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5 takeaways: Jamison Battle's free-throw effort leads Ohio State past Virginia Tech in NIT
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- 5 takeaways: Jamison Battle's free-throw effort leads Ohio State past Virginia Tech in NIT
There's no convoluted routine for Jamison Battle when he steps to the free-throw line and no mantra that needs repeated.
All it takes is a deep breath. That, and the confidence born out of countless hours perfecting his left-handed shooting stroke with all eyes in the gym focused on him.
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"I just always take a deep breath," he said. "That's really it. I go through my same free-throw routine and it's natural. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing too crazy."
The only thing that was crazy Saturday night was the frequency with which he was getting there. Battle scored a game-high 21 points despite going 2 for 8 from the field and missing all five 3-point attempts because he drew nine fouls, went 17 for 18 from the free-throw line and led Ohio State past Virginia Tech 81-71 in the second round of the NIT at Value City Arena.
A game featuring 44 fouls, 25 of which were called on the visiting Hokies, featured a parade to the charity stripe for the majority of the second half. It made for choppy viewing, a game short on flow and long on whistles.
Mar 19, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Jamison Battle (10) shoots free throws after Cornell Big Red guard Isaiah Gray (13) was charged with a technical foul during the second half of the NIT basketball game at Value City Arena. Ohio State won 88-83.
That was fine for the Buckeyes, who got solid efforts at the line from everyone who went there but none more important than Battle's.
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"You feel like the ball's going in every time he's there," coach Jake Diebler said. "It helps. We designed some press break to get the ball into his hands so he can get to the free-throw line. He played with great force the last 5-6 minutes of the game when we struggled to make some shots. He was able to get in there and put a ton of pressure on their defense."
In doing so, Battle became the first Buckeye to score 20 or more points while only making two field goals in more than 13 years. On March 11, 2011, Jared Sullinger was 2 for 12 from the floor but went 16 for 18 from the free-throw line to finish with 20 points (and 18 rebounds) in a 67-61 win against Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament.
Battle scored 16 of Ohio State's final 33 points and they came exclusively from the free-throw line. He did not miss. After he went 1 for 2 during the first half, Battle was fouled with 12:56 left and Ohio State ahead 48-38. He hit the two free throws and his next two with 11:25 left to make it 52-40.
Then he was fouled with 8:05 left, pushing the lead to 61-55, and with 7:44 left, pushing it to 63-56. Hunter Cattoor fouled him at 5:01 and Ohio State pushed the lead to 67-61, Cattoor fouled on an offensive rebound with 3:35 left and Battle made the lead 69-64 and he made two with 27.6 seconds left and two more with 19.0 left to close out the win as the Hokies fouled to stop the clock.
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Battle set new career highs for both free-throws attempted and made. His previous highs came Feb. 29, 2024, when he was 10 for 10 from the line in a 78-69 win against Nebraska. It was his second 10-for-10 outing of the year.
"It's just repetition," he said. "That's things you work on and there's a confidence that I had in myself because of all the reps that I've put in. You've got to stay focused and locked in because in the end you've got to make free throws. That ultimately was what helped us today."
Ohio State shot 29 for 32 (90.6%) from the line. Virginia Tech was 16 for 20 (80.0%). Battle alone made more free throws than all the Hokies combined, and he said it atoned for his 2-for-5 effort in Tuesday night's 88-83 win against Cornell.
Entering the game against the Big Red, Battle had missed three free-throws all season. Now, he's at 92.7% (88 for 95) this season. Battle is five free throws shy of 100 for the season, the cutoff for inclusion on the program's single-season free-throw shooting percentage list. Jody Finney sits atop that after shooting 90.0% (99 for 110) in 1968-69.
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Battle attempted 49 free throws in the first 28 games of the season. He has taken 46 in the last seven.
"When teams put smaller guys on him, he's able to get in the paint and shoot over them and make them foul," Diebler said. "Then when they put bigger guys on him, he's able to get loose that way too. He's a matchup problem for teams and we've been able to take advantage of it."
Here are four more takeaways from Ohio State's win against Virginia Tech.
Date, time known for next game but opponent, location not
With the win, Ohio State will play its next NIT game Tuesday night at 7 p.m. It will be televised on ESPN.
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What's not known is where it will be played or the opponent. Higher seeds are the hosts for the first three rounds of the NIT, and No. 2 seed Ohio State will now draw the winner of No. 1 seed Wake Forest and No. 4 seed Georgia.
If the Demon Deacons win, they will host. If the Bulldogs win, Ohio State will host. Those two teams will tip Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
"We would certainly love to be here (in Value City Arena)," Diebler said. "Both teams are good teams, but we'd love to be here in front of our fans. Buckeye Nation, the way they showed up tonight was awesome. Our guys fed off that energy. The support we've had with the quick turnaround not knowing necessarily when you're going to play, it's why we have the best fans in the country. Their energy, passion, the way they showed up was special."
Ohio State wins despite missing key pieces at times
The Buckeyes played Cornell on Tuesday without freshman wing Scotty Middleton and finished it without sophomore guard Bruce Thornton either . Middleton missed the game for a family situation and was expected back by the weekend while Thornton left early in the second half with a sprained ankle.
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Thornton returned to full practice Thursday and was in the starting lineup against Virginia Tech, but Middleton still had not yet rejoined the team.
"We anticipate Scotty being back soon," Diebler said. "Praying for him and his family. He's got our support."
Mar 3, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Scotty Middleton (0) and Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) race for control of the ball during their NCAA Division I Mens basketball game at Value City Arena.
With the lead at 42-32 and 16:33 left, sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. subbed out of the game. He sat on the bench with his right hand wrapped in a towel and did not return until 5:24 remained, helping Ohio State close out the win. Gayle has been dealing with an injury to his right, shooting wrist for much of the season and suffered a significant floorburn to his right hand in the March 15 loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament.
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"I think it was hand/wrist," Diebler said. "I didn't get a ton of detail. We waited until (the trainer) said he was good to do and immediately when Roddy went in we trusted him to make some big plays for us. I thought he showed some great toughness."
About four minutes after Gayle subbed back in, Thornton took a hard fall after being fouled on a drive with 1:44 remaining. He limped off, sat on the bench with a towel covering his face for a moment, walked to the locker room and returned to see the final seconds.
"Clearly I'm not a doctor, but I believe he got hit in the thigh," Diebler said. "He's certainly with our group right now getting some good recovery."
Thornton flirted with a triple-double and finished with 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds with one turnover in 33:12. Gayle had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a turnover in 22:20.
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Felix Okpara shouts out Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal
For the first time in his career, sophomore center Felix Okpara has scored in double figures. After finishing with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting against Cornell, Okpara had 13 on 6-of-9 shooting against the Hokies while pulling down six rebounds.
Asked about the team's mentality, Okpara turned his answer into some praise for two of his teammates.
"I feel like this year we have a lot," he said. "You don't really see a lot of stats for Evan, but Evan is one of them. Every night, we put him on one of the best players to guard and he's 6-7 and he's really a good guy to put on defense. We pretty much can guard 1-5. And also Devin, the freshman."
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In 21:17, Mahaffey started, missed one shot, grabbed one rebound and did not score. He added two blocks and a steal and has six points in Ohio State's last five games.
Royal, who had 13 points against Cornell, finished with 5 on 2-of-8 shooting. He added four rebounds, one assist, a steal and a turnover in 19:17.
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Jake Diebler hears the roars
After drawing 4,517 fans to the NIT first-found game with Cornell, Ohio State played in front of a full-throated crowd of 7,541 that was confined to the lower bowl of the arena. It was a raucous environment, one with fans jeering Virginia Tech's Sean Pedulla and one showing off his beer belly during an "air guitar" contest on the scoreboard during a timeout.
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One of the loudest roars of the night, though, came shortly before tipoff. After the starting lineups were announced and Virginia Tech's Mike Young introduced as the team's head coach, Diebler's name was called over the speakers and met with significant applause.
Unlike in the first game, Diebler acknowledged that he heard the cheers this time.
"I don't know if I'm supposed to pretend like I didn't hear that," he said. "I did not hear game one. My wife said something to me. I did hear it today. It was a surreal feeling. It was. I think the support for this group, the way we've been supported down the stretch has been awesome. I typically don't hear a whole lot of anything during starting lineups and things, but my wife did point that out to me after game one and I did catch it and it was special.
"Super appreciative of that."
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Ohio State is now 8-2 with Diebler as coach.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 takeaways: Jamison Battle's free throws lead Ohio State past Hokies
