Buckeyes upset bid falls short against No. 15 Oregon

COLUMBUS – Ohio State led No. 15 Oregon by as many as nine points in second half but they were unable to complete the upset. The Buckeyes fell to the Ducks 73-71 on Thursday night.

Jake Diebler’s team led for over 30 minutes of game-time but the offense stalled out in the second half while Oregon’s star stepped up late. Preseason All-Big Ten Team guard Jackson finished with a game-high 24 points for the Ducks including the game winning free throw. Oregon center Nate Bittle also had 21 points and eight rebounds as Ohio State once again lost the rebounding battle 35-33 in favor of the Ducks.

Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes with 20 points but his biggest shot of the game, game-winning three-point attempt with seconds left, bounced off the left side of the rim.

Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. finished with 16 points while forward Sean Stewart added 14 points and nine rebounds.The Buckeyes other two starters guard Micah Parrish and forward Devin Royal finished with 11 and four points respectively. Ohio State finished with just six bench points in the loss to Oregon.

Full Big Ten hoops slate for Ohio State

Here’s the lineup of conference games Ohio State will play this winter:

Dec. 4 at Maryland (L, 83-59)
Dec. 7 vs. Rutgers (W, 80-66)
Jan. 3 vs. Michigan State (L, 69-62)
Jan. 6 at Minnesota (W, 89-88)
Jan. 9 vs. Oregon (L, 73-71)
Jan. 14 at Wisconsin
Jan. 17 vs. Indiana
Jan. 21 at Purdue
Jan. 27 vs. Iowa
Jan. 30 at Penn State
Feb. 2 at Illinois
Feb. 6 vs. Maryland
Feb. 9 at Nebraska
Feb. 12 vs. Washington
Feb. 16 vs. Michigan
Feb. 20 vs. Northwestern
Feb. 23 at UCLA
Feb. 26 at USC
March 4 vs. Nebraska
March 8 at Indiana
March 12-16 Big Ten Tournament (Indianapolis)