It truly was a tale of two halves for the Ohio State basketball team on Tuesday night vs. Minnesota. The Buckeyes put on a very sloppy show for the home fans in the first half and went to the locker room down by two points to a Golden Gophers squad that was just 3-10 in the league heading into the contest.
But then OSU came out with a lot more energy in the second half and quickly put a run together to not only take over the lead, but to extend it to double digits and ran away from there for a 70-45 win. Guard Jamari Wheeler sparked things early in the second half, then E.J. Liddell found his touch late to continue a much better run of play in the last 20 minutes.
Almost every phase of the game was much better once Ohio State came out of the half. There was a better effort with ball security, the defense was more active, and the shooting and execution much more on point.
Liddell started slow with just four points in the first half, but looked for his shot more in the second and finished the game with another double-double as the game’s leading scorer (16 points) and rebounder (10) on 6-of-11 shooting that included 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Jamari Wheeler (13) and Malaki Branham (11) also finished the game in double figures.
It wasn’t all offense though. Ohio State held Minnesota to just 20 points in the second half by limiting the Golden Gophers to just 30.8% from the floor, while forcing 13 turnovers.
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With the win, the Buckeyes continue to stay in the thick of the Big Ten regular-season title race by improving their record to 16-6 overall and 9-4 in the league. They all are big from here on out, and the next challenge will be a home contest against Iowa on Saturday.
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