Ohio State men come back from 16 down to stun No. 11 Purdue in Mackey, 73-70

The Buckeyes stunned Purdue in the second half with a 17-2 run and snapped Purdue’s 26-game home winning streak.

So, what happens when you lose a “must-win” game? In the case of the Ohio State men’s basketball team (11-8, 3-5), it makes the very next game — one that nearly everyone expected you to lose — a “must-win” as well.

Ohio State’s one-point, overtime loss to Indiana on Friday night was crucial for the Buckeyes to win, knowing full well that their next game was in West Lafayette against the Purdue Boilermakers (15-5, 7-2). By happenstance, Purdue came into Tuesday night’s game having won their last 26 home games. The Buckeyes had only won in Mackey Arena once in the last decade.

That was until Tuesday, when Ohio State stunned the No. 11 Boilermakers, 73-70, to pick up their third ranked win of the season and snap a three-game losing streak. The Buckeyes waltzed into Mackey Arena for the first Purdue home game with students since before Christmas and stunned the home fans behind a combined 38 points from Devin Royal and Micah Parrish.

Trey Kaufmann-Renn, who came into this game leading Purdue with 17.9 points per game, scored six before the first media timeout, as Purdue built an early 10-5 lead. Two of those baskets were assisted by Braden Smith, the Big Ten’s assist leader. The Buckeyes weren’t switching cleanly enough off of Kaufmann-Renn, and the 6-foot-9 junior was getting just enough space to slither in for some high-percentage looks.

The Boilermakers extended that lead over the next eight minutes or so. After Devin Royal was called for a travel at one end, CJ Cox knocked down a mid-range jumper to push Purdue ahead, 25-11.

Purdue seemingly scored after every Ohio State turnover or goof-up, making it feel like there was no room at all for error in front of a sold-out, raucous Mackey Arena crowd. The Buckeyes went for a long stretch where they only scored one basket in a seven-minute stretch, falling behind by double digits and eventually heading to the locker room trailing the 11th-ranked Boilermakers, 41-28.

Kaufman-Renn had 14 points and six rebounds in the first half for Purdue. Devin Royal had 11 for Ohio State, in the opening 20 minutes, and was the only Buckeye to score more than five points during the first half.

After getting completely shut out of the offense in the first half, Bruce Thornton scored a quick five points to start the second half, cutting Purdue’s lead to eight points. After a Purdue turnover, Bradshaw scored over a triple team to cut the deficit even further. Just two minutes into the second half, Ohio State was back within six points, 41-35. Aaron Bradshaw scored twice in the opening minutes of the second half, and by the first media timeout of the second half Ohio State had come all the way back to make it 43-39.

The Buckeyes kept at it, blasting off in a big way and going on a 17-2 run to take a two-point lead against Purdue with 14 minutes left in the game. Thornton was the initiator of the offense, but it was guys like Bradshaw and Micah Parrish who did the heavy lifting as Ohio State turned a runaway blowout into a very tight basketball game.

After Fletcher Loyer scored six straight points for Purdue, Jake Diebler called a timeout to settle his team and the crowd. Purdue had gone back ahead 54-53 with just over eight minutes to play, but the Buckeyes were once again in a one-possession game — something they’ve been very familiar with lately.

Ohio State turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, and Purdue scored on after all three of them to re-take a 59-53 lead with 7:22 remaining in the game.

When it looked like maybe Purdue had thrown the final punch and Ohio State would just fade away, the Buckeyes responded with a 9-0 run, five of which came from Parrish. After the fifth-year senior knocked down an NBA-range three to make it 62-59, Matt Painter was forced to call a timeout to gather the troops.

Parrish remained on fire for two more minutes, going on an 8-0 run all by himself to help put Ohio State ahead, 68-59, with 2:42 remaining.

Purdue answered with eight straight points to close it to 68-67 with 55 seconds remaining. John Mobley Jr. answered with a long two to put Ohio State up three, 70-67, with 17 seconds remaining. Two Purdue free throws cut it to 70-69, but Devin Royal knocked down a pair of free throws of his own to make it a three-point game again, 72-69.

The Buckeyes played the foul game once they got up three, and fortunately Royal was able to knock down three out of four in the final three seconds to clinch it, 73-70.

If you don’t have a Peacock subscription — or were still too hungover from national championship celebrations and forgot the men’s basketball team played tonight — here are a few key stats and numbers that help break down Ohio State’s 73-70 upset of the 11th-ranked Boilermakers in West Lafayette.

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3 – Bruce Thornton points in the first half

Thornton, a three-year captain for the Buckeyes, had scored in double-digits in each of the last eight games but was also completely erased during Ohio State’s losses to Auburn and Maryland, scoring three and nine points in those games.

That was the story Tuesday night against Purdue, as he was matched up with Big Ten POY frontrunner Braden Smith. Thornton wasn’t able to get any daylight heading to the rim at all, and the only shots he was able to take were from three-point range, where he went 1-for-3. His only make came right at the halftime buzzer that cut Purdue’s lead to 13, 41-28.

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4 – Offensive rebounds for Trey Kaufman-Renn in the first half

For the second straight game, Ohio State was tortured by an opposing big on the glass. On Tuesday night it was Purdue junior Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored 14 points and had six rebounds in the first half. He also had all four of his team’s offensive rebounds, which by happenstance was one more than Ohio State’s entire team had in the first half.

This comes four days after Indiana center Oumar Ballo grabbed eight offensive rebounds against the Buckeyes.

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3 – assists in the first half

Ohio State entered Tuesday’s game with the lowest assist rate in the Big Ten conference, assisting on just 48.7% of their made baskets. In the first half, Ohio State recorded an assist on just three of the team’s eight made baskets. Two of those assists came from backup guard Ques Glover, and zero of them were from Thornton.

Purdue, on the other hand, assisted on 10 of their 15 made baskets. Braden Smith had five first-half assists despite only playing 10 minutes in the opening frame.

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60% – Purdue’s shooting percentage in the first half

More often than not, when Purdue shot the ball Tuesday night, it was going to drop. Kaufman-Renn was the biggest force behind this uber-efficient first half, hitting six of his eight shots en route to 14 first-half points. Purdue’s freshman guard CJ Cox was a perfect 4-for-4 shooting in the first half as well, totaling nine points.

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7 – Consecutive points scored by Ohio State to open the second half

After falling behind by 13 at halftime, the Buckeyes came out scorching hot in the second half to take the lead on the 11th-ranked Boilers. Thornton knocked down a three-pointer and then was fouled going to the basket, hitting both free throws. A Bradshaw basket followed, making it 41-35 Purdue.

Ohio State used those seven points as part of a larger 17-2 run to start the second half, taking a 45-43 lead on the home team six minutes into the second half.

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6 – Consecutive points scored by Fletcher Loyer to give Purdue the lead back

After Sean Stewart knocked down his first career three-pointer to give Ohio State a 51-48 lead, Loyer went on a 6-2 run all on his own to put the Boilermakers back up, 54-53. Ohio State started to slow down Kaufman-Renn, but when they did that, the Purdue guards started to get it going.

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3 – Ohio State turnovers in just over a minute

After re-taking the lead, 53-50 with 9:50 remaining in the game, Ohio State proceeded to turn the ball over on three consecutive possessions. On all three possessions, Purdue scored. In less than two minutes, the Boilermakers turned the tables, taking a 59-53 lead and making the Buckeyes once again pay for any mistakes they made inside a deafening Mackey Arena.

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8 – straight points for Micah Parrish

After the brutal stretch where Ohio State turned it over 48 times and Purdue took the lead, the Buckeyes went on an improbable 15-0 run to go back ahead, 68-59. The rally was spearheaded by Parrish, who at one point scored eight straight points and 11 of 13 for the Buckeyes.

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What’s next?

Ohio State (11-8, 3-5) has five days off before welcoming the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-6, 3-4) to Columbus Monday night. With the result of their Tuesday night game against Minnesota pending, the Hawkeyes are currently riding a two-game losing streak after being swept on the West Coast by USC and UCLA. The Trojans and Bruins combined to score 193 points in those two Iowa losses, and the Hawkeyes defense is now rated No. 158 in the nation, according to KenPom.

Ohio State’s game against Iowa will kick off at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FS1.