Hoops Thoughts: 6 things from Ohio State's OT win against Minnesota

The Buckeyes weathered some clunky play to hold off the Gophers on Tuesday night.

Ohio State pulled out an 82-74 overtime win against Minnesota on Tuesday night. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State athletics)

COLUMBUS — Six things from Ohio State’s 82-74 overtime win against Minnesota on Tuesday night.

1. Ohio State picked up a pretty important bubble win on Saturday against UCLA, and nearly undid the impact with what would’ve been a loss unlikely to age well against a Minnesota team that came in riding a three-game losing streak.

Behind 26 points from John Mobley Jr. and 23 points from Bruce Thornton — the guard tandem’s second-straight game with dual 20-point efforts — the Buckeyes weathered some sluggish play, avoided a near-disaster of a defensive possession at the very end of regulation, and controlled the overtime period to salvage the win.

Losing to Minnesota would’ve put a Quadrant 3 loss on Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament resume, the type of losses that can mean the difference when living on the bubble. Avoiding that particular type of loss will be key down the stretch, especially as Pitt, losers of four of its last five but with a win over OSU back in November, trends toward eventually being a Q3 loss on the Buckeyes’ resume.