MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — E.J. Liddell had 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to help No. 16 Ohio State muscle past Minnesota for a 75-64 victory Thursday night.
Liddell, who stretched his double-digit scoring streak to 27 games, became the 60th player in program history to pass 1,000 career points and led an overpowering effort by the Buckeyes on the glass. The rebounding margin was 48-22, more than enough to offset a quiet night for Ohio State's outside shooters.
Kyle Young scored 14 points and Zed Key added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-4, 6-2 Big Ten), who played without point guard Jamari Wheeler — a foot injury keeping him out for the first time in his five-year career after 143 consecutive games.
Meechie Johnson Jr. started in Wheeler's place, wearing a protective mask after missing three games with a facial fracture. Malaki Branham pitched in with 11 points and six rebounds for the Buckeyes, who played their first conference game in 11 days due to a COVID-19-postponement of their matchup with Nebraska last weekend. They beat IUPUI on Jan. 18 in an add-on game to make up for the three cancellations they had during a 22-day layoff in December.
Jamison Battle returned from an illness to score 15 points for the Gophers (11-6, 2-6), who also had E.J. Stephens back from a COVID-19 absence. Payton Willis and Sean Sutherlin each had 12 points, and Luke Loewe added 11 points for Minnesota.
Willis, a co-winner of the Big Ten Player of the Week award after scoring a career-high 32 points on 8-for-13 shooting from 3-point range against Rutgers, carried the Gophers to that critical victory on Saturday while three of their top four scorers were sidelined.
The transfer-heavy team in coach Ben Johnson's first season is already short on size and depth, and this was another one of those games in the unrelenting Big Ten when cohesion, heart and hustle weren't enough against one of the league's top teams.
The Gophers knocked down their share of timely 3-pointers, including one from Battle that gave them a 29-27 lead with 2:50 to go before the break, but a two-point halftime deficit quickly ballooned to double digits with an assertive start to the second half by the Buckeyes.
Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann, in his fifth season after arriving from Butler, notched his 100th victory with the Buckeyes. He also won on the raised Williams Arena floor for the first time — same for the players. The Gophers won the previous three matchups here, including on Dec. 15, 2019, when Ohio State was No. 3 in The Associated Press poll.
Last year in a 77-60 loss, Liddell had only 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
BIG PICTURE
Ohio State: Getting Johnson back in the lineup sparked a Buckeyes team that has been hindered by injuries as much as any group in the league, particularly on a night when Wheeler, the transfer from Penn State who has stabilized the backcourt, was out. Justice Sueing and Seth Towns have been sidelined by long-term injuries, with no sign of an imminent return.
Minnesota: With sixth-year center Eric Curry sitting out with a sprained ankle for the fourth game in a row, the Gophers just didn't have enough length and strength inside. Minnesota freshman Treyton Thompson had five points and four rebounds in 17 minutes, his role significantly increasing, but he was vulnerable defensively against the brawn of Liddell and Key underneath.
UP NEXT
Ohio State: Plays at No. 6 Purdue on Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes and Boilermakers are among the top five teams in the Big Ten standings, all within one game of each other at midweek.
Minnesota: Plays at No. 11 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. The last road win for the Gophers over an AP-ranked team was against the Badgers on Jan. 3, 2019.
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