The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils’ reign as the undisputed college basketball team to beat was short-lived. Although they led for much of the game, the Blue Devils passed out late in a 71-66 loss to the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, once again resetting the national conversation and opening the door. to the Purdue Boilermakers or another team to climb to the top of the standings next Monday.
Duke took a 43-30 lead at halftime, extended his lead to 15 in the second half, and still held a fairly comfortable 66-59 lead after a free throw from Trevor Keels with 4 : 29 to play. The Blue Devils wouldn’t score another point. Chris Holtmann’s OSU side finished the game 12-0, with 6 points from Cedric Russell (12 points) and 4 from EJ Liddell (14 points) in the dying moments to score the victory. Zed Key also recorded a career-high 20 points for the Buckeyes.
The ESPN team of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi weighed in on what they saw, the way forward for Duke and Ohio State, and the Bracketology and national rankings implications of the Buckeyes’ triumph.
What prompted Duke to collapse late in his loss to Ohio State?
Duke entered the second half with a double-digit lead, a lead that seemed insurmountable. The Blue Devils were comfortable. But Ohio State put more pressure on the Blue Devils in the second half and forced some tough shots that didn’t fall, shots that fell in the first half. Duke led 51-39 over Jeremy Roach’s jumper with 17:07 left in the game. Duke didn’t score another field goal before the 11:06 mark. The Blue Devils were spooky, missing eight consecutive field goal attempts during that streak. With Duke still maintaining a double-digit lead when Mark Williams scored with 11 minutes and 6 seconds left, the mood changed. There were two goals from Duke’s field the rest of the game, which opened the door for the late Ohio State return.
We saw Duke hold back a spirited Gonzaga team in Las Vegas last week in a two-way clash and wild environment at the T-Mobile Arena. But that crowd was, at a minimum, 50/50 for the Blue Devils. The Columbus clash was Duke’s first real road game of the season. Value City Arena is a wild place. The noise is kind of on you. When Duke cooled off, the crowd could sense an opportunity, and a Duke team that hadn’t encountered that hostility fell apart late. Duke fell apart because he couldn’t score, but the Ohio State crowd also deserves an MVP vote. – Medium calf
What was Duke missing on Tuesday that we saw in his epic win over Gonzaga on Friday?
Offense. The Blue Devils remained static in the second half against Ohio State, scoring just 23 points and completing 7 of 31 field tries after intermission. Paolo Banchero wasn’t limited by the cramps this time around, but for some reason he was 0-for-7 from the floor in the second half. Give the Buckeyes all the credit. With the notable exception of Wendell Moore Jr., Duke’s shooters were repeatedly forced into 2-point hard hits as the game progressed. For the game, the Blue Devils were held to 41 percent of shots inside the arc as they scored 66 points in a 70-possession contest.
It’s still a team that beat Gonzaga and can win it all in April, of course. Any offense with Banchero, Moore and Mark Williams will not often register such a low success rate over his 2s. Still, after eight games, maybe we can at least raise the question of whether perimeter shooting is going to be an issue for this group. Over the season, Duke only achieved 32.7% of his 3s. If the Blue Devils cannot strike open eyes from the outside, Mike Krzyzewski stars will find they have less room to operate on the inside. Definitely worth watching.
— Gasway
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Zed Key flips the rim with a two-handed flush and Mark Williams responds with one of his on the next possession.
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Was it a one-game aberration for Ohio State or are the Buckeyes going to matter nationally?
If it’s an aberration, it will be half an aberration because they weren’t very good in the first 20 minutes. The Buckeyes made a series of self-inflicted mistakes in the first half, returning the ball too often and missing free throws. In the second half their defense tightened and they started to have a lot of success playing in their frontcourt and having Zed Key go head to head into the post with plenty of space. And I think that’s probably their, uh, key to moving forward. He held a clinic at the station on Tuesday night, consistently securing a great position and finishing long over Mark Williams and Theo John. But his 20 points against Duke was more than he had in the last three games combined. It has to be consistent to move forward.
Besides Key, another area to watch will be the perimeter group. Ohio State has struggled to get a consistent point guard and backcourt play this season, but Chris Holtmann might have found a way to stretch opposing defenses on Tuesday. Cedric Russell, an all-conference Louisiana player last season, shot 40% from a 3-point range in 2020-21 but had only played 23 total minutes this season. On Tuesday, he played 16 minutes off the bench, making three 3s and scoring 12 points.
EJ Liddell is an All-American contender, and he showed on Tuesday that he can make an impact in a game even if he doesn’t have big scores. He had 14 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, including a tough bucket in the last minute to put Ohio State up three. Liddell is going to be a constant for the Buckeyes.
One big thing to remember: Ohio State is playing without Justice Sueing and Seth Towns. Sueing, who averaged 10.7 points last season, is out indefinitely with an abdominal injury, while Towns is out after undergoing back surgery. Pursuing in particular will give Holtmann another consistent offensive threat and someone who can initiate an offense for others.
Holtmann is still clearly determining his best rosters – while awaiting the return of his injured players – but there are enough on the roster at Columbus to be in the Top 25 all season.
–Borzello
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Trevion Williams has eyes in the back of his head for Purdue, finding a Mason Gillis cutting with a smooth looking pass.
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Does that mean No.2 Purdue, who destroyed Florida State on Tuesday, is the team to beat nationally?
The Boilermakers will absolutely move up to No.1 in the standings if they can beat Iowa on Friday. Purdue looked like the most impressive team in the country until November – Matt Painter has a bit of everything. Zach Edey and Trevion Williams are the most dominant post duo in the country, and the way Williams agreed to move to the bench after being considered an American-caliber preseason player shows just how connected the Boilermakers are. and together this season. Jaden Ivey is changing the game with the ball in his hands and he’s starting to be more aggressive as a playmaker. And Painter has surrounded these three stars with skilled shooters and role players. They can score easily in the paint, they shoot better than 44% from 3 points and they share the ball exceptionally well. It is the most effective offense in the country for a reason. Purdue had some mediocre stretches on the defensive end, but was able to lock in when it counts.
The Boilermakers also have victories to substantiate what we see with our eyes and in the numbers. They beat Villanova in Connecticut, pulled away from North Carolina late, and completely clubbed Florida state on Tuesday.
–Borzello
What are the implications of Bracketology for Duke? For the state of Ohio?
On our board, Duke remains a No.1 seed despite his Big Ten / ACC Challenge game at Ohio State. In March, the “how” will not be as important as the “what”. In other words, a Quad 1 road loss isn’t what would cost the Blue Devils a seed. For now, we would reconfigure the top row in this order: Purdue (Midwest), Baylor (South), Duke (East), and Gonzaga (West). UCLA remains next in line.
The state of Ohio, meanwhile, is a big winner in terms of positioning on the seed list. The Buckeyes entered this game # 27 overall (a # 7 seed in Bracketology). The victory will allow them to gain at least half a dozen places, in the overall range No. 20-21. That’s a solid seed in the medium, and maybe more by the time we update everything on Friday. It’s the perfect way for Ohio State to head towards its conference opening Sunday at Penn State.
— Lunardi
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