessions, Thornton fouled Phelps at the basket and the A&M guard split the free throws to put the Aggies back up 18-8 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.

---

Ques Glover was the only reason A&M didn’t blow this one open early

Ques Glover only played a combined 29 minutes in Ohio State’s first two games, scoring five points against the Penguins and zero against the Longhorns. At just a shade under six feet tall this wasn’t the best opponent for Glover to go against, but he hit a few incredibly difficult shots in the first half to help keep the Buckeyes in the game.

Each of Glover’s first-half three-pointers came moments after the Aggies opened up a 10-point lead or more, and his basket immediately brought the deficit back down to nine the first time and seven the second time. Glover finished the first half with six points on 2-of-4 shooting, setting a new season-high.

---

Meechie’s struggles continue in the first half

Johnson committed a combined eight turnovers in the first two games of the season, which actually meant he had more turnovers than made baskets (six). Diebler needed a better Meechie tonight in College Station, but his struggles continued as he looks to get comfortable back with the Buckeyes after two years away at South Carolina. In 14 first-half minutes, Johnson scored three points on 1-of-5 shooting (1-4 from three), and had three rebounds, two steals, and four more turnovers.

---

Micah Parrish picks up a flagrant foul, extending A&M’s lead

Already down 37-22 with 17 minutes left in the game, Phelps missed a three-pointer for the Aggies, but Payne came down with A&M’s sixth offensive rebound of the night. On the shot, Parrish turned and threw his shoulder into Solomon Washington’s chest without making any attempt to box out.

Parrish was assessed a flagrant foul, and Washington was awarded two free throws and possession. He hit both free throws, and on the next possession Bradshaw fouled Garcia below the basket. Garcia hit both free throws as well, making it a four-point possession on four free throws for the Aggies, giving them a 41-24 lead.

---

A&M kept earning it at the line

At one point in the second half, Ohio State actually had more made baskets than A&M, and yet trailed by 16 points. The Buckeyes got in foul trouble early and really never got out of it, sending the Aggies to the free throw line 18 times in the first half, hitting 15 of them.

Comparatively, Ohio State only shot four free throws in the first half. Both teams only shot in the 20s (percentage-wise) for most of this game, but A&M was constantly ahead by a ton because they were getting to the free throw line every other possession, it seemed.

Texas A&M finished the game 32-for-40 at the free throw line, while Ohio State was 16-22. Five different Buckeyes had three or more fouls, and Devin Royal fouled out for the second time in his career.

---

What’s next?

Ohio State (2-1) has a quick turnaround before its next game. The team will fly back to Columbus and have three days until the Evansville Purple Aces (1-2) come to town Tuesday night. That begins a stretch of four consecutive home games for Ohio State, as the Buckeyes won’t play a game away from Columbus again until December 4.

Ohio State’s game against Evansville will tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on BTN+.