Second-half splash sends Ohio State men's basketball to blowout over Gophers

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Payton Willis had Ohio State's Kyle Young right where he wanted him — backpedaling on a drive and spin move that gave the Gophers a wide-open look in the first half Tuesday.

Willis came up just short. It was part of a rough shooting night for one of the top guards in the Big Ten; he scored just five points.

That would typically mean Ben Johnson's Gophers had no chance from the start to stick with a top-tier Big Ten opponent, but they still led by two at halftime against the No. 18 Buckeyes.

For the second straight game, the Gophers saw one of their leading scorers struggle to find rhythm, but the support was also lacking this time in a 70-45 loss Tuesday night at Ohio State.

The Gophers (12-11, 3-11 Big Ten) gave up just 23 points in the first half, but they were outscored 47-20 in the second half to drop the opener in a two-game road stretch.

"We just didn't bring it," Johnson said. "Even in the first half when we had the lead, I never really felt like we were going to make much of a run. We were quiet and didn't have the energy."

On Saturday, Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak with a 76-70 win over Penn State when four starters reached double figures, surprisingly not including the Big Ten's sixth-leading scorer, Jamison Battle.

Willis was averaging 18.9 points on 51% shooting from three-point range in his previous seven games, but he had just two points on 1-for-6 shooting from the field and four turnovers in the first half against Ohio State. But Battle, Luke Loewe and Treyton Thompson combined for 22 of the team's 25 points.

Battle, who had 11 points, drilled a jumper with just under three minutes left that capped a 10-0 run and gave the Gophers a 23-17 lead in the first half.

The Buckeyes (16-6, 9-4) could hear frustration settling in with their home crowd before Malaki Branham's jumper broke a 6 1/2-minute scoring drought.

After dominating with a 23-point, 15-rebound effort in a 75-64 win Jan. 27 in Minneapolis, E.J. Liddell was quiet with just four points in the first half Tuesday, but the Gophers couldn't build on that early defensive effort.

"Our energy wasn't great," said Loewe, who scored a team-high 12 points. "Our defense was decent and we rebounded pretty well in the first half, but our energy overall couldn't carry us throughout the whole game in everything we did."

Malaki Branham and Jamari Wheeler scored 18 of their 24 points combined on five three-pointers in the second half, including to ignite a 13-2 run that broke a 27-27 tie.

Wheeler was out with a foot injury in the last meeting with Minnesota, but he was just fine Tuesday with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting.

Liddell, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, eventually hit back-to-back threes to extend Ohio State's lead to 62-42.

The Gophers were healthier in the frontcourt with senior big man Eric Curry back after missing the last Ohio State game with an ankle injury. Curry had a career-high 22 points Saturday against Penn State, but he had just two points Tuesday. Starters Willis, Curry and E.J. Stephens combined for seven points on 3-for-21 shooting.

Ohio State crushed the Gophers on the glass last month with 27 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds. The battle on the boards wasn't the difference Tuesday, with Ohio State grabbing only seven offensive rebounds.

But the Gophers shot just 27% in the second half and allowed the Buckeyes to shoot 57% from the field after halftime, including 9-for-15 from three.

In the middle of three games in five days, the Gophers stay on the road to play Penn State again in a rescheduled game in State College on Thursday.

The Nittany Lions, who upset Michigan State on Tuesday, will also work hard to make the Gophers feel uncomfortable away from home.

"When your shots aren't falling it's easy to get into your own head," Johnson said. "We let [missed] shots or looks we weren't getting dictate our energy level. You can't do that against a good team on the road."