Junior guard Bruce Thornton (2) surveys the court during the Buckeyes’ 69-61 loss to UCLA Sunday in Los Angeles. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
It’s officially panic time for the Buckeyes.
Coming off a 21-point home loss to Northwestern on Thursday, Ohio State knew its once-rich NCAA tournament hoops were withering.
They traveled out west, desperately looking to pick up a statement win in Pauley Pavillion.
Instead of bouncing back, Ohio State’s shooting struggles persisted as the team shot just 36%, leading to a 69-61 loss to UCLA and endangering its tournament hopes further.
The Buckeyes struggled from the field early, shooting just 18% through the first ten minutes. But iron clanking was a sound both teams heard early on, as the Bruins had just one more field goal than Ohio State to hold a narrow 11-10 lead.
After a 3-pointer from guard Bruce Thornton put the Buckeyes up two with 8:47 remaining, Ohio State didn’t hold another lead for the rest of the half. Thornton, who led all the Buckeyes with ten points at the half, stepped up offensively as guard John Mobley was held to no points as the freshman battled the flu.
Even with a 27% shooting performance from the floor, Ohio State still only trailed 28-24 at the half.
Despite foul trouble from forward Sean Stewart and the absence of forward Aaron Bradshaw due to the flu, second-chance points actually kept Ohio State afloat on offense, coming away with 13 points off of eight offensive rebounds.
Although the Buckeyes stayed close with the Bruins in the first, their abysmal 3-point shooting performance caught up to them. The team finished 6-of-28 from beyond the arc.
But Ohio State continued to narrow its deficit as it went on a 7-0 run to pull within two.
But a 12-5 UCLA run put them back up nine with nine minutes to play. And the Bruins controlled the game the rest of the way, seemingly having an answer for every ounce of momentum the Buckeyes picked up.
The Bruins made 8 of their last 10 field goals to hold on for their 20th win of the season.
Ohio State (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten) stays in Los Angeles on Wednesday to take on USC (14-12, 6-9 Big Ten). Tip-off is set for 10:30 p.m. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.
