Columbus, Ohio — Zed . key scored a career-high 20 and Ohio State failed to score as high as Duke in the final 4 minutes, completing a rally from a 15-point shortfall in the second half to beat the Blues 71-66 on Tuesday night.
EJ Liddell made two free throws with 1:06 time remaining to give the Buckeyes (5-2) the lead from the start of the first half, and his jumper made it 69-66 with 16 seconds left. . Freshman star Duke Paolo Banchero miss a pointer 3 forcing and Cedric Russell Get the rebound and close it out at the free-throw line. Ohio State fans stormed the field as time expired.
The Blue Devils (7-1) took the top spot in this week’s AP Top 25 poll – briefly, possibly – after beating-No. 1 Gonzaga in Las Vegas. Ohio State improved to 2-1 against this year’s ranked opponents with a fourth straight game decided in the final minutes.
Liddell finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Ohio State, which beat the country’s No. 1 team for the second time in a row at home. The Buckeyes beat Michigan State 80-64 on January 7, 2018.
Wendell Moore Jr leads the Blue Devils with 17 points, and Banchero is second with 14 points.
Duke took a 13-point lead after halftime and extended that advantage to 49-34 early in the second half. Moore’s break with 5:19 left makes it 65-57, and Trevor Keels make a throw-in with 4:29 left.
The Blues failed to score again, missing their last six shots as Ohio State closed the game 12-0. Duke endured a 1-1 draw earlier in the round, allowing the Buckeyes to get closer.
Ohio State took an early 13-7 lead, but Duke responded with a 13-2 run. Blue Devils shot 52.9% in the first half.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
