No. 18 Ohio State pulls away for rout of Minnesota

E.J. Liddell recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds and No. 18 Ohio State had a big second half to defeat Minnesota 70-45 on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

The Buckeyes (16-6, 9-4 Big Ten) outscored the Golden Gophers 47-20 over the final 20 minutes.

Jamari Wheeler scored 13 points and Malaki Branham had 11 for the Buckeyes.

Luke Loewe led the Gophers (12-11, 3-11) with 12 points and Jamison Battle added 11. Minnesota lost for the sixth time in seven games.

The Buckeyes, who trailed 25-23 at the half, led 31-29 before scoring nine unanswered points on back-to-back 3-pointers from Branham and a triple from Wheeler.

Loewe’s trey ended the run, but the Buckeyes responded to go ahead 47-34 with 11:24 to play when Wheeler canned a 3-pointer. Ohio State went 5-for-5 from beyond the arc to start the second half.

The Buckeyes won 75-64 at Minnesota on Jan. 27, but the Gophers held the halftime lead in the rematch. Minnesota survived a 5-0 stretch that put the Buckeyes up 17-13 by ripping off 10 consecutive points for a 23-17 advantage.

Ohio State helped Minnesota immensely during the run with its unusual carelessness by committing seven turnovers in six minutes. The Buckeyes averaged 6.7 giveaways in the previous seven games and did not reach double figures in turnovers in any of those contests.

They had eight in the first half on Tuesday but just two in the second half.

Minnesota played the second of three games in six days. The Golden Gophers defeated Penn State 76-70 on Saturday to end a five-game losing streak, and they play at Penn State on Thursday.

The game Thursday was rescheduled from a postponement earlier this season due to COVID-19 protocol in the Minnesota program.

Ohio State hosts Iowa on Saturday to start its stretch of three games in six days.

–Field Level Media