Ohio State Buckeyes Extend Win Streak to Three With Win Over West Virginia Mountaineers

The Ohio State Buckeyes' backcourt continued to dominate with a big nonconference win over the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Ohio State (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) picked up its third straight win with a 78-75 overtime win over the West Virginia Mountaineers (5-8, 0-0 Big 12) Saturday.

Despite leading by as many as 14 in the first half, Ohio State couldn't keep their comfortable lead as West Virginia came back late to trail by two at the end of the first.

Both teams shot poorly in the first half but picked up their shooting in the second and continued this through overtime.

Ohio State remained steady and trailed for only one minute, and 13 seconds the whole game.

Buckeye sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. led the way for Ohio State, posting a career-high 32 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Jamison Battle poured in points from beyond the arc, shooting 5-11 from 3-point land.

Overall, the Buckeye backcourt stayed steady on defense as it has all season, combining for seven steals. Despite allowing 47 points from the Mountaineer backcourt of seniors RaeQuan Battle, Noah Farrakhan and Kerr Kriisa, this was eight points less than their combined averages on the season.

In addition, Ohio State held West Virginia to less than 43 percent shooting and 23 percent from 3.

However, the Buckeyes only shot 36-32 overall and missed 10 free throws, allowing the Mountaineers to stay in the game and force overtime.

It ended up being three 3-pointers from Battle, Gayle and sophomore guard Bruce Thornton which allowed Ohio State to claim the victory in overtime. The backcourt trio remained aggressive on the glass, combining for 23 of the team's 47 rebounds.

As Ohio State enters 2024, they look like one of the teams to beat in the Big Ten, as their backcourt comes to fruition and defensive X-factors like sophomore forward Evan Mahaffey and senior guard Dale Bonner begin to take their leaps.

The Buckeyes will return home Wednesday to play the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-4, 0-1 Big Ten) at Value City Arena at 4 p.m., streaming on Big Ten Network.