Bruce Thornton needed more scoring help in Ohio State’s loss to Virginia. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Bruce Thornton’s 28 points weren’t enough without the injured John Mobley Jr. on the floor.
Bruce Thornton played and scored like one of the best guards in America on Saturday night. But one-man bands don’t make it in Nashville.
Thornton’s 28 points – 18 of them in a carry-the-team-on-his-back impressive stretch of the second half – couldn’t make up for deficiencies that continue to haunt Ohio State.
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In a recurring theme against ranked teams, Virginia’s size and reach hurt the Buckeyes with six blocked shots, altered and deterred numerous others, and created a 40-26 rebounding advantage.
Thornton’s role as front man is often facilitated by the three-point threat and high-scoring potential of John Mobley Jr. But in another blow to the lineup and depth, Mobley Jr. didn’t play because of a hand injury suffered Wednesday night against USC. He is out indefinitely but not lost for the season.
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Still, the Buckeyes had opportunities late before No. 15 Virginia, locking in on defense, survived the upset bid for a hard-fought 70-66 victory at Bridgestone Arena.
“Our guys really battled hard,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said on the postgame radio show. “We took a step forward on in some areas, certainly on the defensive side, but offensively we just didn’t get some of those same opportunities down the stretch that we were getting earlier in the game.”
The Buckeyes (16-9) will mourn another NET Rankings Quad 1 victory that got away because they scored only seven points in the final 10 minutes. They are 1-8 in Quad 1 games. And the one they have against Northwestern is hanging on by a thread.
To get off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes must find a victory, and quite possibly two, against either Michigan State, Iowa or Purdue. Wins over Wisconsin and Indiana could become Quad 1 worthy if those teams win enough other games. And they can’t go to Penn State and lose. That would be devastating.
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Thornton’s 16 points during a five-and-a-half minute stretch ended with a driving layup with 10:06 left that put Ohio State up 59-53. The Buckeyes scored only seven more points, two of them by Thornton.
“He showed tremendous toughness,” Diebler said. “It’s what great players do this time of year. We were certainly down some scoring punch, and he was the guy who best raised his level. We needed a couple more guys to give us a little bit more on that end – just wasn’t their day.”
Devin Royal didn’t have the same success he had recently against Penn State. He made only 2 of 12 shots for four points.
Virginia (22-3) took control on defense when it began to force Ohio State deep into the shot clock, forced difficult – sometimes impossible – shots, and created untimely turnovers. The Buckeyes, unable to space the floor as much as usual without Mobley Jr., committed only eight turnovers, but five of them came in the final 8:37 and led to four Virginia points.
More importantly the turnovers robbed the Buckeyes of chances to score. And without Mobley Jr. on the floor and Devin Royal suffering through a bad shooting night, the Buckeyes needed every possession they could get. Royal scored four points on 2 of 12 shooting and fouled out with 31 seconds left.
“He missed some he usually makes,” Diebler said. “It was a physical game inside and that usually helps him. He got to his spot, especially start of the second half, and the ball didn’t go down for him.”
A 9-0 run put the Cavaliers up 61-59 with 6:09 left. Ohio State was in the middle of four empty possessions that featured two blocked shots and a shot clock violation.
Amare Bynum’s 15 points provided the most offensive support to Bruce Thornton.
Virginia, struggling as well to score against Ohio State’s locked-in defense, staggered to a 66-61 lead with 40 seconds left. The Cavs missed three of their eight free-throw attempts with their late lead to leave a crack in the door.
That allowed a 3-pointer by Amare Bynum with 33 seconds left and a dunk by Christoph Tilly with six seconds left to cut the Ohio State deficit to 69-66. But Chance Mallory made the second of two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to seal Ohio State’s fate.
Bynum did his best to fill the Mobley Jr. void with 15 points, three 3-pointers and six rebounds. Tilly scored 11 but made only 4-of-12 shots. Taison Chatman made his first start in Mobley Jr.’s place and didn’t score after making two early baskets to help the Buckeyes to a 17-6 lead. Bench points, a problem for the Buckeyes all season, favored Virginia 28-4.
The shortcomings erased some positive numbers that often help teams win. The Buckeyes outscored the Cavaliers 36-28 in the paint, mostly due to Thornton. They also outscored the Cavs 16-4 in points off turnovers. And they led for almost 24 minutes.
Nashville can be a tough town.
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