Another home loss threatened because of another Ohio State offensive lull until freshman Malaki Branham put on his cape and came to the rescue for the Buckeyes.
Columbus, OH – It may not qualify as a win Ohio State stole from Indiana on Monday as much as the Buckeyes’ 80-69 overtime triumph is one they found after misplacing it.
Up 11 points in the second half, OSU again went into zombie mode as it did blowing an identical advantage Saturday in a home loss to Iowa.
Another loss – and one appeared imminent when the Hoosiers had a four-point lead and the ball with 1:23 left – and Ohio State would be melting down heading to league-leading Illinois on Thursday.
But the Buckeyes (17-7, 10-5) might have found something even more sustainable long-term than a shaky victory that maintains their tenuous hold on fourth-place in the Big Ten and the double-bye in the league tournament that comes with it.
Freshman Malaki Branham’s 27 points led the way, but more significantly his takeover of the play-making responsibilities made the difference down the stretch.
“We needed him against their pressure defense.,” OSU coach Chris Holtmann said. “He’s so good at getting to his spots. Boy, has he come a long way in about a month and a half.”
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From the 16:50 mark until the final seconds, Branham made the only three field goals Ohio State managed and also knocked down four free throws.
That explains why two Indiana defenders collapsed on him as he drove from the key to the low right block with the clock ticking toward expiration, only to have Branham find teammate E.J. Liddell for an open dunk that tied the score, 63-63, and forced overtime.
Ohio State’s Kyle Young shoots over Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis.
“I saw him wide open and I threw it to him,” Branham said. “I knew he’d do the right thing, which he did and dunked it. I was just trying to make the right play.”
What Branham doesn’t offer in loquacious quotations, he supplies in a stellar stat line.
He finished 9-of-13 from the field, was perfect on eight free throw attempts and had five rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two turnovers.
“I’ve said before the season started that he was a bucket-getter,” Liddell said of Branham. “As the year goes on, he’s getting better and better. I feel like he’s seeing things better. The game is slowing down. He had a great night all around.”
Liddell finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in 43 minutes, clearly showing fatigue at points in his third game in seven days.
Defensively, though, he came up big, limiting Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis to 13 points — 14 fewer than he had in IU’s win over the Buckeyes last month.
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Liddell also made the biggest defensive play of the game, slapping away and stealing a pass to Davis from Race Thompson after a Hoosiers’ timeout up 63-59 with 1:23 left.
“We came out of timeout and threw the ball away,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson lamented. “That triggered it. I thought it gave them hope again.
“If we come out of that possession shooting two free throws or at least attempting a shot, it eats into the clock We didn’t even eat into the clock. We threw it away trying to feed it inside.”
Branham got the line to draw the Buckeyes within two, then after a missed IU triple maneuvered into position to find Liddell for the tying dunk.
That’s what the 6-5 freshman can do, create offense himself to hopefully spare the Buckeyes more end-of-clock fire drills that have been all too common this season.
For all the trumpeting of OSU’s offensive efficiency rating, it far too frequently enters the final seconds before a violation with no apparent plan other than finding Liddell and hoping he can power in from the post or hit a fadeaway jumper.
Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta, now with Indiana, acknowledges fans during the Buckeyes’ 80-69 overtime win.
“We just have to make sure that we’re doing as good as job as we can getting the ball to our playmakers,” Holtmann said. “Sometimes that changes. E.J. was struggling to get to his spots tonight. Twenty-two was a fantastic playmaker tonight, for himself and others.”
Branham, of course, wears No. 22, a number Ohio State had retired in honor of two-time All-American Jim Jackson, who handled the analysis last night for Fox Sports.
Branham’s late penetration and dish to Liddell didn’t have the same significance as Jackson’s iconic drive-and-dish assist to Treg Lee for the game-winner in overtime against Indiana in 1991, but without it the Buckeyes don’t win this one and would have dropped consecutive games for the first time this season.
“I’m not quite sure how we found a way to win that,” Holtmann said. “But our guys gutted through it. Players win games and I thought our players stepped up and made big-time plays.”
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That’s certainly true of overtime, and again it was Branham behind most every good thing the Buckeyes accomplished.
He drove to the right of the paint and pulled up to erase a 67-65 Indiana lead with 3:50 left, then slashed toward the basket again on OSU’s next trip, drawing a second defender from the right corner.
That collapsing pressure left Jamari Wheeler open beyond the arc, and Branham found him for a triple that put the Buckeyes in front.
Two Indiana free throws closed the margin to 72-71, which Liddell rebuilt with a corner jumper at the two-minute mark.
This time, the Hoosiers missed, and OSU went back to Branham at the other end. He put Thompson in the ringer, spun him off balance and scored again in the lane at 1:25 to make it 74-69.
“I just thought our guys were phenomenal in the closing two or three minutes,” Holtmann said. “We had some guys struggling physically, to be honest with you. Their defensie had something to do with it. But No. 22 wasn’t struggling. He’s come such a long way.”
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Counting on a freshman for that kind of contribution every night isn’t ideal, but that’s Ohio State’s best option with virtually no chance of junior forward Justice Sueing making any meaningful contribution now.
He was to be the oversized penetrator OSU forced mismatches with, but a groin injury has kept Sueing out all season and guards Wheeler and Meechie Johnson put virtually no stress on opposing defenses.
Likewise, Ohio State can’t count on much from Justin Ahrens, a factor from three-point range early this season who has not produced much lately.
Sophomore Gene Brown came through with 10 unexpected points, including a pair of bonus triples on as many attempts, with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
“We beat a good team,” Holtmann said. “I just think it’s a huge, huge boost for us. I think the poise, the composure and the grit we showed late. There cannot be enough said about that with our guys. There just can’t. I’m super proud of them.”
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Ohio State’s Jamari Wheeler drives to the basket against IU’s Xavier Johnson.
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Malaki Branham donned his cape and rode to the rescue for the Buckeyes in the second half and overtime (PressPros Feature Photos by John Hulkenberg).