Ohio State basketball's Purdue stunner sparks wild reactions
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In an incredible week for Ohio State athletics, the Ohio State Buckeye men’s basketball team rallied from a 16-point deficit to stun 11th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers 73-70 at Mackey Arena. The loss was Purdue’s first at Mackey since losing to the Indiana Hoosiers on Feb. 25, 2023, and the reactions on X matched the excitement from the Buckeye players.
“DOWN GOES NO 11!!” proclaimed the Big Ten Network.
“OHIO STATE STUNS PURDUE!” announced NBC Sports.
More reactions continued to filter in:
BIG UPSET FOR OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes close out No. 11 Purdue in West Lafayette pic.twitter.com/BekCtuH1pw
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 22, 2025
It's been 7 years since the last time Ohio State beat Purdue on the road.
BTN pic.twitter.com/8qyYoIdd37
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 22, 2025
Ohio State rallied to upset 11 Purdue, 73-70 pic.twitter.com/8Iki1Y4QCE
— Greene Zone Sports (@greene_zone) January 22, 2025
OHIO STATE BEATS NUMBER 11 PURDUE #GoBuckspic.twitter.com/QybRTcT8SZ
— Dylan Cavs 2025 NBA Champions (@Dylan2005Phelps) January 22, 2025
BUCKEYES COME BACK AND BEAT THE BOILERMAKERS #Team126 | #GoBuckspic.twitter.com/sVPcb6hFCS
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 22, 2025
The Buckeyes entered the game as 9.5-point underdogs, facing a Boilermaker squad on a seven-game winning streak. At 2-4 in Big 10 play, Ohio State desperately needed a signature win to keep its tournament hopes alive, and absolutely delivered in West Lafayette on Tuesday night.
Things looked bleak for the Buckeyes early as Purdue raced out to a 29-13 lead with 5:35 remaining in the first half. Ohio State never got within single digits for the remainder of the half, trailing 41-28 at the break.
The Buckeyes quickly began chipping away at the Purdue lead in the second half, finally gaining the upper-hand at the 14:10 mark on back-to-back three-point bombs from Micah Parrish. The Boilermakers would eventually reclaim a six-point advantage with 7:22 left but the Buckeyes again rallied, overtaking Purdue for good on a Devin Royal dunk with 4:23 on the clock.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter gave full credit to Ohio State after the game, citing the start of the second half as a major turning point.
“A big part of the game is finishing the half and then starting the second half,” Painter said. “And we’ve been pretty good at the start of the second halves this year. Obviously we weren’t tonight, but a lot of that had to do with them. They played really well, made shots, did good things. We had some good looks there that didn’t go down.”
The win was part of an incredible two-day span for Ohio State athletics, whose football team won the College Football Playoff Championship on Monday night in Atlanta against Notre Dame.
The hardwood Buckeyes will get six days to celebrate their upset victory before returning to action Jan. 27 when they welcome conference foe Iowa to Value City Arena.
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