Ohio State basketball: A key bubble win, depth questions and a surprising addition
The Buckeyes beat UCLA 86-74 on Saturday afternoon.
COLUMBUS — Ivan Njegovan, Ohio State’s 7-foot-1 sophomore center who joined the Buckeyes by way of the Croatian Premier League prior to last season, made a post hook shot over his left shoulder about halfway through the second half of Saturday’s win against UCLA.
The cheer that erupted from the reported crowd of 12,937 inside The Schottenstein Center sounded more like stunned surprise. It’s hard to say if the shock stemmed from Njegovan, a limited-minutes player, making his first home field goal since Nov. 25, or from the mere fact that the Buckeyes got some points from their bench.
Saturday’s win was big. Make no mistake about it.
Ohio State entered the day as one of ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s last teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament field. UCLA was the first team projected out. It was a game that the Buckeyes should win as the more rested home team hosting a West Coast program on the second leg of an East Coast trip. It could be an important separator come tournament time. As things stand now, Ohio State could end up feeling comfortable on Selection Sunday if it merely wins the games it should win the rest of the way.
But even that feels like a bit of a stiff challenge considering what was required to beat the Bruins.
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