Wesley Yates missed the game-tying three-pointer with six seconds remaining on Wednesday night.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (16-13, 8-10) needs to win its final two games of the season to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The only reason that the final two games matter right now, is because the Buckeyes were able to win a road game late on Wednesday night, knocking off the USC Trojans in Los Angeles, 87-82. That win improved Ohio State’s record to 16-13 on the season and was their sixth quad-1 win of the season.
Despite shooting nearly 80% in the first half, the win was not easy. The Buckeyes led 52-35 with 1:02 remaining in the first half. 18:55 later, with just over a minute left on the game clock, a layup from USC’s Rashaun Agee tied everything up, 80-80.
The Trojans successfully came back from a 17-point deficit, and were on the brink of handing Ohio State a win that would put their season in the grave. A Devin Royal and-one basket put the Buckeyes back up by three points with 41 seconds left, and they would not trail again from that point on.
Devin Royal.
: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/wApWFXEDTm
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 27, 2025
However, with 17 seconds left, John Mobley Jr. had the opportunity to make it a four-point game with a pair of free throws. He split the pair, making it 85-82 with 17 seconds remaining.
USC’s Saint Thomas grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Wesley Yates. The freshman dribbled around the top of the key, guarded by Royal. Ohio State opted not to foul, and instead allowed the Trojans to take the potential game-tying shot with six seconds left. Yates’ three-pointer was no good, and Thomas tapped the ball out of bounds on the rebound, sending it back to the Buckeyes with three seconds left. Ballgame.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether or not Ohio State’s rebounding issues are fixable or not. 75% of the readers sided with Justin, who said that what you see is what you get with this team, and the rebounding will not get better.
After 193 weeks:
Connor- 86
Justin- 82
Other- 19
(There have been six ties)
The big question — should Ohio State have fouled Yates in the final seconds, forcing USC to go to the line and take two free throws while down three points? Some coaches will always foul up three, others feel secure that “the worst that can happen is overtime” and allow their defense to play it out.
This week’s question: Should Ohio State have fouled USC, up three?
Connor: Yes
Sometimes, the process is correct but you don’t get the result you wanted.
Other times, the process was incorrect, but you still lucking out and getting exactly the result you wanted.
The second one was true on Wednesday night. Ohio State needed to foul Yates before he took the potential game-tying three-pointer. The freshman is a 42% three-point shooter this season, and he got a very clean look from straight away, guarded loosely by Devin Royal. If Yates hits the shot, you’re almost definitely going to overtime.
He took the shot with six seconds remaining, so if the ball came through the net cleanly and Ohio State immediately inbounded the ball cleanly, they would’ve had three-ish seconds to take a shot for the win.
Teams have done this to Ohio State numerous times, and the math almost always worked against the Buckeyes. When you’re up by three, you send the other team to the line to shoot two free throws. If — and that’s a big if — they hit both free throws, your lead still stands at one point, and you get the ball back.
Once Ohio State inbounds the ball, USC would probably foul them again, and the Buckeyes would just need to continue hitting free throws to mathematically eliminate the Trojans from the game.
Ohio State had its best four free throw shooters on the floor in Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr., Micah Parrish, and Royal. Sean Stewart was also out there, but there was no chance they would’ve put the ball in his hands on the inbound play.
What you couldn’t do is allow USC to take the last shot and then send the game to overtime on the road, with the Trojans having just roared back from down 17. Yates should’ve never taken that shot, but Ohio State got lucky and were able to survive regardless.
Justin: No
I am in favor of fouling up three 90% of the time, but there is a 10% of the time when I feel the flow of the game and the context of what is happening in the game matter.
First of all, teams have started fouling up three too early in the game. Recently, I have seen teams do it with as much as 15 seconds left on the clock. That still leaves four or five possessions left in the game if you continue to foul, which leaves a lot of room for error from the team that is winning and fouling.
You should foul up three with six seconds or less left on the clock. The reason is that you are forcing the other team to either miss the second foul shot on purpose or if they make both, they likely will not have enough time to get a good look on the other end.
Also, if a team takes a shot with eight seconds left in the game, as USC did against Ohio State, the absolute worst-case scenario is that they make it, and Ohio State has plenty of time to get a good look on the other end.
Another reason I was against it, specifically in the game between USC and Ohio State, was the Buckeyes were 2-for-4 on the free-throw line in the last minute of the game. If you foul USC up three, and they make both, you know you have to inbound the ball, break the press, and make both free throws, all things the Buckeyes struggle with at times down the stretch.
The bottom line for me is simple. Foul up three under seven seconds. Other than that, let it play out if they want to shoot an early three.