Men’s Basketball: Second half surge lifts Ohio State over No. 1 Duke 71-66

Behind a nearly-packed Schottenstein Center, Ohio State used a second-half surge to comeback from a 13-point halftime deficit to upset No. 1 Duke 71-66.

The Buckeyes (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten) staked out a 41-23 second half advantage to pull past the Blue Devils (7-1, 0-0 ACC) with 1:03 remaining in regulation and earn a huge upset win.

“Great win over an outstanding program,” head coach Chris Holtmann said. “I thought our guys showed a lot of resiliency.”

The Blue Devils were held scoreless for the final 4:29, while Ohio State used a 12-0 run to push past the nation’s best team.

Ohio State sophomore forward Zed Key fueled the Buckeyes’ second-half surge, dropping 11 of his career-high 20 points in the second half. Key’s efforts were aided by graduate guard Cedric Russell, who drilled a pair of second-half 3s — including one that pulled the Buckeyes within two points with 2:06 remaining.

Russell finished with 12 points on 3-for-3 shooting from 3.

Holtmann praised Key and Russell’s late-game execution as something that pushed the Buckeyes past the Blue Devils.

“Ced and Zed were the difference,” Holtmann said. “Cedric had a look in eyes, he wanted to stay aggressive.”

The Buckeyes fed off the Schottenstein Center crowd in the game’s opening stages of the first half, jumping out to a 13-7 lead. But, it was all Duke for the rest of the first half— which benefited from major errors from Ohio State.

Turnovers and missed free throws during the middle stages of the first half allowed Duke to grab a double-digit lead heading into the break.

Ohio State committed nine first-half turnovers, which the Blue Devils turned into 13 points. But, nothing hurt the Buckeyes more than missed free throws in the first 20 minutes — shooting just 3-for-10 from the charity stripe in the opening frame.

The Buckeyes finished with 12 turnovers, while shooting 50 percent from the free throw line in the second half.

Another factor that allowed Duke to jump out to an early lead was its advantage in the paint, where it outscored the Buckeyes 28-12 in the first half. The Buckeyes pulled that total within eight by the game’s end.

Ohio State used a five-minute, second-half scoring drought from Duke to pull within six points of the Blue Devils with a little over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

Key and junior forward E.J. Liddell paced the Buckeyes offense Tuesday. Liddell picked up his second double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Freshman guard Malaki Branham supported Liddell and Key’s efforts from the backcourt, finishing with eight points on 4-for-6 shooting.

Duke was fueled by forwards junior Wendell Moore Jr. and freshman Paolo Banchero. Moore led the Blue Devils with 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting, while Banchero powered through early foul trouble — dropping 14 points on 28.5 percent from the field.

As over 18,800 people packed the Schottenstein Center, Holtmann praised the Buckeye faithful for providing his team with some much-needed energy.

“Our crowd was phenomenal, I want to make sure everyone prints that,” Holtmann said. “I hope the students enjoy it well into the morning.”

Ohio State kicks off conference play against Penn State Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.