Roddy Gayle credits mindset for Ohio State's run: 'Nothing to lose, so we've got free basketball'

Freshman guard Roddy Gayle has been a rotational piece for Ohio State for most of the season. With fellow freshmen Bruce Thornton and Brice Sensabaugh the usual starters, Gayle had been relegated to filling minutes off the bench most of the year.

It’s a role he’s been plenty content to fill as the Buckeyes searched for the right mix of lineups during a disappointing season. But in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against Michigan State on Friday — in a game Sensabaugh missed with knee soreness — Gayle had a chance to shine and he seized his opportunity, scoring 15 points with 12 coming in the second half.

“I just really prioritize winning. Whatever coach wants me to do in order to win, that’s just on my main priority list. So whatever that is, I’m going to go out there and do it,” Gayle said on the Big Ten Network after the Buckeyes upset Michigan State, 68-58. “Whether that’s locking up the best guy on the other team or the past few games being able to step up on the offensive end.”

With the win over the Spartans, Ohio State is off to the Big Ten semifinals, the lowest seeded team to reach that far at No. 13. To get there and face top-seeded Purdue, Ohio State won three games in as many days, toppling Wisconsin and then Iowa before stiff-arming the Spartans out of the bracket on Friday.

And though a fourth game in four days will certainly be taxing, Gayle and his Ohio State teammates are going to enjoy the moment no matter what.

“These guys are my guys,” Gayle said. “I feel like we’ve gotten together so much, especially from the beginning of the season to now, the chemistry has been something different. We all just like playing with each other. So that was the reason we’ve come out and played so hard these past few weeks. We’ve just got really nothing to lose, so we’ve got free basketball. So that’s why I think we have so much success.”