Ohio State needed a prayer.
No. 21 Seton Hall tied the game with a layup from Jamir Harris with 10 seconds left. As the clock winded down, Ohio State freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. took the ball up the court with head coach Chris Holtmann failing to use one of the two timeouts he had left.
Dishing the ball out to redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, Johnson got the ball back at the top of the key, firing for the game-winning three, giving Ohio State (4-1) the 79-76 win against No. 21 Seton Hall (3-1) in the semifinal of the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament.
Here's what we learned from this game.
Ohio State can rely on the 3.
From the start of the game, Ohio State had its shot.
The Buckeyes hit four of its first five attempts from the field — all jumpers or 3-point attempts — while starting the game with 7-10, only one layup.
And after that brief cold spell, the success continued. During Ohio State’s 19-4 run in the first half, all four of their field goals were either jumpers or 3-point makes, the rest of which were free throws.
In the first half, the Buckeyes seemed to shy away from the paint area a bit, an area where Xavier held a showcase in its physicality against Ohio State Thursday. In the first 20 minutes, the Buckeyes hit three of its six layup attempts against the Pirates with no dunks.
The heat from 3 continued into the second half, as redshirt senior Justin Ahrens hit two of his five attempts from deep, while Young hit his only 3 attempt.
After hitting his first 3-point make of the game with 12:18 to go in the game, Johnson landed his second in four tries when it counted most, giving Ohio State the three-point victory.
Ahrens finished the game with five 3-point makes on eight tries, recording 17 points.
Junior forward E.J. Liddell recorded two 3s on five attempts, leading OhioS tate with 28 points.
The Buckeyes finished with 11 makes on 22 attempts from deep, along with a 47.9% shooting percentage, coming off a loss in which Ohio State could only hit eight of its 21 attempts from deep.
Defense steps up, shows physicality
While Seton Hall showed its size advantage at points, Ohio State was able to use its speed in transition to disrupt the Pirates’ momentum offensively.
The Buckeyes finished with five steals ‚ two of which came from Ahrens, who was extremely disruptive defensively, recording a team-high plus-8 plus/minus total. Liddell was also able to continue his block streak, recording three after blocking eight shots in Thursday’s loss to Xavier.
In response, Seton Hall could not find consistency offensively.
The Pirates shot 38.1% from the field, making 5-of-23 attempts from deep, including two of its 11 tries in the final 20 minutes.
Forward Jared Rhoden shined for the Pirates with a career-high 29 points, making eight of his 15 attempts from the field, two of his five tries from deep and 11 of his 13 tries from the free-throw line.
Outside of Rhoden and Bryce Aiken, who added 16 points on 50% shooting, Seton Hall made 11 of 38 attempts from the floor: 28.9%
Size remains Ohio State's weak point
For the first time this season, Zed Key was forced to start his day on the bench.
The matchup made sense: pitting redshirt senior center Joey Brunk against Obiagu in the paint instead of the 6-foot-8 Key. But after four minutes of playing time in the first half, Key was at the scorer’s table.
And Brunk didn’t see another minute of action in the first half.
In 12 minutes of the first half, Key recorded four points, two rebounds and an assist, along with two fouls and a turnover. Key finished the day with six points and two rebounds, struggling with two fouls and three turnovers.
Also off the bench, Ohio State was able to show some tenacity with redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, who brought in five rebounds in his first 11 minutes of play, including both of the Buckeyes’ offensive boards.
Young finished with 12 points and eight rebounds — adding a team-high three offensive rebounds, recording his second of two shots in a triple-team layup at the buzzer, showcasing a level of physicality that the redshirt senior has been known for ever since he first joined the Buckeyes.
Brunk returned to the court to start the second half, finishing with no points, a rebound and two fouls in seven minutes.
Ohio State still struggled against Seton Halls size.
The Pirates recorded five more rebounds than the Buckeyes, including five players that had four rebounds or more, including a team-high five by Rhoden, compared by Liddell's six. Seton Hall also outscored Ohio State, 24-18, in the paint.
Rotation remains fluid
Without Seth Towns, Justice Sueing and Eugene Brown III, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann had to find a way to make up for lost production.
And in the semifinal against Seton Hall, Holtmann needed nearly everybody.
Ohio State played 10 of his 11 available players Monday night against the Pirates, eight of which played more than 10 minutes, including 26 by Johnson, 24 for Young and 19 for redshirt senior guard Jimmy Sotos off the bench.
Ohio State was still outscored 37-32 in bench points.
What it means
Ohio State can bounce back, something the Buckeyes did in the first part of last season pretty consistently. The Buckeyes followed up its first four losses of the season in 2020-21 with four wins by at least seven points. After its first loss in 2021-22, the Buckeyes beat Seton Hall by three, setting up a championship matchup with either the Golden Bears or the Gators.
What’s next
Ohio State will face Florida in the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament championship game at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on Fox Sports 1.
No. 21 Seton Hall tied the game with a layup from Jamir Harris with 10 seconds left. As the clock winded down, Ohio State freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. took the ball up the court with head coach Chris Holtmann failing to use one of the two timeouts he had left.
Dishing the ball out to redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, Johnson got the ball back at the top of the key, firing for the game-winning three, giving Ohio State (4-1) the 79-76 win against No. 21 Seton Hall (3-1) in the semifinal of the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament.
Here's what we learned from this game.
Ohio State can rely on the 3.
From the start of the game, Ohio State had its shot.
The Buckeyes hit four of its first five attempts from the field — all jumpers or 3-point attempts — while starting the game with 7-10, only one layup.
And after that brief cold spell, the success continued. During Ohio State’s 19-4 run in the first half, all four of their field goals were either jumpers or 3-point makes, the rest of which were free throws.
In the first half, the Buckeyes seemed to shy away from the paint area a bit, an area where Xavier held a showcase in its physicality against Ohio State Thursday. In the first 20 minutes, the Buckeyes hit three of its six layup attempts against the Pirates with no dunks.
The heat from 3 continued into the second half, as redshirt senior Justin Ahrens hit two of his five attempts from deep, while Young hit his only 3 attempt.
After hitting his first 3-point make of the game with 12:18 to go in the game, Johnson landed his second in four tries when it counted most, giving Ohio State the three-point victory.
Ahrens finished the game with five 3-point makes on eight tries, recording 17 points.
Junior forward E.J. Liddell recorded two 3s on five attempts, leading OhioS tate with 28 points.
The Buckeyes finished with 11 makes on 22 attempts from deep, along with a 47.9% shooting percentage, coming off a loss in which Ohio State could only hit eight of its 21 attempts from deep.
Defense steps up, shows physicality
While Seton Hall showed its size advantage at points, Ohio State was able to use its speed in transition to disrupt the Pirates’ momentum offensively.
The Buckeyes finished with five steals ‚ two of which came from Ahrens, who was extremely disruptive defensively, recording a team-high plus-8 plus/minus total. Liddell was also able to continue his block streak, recording three after blocking eight shots in Thursday’s loss to Xavier.
In response, Seton Hall could not find consistency offensively.
The Pirates shot 38.1% from the field, making 5-of-23 attempts from deep, including two of its 11 tries in the final 20 minutes.
Forward Jared Rhoden shined for the Pirates with a career-high 29 points, making eight of his 15 attempts from the field, two of his five tries from deep and 11 of his 13 tries from the free-throw line.
Outside of Rhoden and Bryce Aiken, who added 16 points on 50% shooting, Seton Hall made 11 of 38 attempts from the floor: 28.9%
Size remains Ohio State's weak point
For the first time this season, Zed Key was forced to start his day on the bench.
The matchup made sense: pitting redshirt senior center Joey Brunk against Obiagu in the paint instead of the 6-foot-8 Key. But after four minutes of playing time in the first half, Key was at the scorer’s table.
And Brunk didn’t see another minute of action in the first half.
In 12 minutes of the first half, Key recorded four points, two rebounds and an assist, along with two fouls and a turnover. Key finished the day with six points and two rebounds, struggling with two fouls and three turnovers.
Also off the bench, Ohio State was able to show some tenacity with redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, who brought in five rebounds in his first 11 minutes of play, including both of the Buckeyes’ offensive boards.
Young finished with 12 points and eight rebounds — adding a team-high three offensive rebounds, recording his second of two shots in a triple-team layup at the buzzer, showcasing a level of physicality that the redshirt senior has been known for ever since he first joined the Buckeyes.
Brunk returned to the court to start the second half, finishing with no points, a rebound and two fouls in seven minutes.
Ohio State still struggled against Seton Halls size.
The Pirates recorded five more rebounds than the Buckeyes, including five players that had four rebounds or more, including a team-high five by Rhoden, compared by Liddell's six. Seton Hall also outscored Ohio State, 24-18, in the paint.
Rotation remains fluid
Without Seth Towns, Justice Sueing and Eugene Brown III, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann had to find a way to make up for lost production.
And in the semifinal against Seton Hall, Holtmann needed nearly everybody.
Ohio State played 10 of his 11 available players Monday night against the Pirates, eight of which played more than 10 minutes, including 26 by Johnson, 24 for Young and 19 for redshirt senior guard Jimmy Sotos off the bench.
Ohio State was still outscored 37-32 in bench points.
What it means
Ohio State can bounce back, something the Buckeyes did in the first part of last season pretty consistently. The Buckeyes followed up its first four losses of the season in 2020-21 with four wins by at least seven points. After its first loss in 2021-22, the Buckeyes beat Seton Hall by three, setting up a championship matchup with either the Golden Bears or the Gators.
What’s next
Ohio State will face Florida in the Fort Myers Tip Off tournament championship game at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on Fox Sports 1.
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