Staying up late on a school night turned out to be well worth it for Ohio State students and others inside Value City Arena on Tuesday.
Fans stormed the court around midnight as the men’s basketball team upset top-ranked Duke 71-66.
Center Zed Key scored a career-high 20 points as the Buckeyes held Duke scoreless for the final 4 1/2 minutes, completing a rally from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat the Blue Devils.
“We just had to tighten up our defense and get stops. And we did that and got the ‘W’,” Key said about the win.
E.J. Liddell hit two free throws with 1:06 remaining to give the Buckeyes their first lead since early in the first half, and his jumper made it 69-66 with 16 seconds left.
“Players win games, and we had a number of guys make plays down the stretch,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said to reporters after the game.
Duke freshman star Paolo Banchero missed a tying 3-pointer, and Cedric Russell got the rebound and closed it out at the free-throw line.
“Great win over an outstanding program and obviously a Hall of Fame, legendary head coach and terrific team,” Holtmann said, referring to Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, one of the most accomplished coaches in NCAA history.
Duke’s stay atop the Associated Press men's basketball poll could be short-lived. Duke moved up to No. 1 in the AP poll by defeating Gonzaga over the weekend.
