Nebraska basketball loses to Ohio State

Between the end of the first half and beginning of the second, Nebraska went more than nine minutes without a field goal. The looks were there for the Huskers; the execution wasn’t. Rienk Mast missed open hook-shot looks over his shoulder. Juwan Gary, after knocking down four 3-pointers three days earlier against Minnesota, was 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, including a miss in space when NU improbably had a chance to take the lead in the second half.

Defensively, the Huskers struggled to defend without fouling. Ohio State attacked the basket, got to the rim and made 24 of its 28 free throws. Nebraska only attempted eight. When they missed, the Buckeyes corralled nine offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second-chance points.

It was the once-starting point guard who found himself coming off the bench who prevented the Ohio State flurry from getting out of hand. Lawrence set up Juwan Gary for a dunk for a dunk to stem the Buckeyes’ charge, then knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Moments later, he got to the rim for an old-fashioned 3-point play. The Huskers weren’t all the way back, but Lawrence had prevented a bad situation from spiraling, as it has in so many NU road games. The sophomore’s play has taken a leap in recent weeks, and he finished Thursday with 14 points and five assists.

Ohio State was down its starting point guard Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes needed an extra infusion of offense. Battle, who missed OSU’s most recent game against Michigan State, was more than up to the task.

The shooter hit three of his four 3-pointers in the opening minutes as he scored the Buckeyes’ first 11 points. When Ohio State pushed the pace in transition, he got to the rim. He finished the night with 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting.