Holy crap! I really hope you stayed up for that game!
There was an unspoken urgency heading into Tuesday night’s game between Ohio State and Nebraska. Both teams were teetering on the edge of either making the NCAA Tournament or earning the far less coveted auto-bid to the NCAA Crown Tournament.
Entering Tuesday night, both Ohio State (17-13, 9-10) and Nebraska (17-13, 7-12) were listed as 11-seeds on Bracket Matrix, a website that aggregates all of the online NCAA Tournament models to produce one bracket. Both the Buckeyes and Cornhuskers would have been Dayton play-in teams if they were seeded before tonight’s game.
A balanced scoring attack carried the Buckeyes to a 116-114 win over the visiting ‘Huskers Tuesday night, although they need double overtime to do it after blowing a seven-point lead with two minutes remaining. Thornton led the Buckeyes with 29 points on 12-of-20 shooting. Four other players scored in double-digits, three of which put up at least 20 points.
Bruce Thornton set the tone right away in this game, scoring seven points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting in the first five minutes of the game. Ohio State took a 12-6 lead into the very first timeout, with Thornton out-scoring Nebraska all by himself.
The Buckeyes were hawking over to Brice Williams on defense, paying a ton of attention to the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer and preventing him from getting downhill against Thornton and John Mobley Jr., each of whom are multiple inches shorter than Williams.
Ohio State extended that lead to 11 points a few minutes later, thanks in part to a 5-0 Aaron Bradshaw run. After knocking down a triple to make it 17-8, he Euro-stepped around Nebraska’s Andrew Morgan on the very next possession to score at the basket, making it 19-8 with 11:55 left in the first half.
The ‘Huskers took advantage of some head-scratching fouls by Ohio State on made baskets to cut into the 11-point deficit and trail by just four points, 27-23, at the under-eight media timeout. Essegian and Gary were making shots for Nebraska, while Stewart was nailed to the bench and Ivan Njegovan struggled to hang on to the basketball in a very brief first-half appearance.
MOBLEY JR. AT THE BUZZER @OhioStateHoops leads Nebraska 45-39 at the half #B1GMBBall on Peacock pic.twitter.com/nj4xCH7pO4
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 5, 2025
With six seconds remaining in the first half, Thornton raced down the floor and cut to his left, pivoting at the last second and finding Mobley for a deep three, which he buried with the help of Thornton immediately setting a screen on Gary after the pass. That triple by Mobley made it 45-39 at halftime in favor of the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s double-digit lead only lasted 21 seconds, but they did stop Nebraska from putting together any kind of extended run in the first half and were able to protect the lead for the full 20 minutes. The two teams shot an identical 57.1% in the first half. Ohio State assisted on nine of its 16 made baskets in the first half, with five of those assists being credited to Thornton.
An Ohio State turnover on an inbounds pass turned into a fast break for Nebraska, which led to a Brice Williams three-pointer that gave the Cornhuskers their first lead of the game, 48-47, with 17:09 left in the game. The ‘Huskers outscored Ohio State 11-6 over the first 4:19 of the second half, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead from six points to just one when the first media timeout hit at the 15:41 mark.
Thanks to a couple big baskets from Stewart and a corner three-pointer from Parrish, Ohio State was able to go on a 10-2 run and go ahead, 61-53, with just over 13 minutes left in the game. By the under-12 media timeout, that lead held at eight points, 63-55.
Williams poked Royal in the eye while battling for an offensive rebound with 8:11 left in the game. Royal doubled over and held his eye, and Williams immediately stopped to make sure Royal was alright. It was clearly not intentional or malicious, but Williams was assessed a flagrant foul after a quick review. It turned what would have been a Nebraska rebound into two free throws for Royal, who made both. The Buckeyes got the possession as well, and Thornton scored to make it 70-62 Ohio State with 8:02 remaining.
For almost five straight minutes the two teams traded baskets, with neither squad scoring more than three consecutive points for most of the final seven minutes of the game. A Thornton runner off the glass dropped in to make it 83-76 Ohio State with 2:55 left in the game, and Ohio State called timeout.
Nebraska’s Andrew Morgan scored on a pick and roll below the basket to make it 88-87, and was fouled by Thornton as well. He hit the free throw to tie the game 88-88 with 43 seconds remaining, and the Buckeyes used their final timeout.
Mobley was fouled on the next possession, and split the pair to put Ohio State up 89-88, which made Nebraska use their final timeout. Out of the timeout, Nebraska got the ball to Williams, who drove on Parrish and drew a foul. He split the pair, tying the game, and Parrish wasn’t able to get a shot off before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
Williams scored the first five points of overtime for Nebraska, putting the ‘Huskers up 94-89 with 3:51 remaining in overtime. A three-pointer from Parrish got it back to a one-point game, 99-98, with 46 seconds remaining.
After Williams missed a fading jumper with 15 seconds left on the clock, the Buckeyes had one final possession. Royal drove to the basket against Morgan and was fouled with seven seconds remaining. He split the pair to tie the game 99-99, and then Williams missed a tough baseline jumper at the buzzer, sending this game to a SECOND overtime!
Micah Parrish hit 5️⃣ three-pointers in the B1G 2OT win over Nebraska at home #B1GMBBall x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/Fq9kKv23Dx
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 5, 2025
Williams hit his fourth three-pointer of the game to put Nebraska up 102-99, 17 seconds into the second overtime period. A pair of free throws from Parrish put the Buckeyes up 104-103 with 2:50 remaining in the game, and he drilled a three-pointer two minutes later to make it 110-106 with 43 seconds left in double OT.
The Buckeyes got two big defensive stops in the final 30 seconds, and were able to ice it away to win a massive game with huge NCAA Tournament implications, 116-114.
If you weren’t around late Tuesday night to watch Ohio State continue its push to the Big Dance with a win over Nebraska, here are a few key moments and plays that happened along the way:
Early points for Aaron Bradshaw
After having a great game against Washington on February 12, Aaron Bradshaw has not contributed much since, scoring a combined six points against Michigan and USC. The seven-footer saw the floor more in the first half against Nebraska, scoring five consecutive points at one point to give the Buckeyes a 19-8 lead. One of those baskets was a straightaway three-pointer, which made him (at the time) four for his last five from beyond the arc.
Bradshaw finished the game with eight points on 2-for-3 shooting and was 3-for-4 at the free throw line in 22 minutes.
Buckeyes foul Nebraska on made baskets… twice in seven seconds
Nebraska trailed Ohio State 19-8 with 11:41 remaining in the first half when Morgan dribbled in the paint, inched closer to the basket while defended by Sean Stewart, and finally scored over Stewart, through contact. The Ohio State sophomore picked up his second foul of the game and headed to the bench, but Morgan missed the free throw.
However, Nebraska’s Juwan Gary grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Connor Essegian, who knocked down a long two-pointer… while being fouled from behind by Mahaffey. Essegian went to the line and knocked down the extra, cutting Ohio State’s lead to 19-13 with 11:34 left in the first half.
Austin Parks draws a charge
With the Buckeyes up 35-27, sophomore center Austin Parks checked in to give Bradshaw a breather. Stewart was on the bench with foul trouble, and Njegovan had turned the ball each of the last two times he touched it, going back to the UCLA game.
Parks checked in and was guarding Nebraska’s Berke Buyuktuncel. The left-handed Turk spun and bumped into Parks, who was camped behind him, knocking Parks over. An offensive foul was called on the lefty, giving Ohio State the ball going the other way with a 38-30 lead and three minutes to go until halftime.
(This felt like an important moment if for no other reason than I’ve never seen Austin Parks draw a charge)
Elite free throw shooter misses both free throws
John Mobley Jr. is on pace to break the Ohio State program record for free throw percentage in a season, coming into Tuesday night’s game sitting at 90.7%. That’s just a smidge higher than Jody Finney’s 90% mark during the 1968-1969 season.
With the Buckeyes up 38-31 and three minutes left until halftime, Mobley was fouled by the coach’s son — Sam Hoiberg — going for a layup on the right side of the tin. Mobley promptly stepped to the line and missed both free throws after hitting 19 of his previous 20.
Gary scored on the very next Nebraska possession to make it sting even more, cutting the lead to 38-33.
Mobley finished the game with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting, and was 3-for-8 from three-point land in 44 minutes.
Mobley knocks one down at the buzzer to end the half
After Williams drove directly into Thornton’s chest to score a bucket and make it 42-39, Thornton inbounded the ball and streaked up the floor with just a few seconds to go until halftime. He drove to his right before spinning and passing to Mobley, and immediately setting a screen on Gary to give Mobley some space to let it rip.
The freshman lifted up and drained it to put Ohio State up 45-39 at halftime. Mobley had 11 points in the first half, including three three-point makes.
Nebraska takes its first lead
One minute after a Gary three cut Ohio State’s lead to two points, Williams effortlessly knocked down his second three-pointer of the game to put Nebraska up 48-47 with just over 17 minutes left in the game. It was Nebraska’s first lead of the game.
Thornton’s middie puts Buckeyes up 10
Nebraska had a brief lead in the second half, but the Buckeyes used a 12-2 run to go ahead by double-digits for the first time in the second half, 63-53. Thornton dribbled with his right hand towards the free throw line, pump faked to get Rollie Worster in the air, and then rose up from about six feet to knock down the mid-range shot to put the Buckeyes up 10 once again.
Morgan ties it with 43 seconds left
Morgan cut to the basket and got a pass from Williams and scored through contact, with Thornton the culprit. Morgan hit the free throw as well to tie the game 88-88 with 43 seconds remaining in the game.
Morgan finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 36 minutes. He also had seven rebounds and two steals.
Parrish can’t get a shot off, overtime!
Parrish fouled Brice Williams with eight seconds remaining, and the 90% free throw shooter split the pair, making it 89-89 with eight seconds left.
On Ohio State’s final possession of regulation, Parrish had the ball and did not see Mobley next to him, and was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
Williams scores five in a row to start overtime
Williams scored the first five points of overtime, putting Nebraska up 94-89 right away and putting the Buckeyes in a big hole. The senior set Nebraska’s single-game scoring record on Tuesday night, scoring 43 points on 16-of-29 shooting in 49 minutes. He also had six rebounds and was 6-for-7 at the free throw line.
Royal ties it, sends game to second overtime
With seven seconds remaining in overtime, Royal drove to the basket and was fouled by Morgan, sending him to the line with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Royal hit the first to tie the game 99-99, but missed the second. Williams went the other way and missed a tough baseline jumper with two defenders in his face, sending the game to a second overtime.
Royal was one of four Buckeyes to score 20+ points. He finished with 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting and was 10-for-14 from the free throw line in 43 minutes. He had eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Parrish drills the three, puts Ohio State up four with 43 seconds left
With Ohio State up 107-106 and the shot clock ticking down, Parrish jab-stepped four times with Essegian in his face, eventually lifting up and nailing a triple with 43 seconds remaining to put the Buckeyes up 110-106 in the second overtime period. Parrish finished with 22 points in 46 minutes. He was 5-for-11 from three-point range and 0-for-3 shooting twos.
What’s next?
Ohio State has three days off before traveling to Bloomington, Indiana on Saturday to take on their fellow bubble-tenant, the Indiana Hoosiers. Indiana started slow this season, but has won three of their last five games to put themselves in position to dance. Both teams desperately need a win to help insure a place in the NCAA Tournament.
The Hoosiers have won each of the last four meetings with Ohio State, most recently beating the Buckeyes 77-76 in Columbus back on Jan. 17.
Ohio State’s game against Indiana is set to tip off at 3:45 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on CBS.