The Buckeyes came up on the wrong end of a back-and-forth overtime game on Black Friday.
On the eve of the biggest Buckeye sporting event of the year, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (5-2) welcomed a (relatively) nearby foe to the Schottenstein Center on Friday afternoon — the Pitt Panthers (7-1). Despite the extremely manageable drive between the two schools (a little less than three hours), Ohio State and Pitt had not faced each other in 22 years until Friday’s game.
The Panthers are having a great start to the season, picking up wins over West Virginia and LSU during the first month of the season. Jeff Capel is in his seventh season as head coach of the Panthers and has a chance to win 20 games for the third consecutive season — something that hasn’t happened at Pitt since the program was 20 or more games each year from 2001-2014.
Despite taking a nine-point lead into the halftime locker room, Ohio State went on a prolonged scoring drought in the second half, and Pitt came back to force overtime and then beat the Buckeyes in extra time, 91-90.
Senior guard Damian Dunn, who transferred to Pitt from Houston this spring, had his right thumb surgically repaired this week and was unavailable for the Panthers. In his place in the starting lineup was freshman guard Amsal Delalic, as well as Ishmael Leggett, Jaland Lowe, Cameron Corhen, and Guillermo Diaz Graham.
The Buckeyes were also shorthanded Friday, with starting center Aaron Bradshaw still unavailable as he goes through a “university process” that the team cannot comment on. Freshman forward Colin White and senior guard Ques Glover — who both come off the bench — were out as well. Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler went with the same starting five he utilized this week against Green Bay — Bruce Thornton, Meechie Johnson, Micah Parrish, Devin Royal, and Sean Stewart.
The Panthers proved tough to control on the glass, grabbing three offensive rebounds before the first media timeout. Corhen got the best of Stewart two different times, grabbing Pitt misses and keeping possessions alive for the Panthers. But the Buckeyes got three-pointers from Johnson and Parrish early on and took a 10-9 lead into that first media timeout with 14:18 left in the first half.
DEEP three for John Mobley Jr. @OhioStateHoops#B1GMBBall on Peacock pic.twitter.com/zpmzQghy8b
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 29, 2024
By the under-eight media timeout, Pitt had reached the bonus, but the Buckeyes were ahead 32-25. While they were clearly undersized, Pitt’s forwards struggled to keep up with Royal and Thornton — guys who aren’t big for the positions they play, but much quicker than the Pitt defenders who were trying to get in front of them. Ohio State knocked down 14 of its first 20 shots, good for a 70% shooting percentage to start the game.
Pitt fell behind by double-digits and this game looked like it might snowball in favor of the Buckeyes, but the Panthers strung together a late 8-2 run to keep it close. Still, Ohio State finished one of its best halves of basketball of the season with a 48-39 lead. The Buckeyes shot a super nice 69% as a team over the first 20 minutes and survived Pitt being in the bonus for over 13 minutes.
Ohio State increased its lead to 12 early in the first half, but Pitt answered with a 7-0 run that cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 57-53 with 14 minutes left in the game. A Leggett three-pointer with 12:56 made it 57-56, and Diebler called timeout with Pitt on the verge of taking the lead.
That’s TOUGH ISH #H2P / @peacock pic.twitter.com/4SvNwIzpmr
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) November 29, 2024
Pitt put together an eye-opening 15-0 run and turned what was a 12-point deficit into a small lead in the second half. Ohio State went over seven minutes without scoring, and Papa Kante — who came into Friday’s game averaging 2.5 points per game, caused havoc on the interior for Pitt. By the under-eight media timeout, the Panthers had taken a 66-64 lead.
The intensity and effort were ratcheted up a few levels over the final eight minutes or so. Buckets became hard to come by, and every made or missed free throw felt like a huge moment.
Parrish, who was perfect shooting the deep ball on Friday afternoon, nailed another from the corner — his fourth of the game — to give Ohio State a 76-72 lead with 1:37 left in the game. He gave the “night night” gesture to the Panthers, but Zack Austin came back down to the other end and buried his fourth triple of the game, too, and Pitt was right back within two points, 77-75.
Freezing cold takes pic.twitter.com/Rt4Yx7HZ6I
— Oakland Zoo (@OaklandZoo) November 29, 2024
After Lowe tied the game with a running jumper with 33 seconds left, 77-77, Ohio State held and tried to win it at the end of regulation. However, Thornton’s jumper was no good, and Pitt got a chance to win it with two seconds remaining. The Panthers grabbed the rebounds, called timeout, and missed a half-court heave that would’ve won it. Overtime!
Thornton opened extra time with a three on Ohio State’s first possession, and after Kante split a pair of free throws at the other end, Royal was fouled below the basket and was hooked by Leggett. The sophomore forward knocked down both, putting the Buckeyes up, 82-78 with 3:32 left in OT.
A Leggett foul on a rebound scramble sent Thornton to the line for two free throws, and he hit both to put the Buckeyes up six, 86-80. But Lowe scored on another runner and Royal was called for a questionable foul with 52 seconds left, cutting the Ohio State lead to 87-85 in the final minute.
On tired legs, Thornton split a pair of free throws to put the Buckeyes up 88-85. Lowe air-balled a three, and Ohio State was able to lock up the rebound. However, on the next Pitt possession, Mahaffey was called for a foul as Lowe shot a three-pointer, to the deep chagrin of the home crowd. Lowe hit all three, and the lead was back to 89-88 with seven seconds remaining.
ICE IN HIS VEINS @ZackAust11 hits the buzzer beater three for the DUB #H2P
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) November 29, 2024
Royal split the free throws after being fouled on the inbounds play, and Ohio State was up 90-88. Pitt brough the ball down the floor, and Parrish over-helped on Lowe, leaving Austin open up top. Lowe dished off to Austin, who was able to step into his shot and take an open three from about five feet behind the line at the buzzer — and buried it.
If you weren’t able to make it over to the Schott on Friday or you don’t have a Peacock subscription yet, here were a few key plays and moments from Pitt’s resume-building road win over the Buckeyes in Columbus:
Pitt in the bonus early…. very early
The Panthers’ size advantage with Bradshaw out looked like it could be a problem leading into this game, and boy was it. Ohio State put Royal on the 7-foot-tall Diaz Graham, and Stewart on Corhen to start the game. While the fouls weren’t all in the paint, Ohio State struggled to rotate and cover up size mismatches, committing seven fouls in the first 6:37 of the game, putting the Panthers in the bonus for the final 13 minutes of the first half.
Stewart picked up his second foul roughly six minutes into the game, and Parrish picked up his second foul when he jumped into Leggett on a jump shot with one second remaining on the shot clock after Ohio State played sound defense for 29 seconds.
Pitt outrebounded Ohio State 36-29 overall, and the Panthers scored 20 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.
Ohio State goes up 12 with 6:36 until halftime
After a nip-and-tuck first seven minutes or so, the Buckeyes got a big three-pointer from John Mobley Jr. with 6:36 remaining in the first half to go up a dozen, 37-25. Neither team was stopping much on the other end, so consecutive baskets of any kind constituted a big swing in this game.
Big minutes from Austin Parks
Austin ➡️ Dev for ✌️
OSU: 43
PITT: 35
1H 2:34@DevinRoyal7 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/GZqj0YO1mc— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) November 29, 2024
If you ask Jake Diebler the ideal situation for his bigs, he’d probably tell you that he’d love for Sean Stewart to pick up zero fouls, sub him out for a few minutes for a breather, and let Mahaffey or Royal fill in at center for a short time.
In reality, Stewart picked up two fouls early in the game and only played six first-half minutes. Royal and Mahaffey both did play the five a bit, but Austin Parks also stepped up with six minutes at center in the first half, scoring four points and dishing an assist to Royal late in the half.
Pitt tried their best to switch guards onto Parks and put him on skates, but the 6-foot-10 sophomore held his own, committing one foul in the first half but otherwise staying disciplined and sliding toward the basket without fouling Pitt’s shifty guards.
Big play Bruce is at it again
Thornton Stewart for the alley-oop @OhioStateHoops #B1GMBBall on Peacock pic.twitter.com/lIal0SGw7H
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 29, 2024
With 16:16 left in the game, Thornton dribbled around a screen and was tripped up by Papa Kante as he tried to get downhill and get to the basket. Somehow Thornton was able to keep his dribble alive from his knees, stand up, and throw a perfect lob to Stewart for a slam to put Ohio State up 57-46. It was Thornton’s seventh assist of the game — the fourth consecutive game he recorded seven or more assists.
Pitt swings back with a 13-0 run
Stewart’s slam put Ohio State up 11 points with just over 16 minutes left, but Pitt responded with a 13-0 run — the longest run for either team in the game at the time — to take a 59-57 lead with 12:13 left in the game.
It was seldom-used reserve big man Papa Kante, who’d scored 10 points all season long heading into today’s game, who was the difference maker. He was cutting with purpose, taking advantage of mismatches, and scored seven points in the first eight minutes of the second half to help the Panthers take control of the game.
Overtime!
After Lowe tied the game with a running layup with 27 seconds left, Thornton missed a jumper long and Pitt missed a half-court prayer with two seconds remaining, sending this game to overtime tied at 77.
Thornton’s free throws put Ohio State up 86-80
After Leggett fouled Thornton chasing after a loose rebound, Ohio State’s point guard went to the line and knocked down both to put the Buckeyes up six, 86-80, with 1:53 left in overtime.
Austin wins it at the buzzer
After Devin Royal split a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to put Ohio State up 90-88, Austin nailed a buzzer-beating three from straightaway to win it for Pitt, 91-90. Parrish was supposed to be guarding Austin, but had slid too far to his right to guard Lowe, Pitt’s second-leading scorer who had 28 in this game.
Lowe saw that Parrish was coming to him, and passed off to Austin, who had enough space to step into his shot and bury a deep three fro about five feet behind the line, with Parrish lunging in his direction at the last second.
Final lines:
Bruce Thornton: 24 points (7-15 FG, 3-5 3PT, 7-9 FT), nine assists, three rebounds, 45 minutes
Devin Royal: 18 points (5-10 FG, 8-12 FT), three rebounds, 32 minutes
Micah Parrish: 15 points (5-7 FG, 4-4 3PT), seven rebounds, 28 minutes
What’s next?
With Ohio State’s four-game homestand over, the Buckeyes will hit the road next week to begin Big Ten play at Maryland on Wednesday night. The Terrapins are 6-1 this season and No. 34 in KenPom. Led by a twin towers duo of Derik Queen (16 points and 7.9 rebounds per game) and Julian Reese (13.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game), Maryland will test Ohio State’s already-thin frontcourt.
The Buckeyes’ second true road game of the season is set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET at the Xfinity Center and will be broadcast on BTN.