“There were some really good things, but we’re fighting for results right now. We let one slip away.” – Jake Diebler (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Ohio State rallied from 11 down in the second half to lead by three in the final minute. Then No. 12 North Carolina made the plays the Buckeyes couldn’t.
Comebacks are nice. No-quit attitudes make coaches proud.
But what Ohio State basketball coach Jake Diebler would really like to see, what would really make him proud of his team, is that same intense attitude for all 40 minutes.
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“The disappointing thing is the way we practiced yesterday and the day before heading into this game, for us not to come out play with the same kind of aggressiveness, confidence is disappointing,” he said on the postgame radio show.
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Last Saturday the Buckeyes followed the same script on a neutral court in Cleveland against West Virginia. However, they did enough in the final 12 minutes of regulation and two overtimes to beat the Mountaineers.
This Saturday, against a better 12th-ranked North Carolina team, the Buckeyes rallied, battled evenly on boards, made timely defensive stops and hit big shots during the final eight minutes.
Oh, to have the first 32 minutes back.
Because it takes a lot more to beat the Tar Heels than it does the Mountaineers. UNC did its part in letting the Buckeyes back in the game. But they were resourceful in the final minute. Ohio State was not.
And after taking a three-point lead with 48 seconds left on John Mobley Jr.’s long 3-pointer and ensuing free throw, the Buckeyes failed to score again and lost 71-70 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Mobley Jr.’s long 3-point shot with two seconds left bounced off the rim.
Diebler said he loved his team’s response to a three-point halftime deficit an 11-point deficit midway through the second half. But when it counted most, despite the effort, nothing worked.
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“We got a little uneasy down the stretch, didn’t quite execute what we practice every single day,” Diebler said. “So that’s a little disappointing. We had the game right in our hands.”
With a three-point lead, the Buckeyes (8-3) weren’t going to let North Carolina’s Seth Trimble shoot a 3-pointer. He was already 3 of 5 with 15 points. So they ran him off the line, but he got to the rim for a layup to cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 70-69 with 33 seconds left.
But the Buckeyes still led and had already made 16 of 19 free throws. They had this … they thought.
Hubert Davis called a timeout, set the Tar Heels up in a full-court press and hoped for a turnover. If not, the Heels (11-1) had plenty of time to foul.
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The inbounds pass to Mobley Jr. was fine. But then it seemed like the Buckeyes weren’t sure what to do – the lack of execution Diebler mentioned.
Mobley Jr. threw a pass toward half court that got knocked around. Colin White got his hands on it and threw it ahead in an effort to avoid a 10-second violation. But the Tar Heels stole the pass, hustled across half court and called timeout with 18 seconds left.
“We had possession while I was calling time out and they didn’t award it,” Diebler said. “And we just kind of tossed it the other way and just lost our poise for a second. We certainly got to be better in that situation. We got to get some free throws out of that.”
Instead of the chance to win the game with free throws, the Tar Heels had produced a chance to win.
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Davis wanted Trimble to take the shot, but Mobley Jr. locked him up. There was no room to shoot from 3-point land. There was no room to drive. But as luck would have it, Trimble stumbled in the lane and pushed the ball toward 7-footer Henri Veesaar.
Ohio State’s 7-foot Christoph Tilly lunged for the ball. But when he missed it, all Veesaar had to do was take one giant step and dunk for the lead with seven seconds left.
Ohio State got the ball over half court and called timeout with 4.4 seconds left to set up for the final shot.
Point guard Bruce Thornton had muscled into the lane to score multiple times, as he always does, and had scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half. But, curiously, Thornton was the inbounder, not the shooter.
Thornton’s pass from in front of his bench went to Tilly near the top of the key. He handed off to Mobley Jr. moving to his right. He didn’t look to penetrate and quickly let a 3-point attempt go. The shot bounced off the rim to the left. Devin Royal was there. He tried to catch and shoot all in one motion. But Tar Heels freshman phenom Caleb Wilson blocked the shot for his final big play of the afternoon.
The Tar Heels survived. And the Buckeyes were left with another result they feel they should have won.
“Love, love, love the fight and the toughness of our team,” Diebler said. “There were some really good things, but we’re fighting for results right now. We let one slip away.”
Royal led the Buckeyes with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Tilly had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Amare Bynum replaced Brandon Noel in the starting lineup for the first time and scored 11 points. But he fouled out with 2:37 left.
Areas that made it difficult on the Buckeyes were 4-of-20 shooting from 3-point range and zero bench points.
The 6-10 Wilson led the Tar Heels with 20 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for his eighth double-double in his 12th college game. Trimble and Veesaar scored 17 apiece.
The Buckeyes play a final Big Ten tuneup at 2 p.m. Tuesday at home against Grambling State. Then it’s off to Rutgers on January 2 looking for a chance to be 2-1 in the league.
If the Buckeyes are waiting for a reason to get after it for 40 minutes, they have it. Because after Rutgers, unbeaten Nebraska comes to town before a road trip to Oregon and Washington.
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