The Buckeyes suffered a second-round loss on their home court for the second consecutive year as they were upset by No. 5 seed Tennessee on Sunday night at the Schottenstein Center, bringing their 2024-25 season to an end.
A press-heavy Tennessee defense beat the Buckeyes at their own game, forcing 23 Ohio State turnovers and turning them into 37 points on their way to an 82-67 victory on the Buckeyes’ home floor.
“I think just when you look at the stats, and you see 37 points off turnovers and 21 second-chance points (by Tennessee), you’re not really giving yourself a chance to win,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said after the game. “Credit Tennessee. I thought they played really well, and they deserved to win today.”
TEAM 1 2 3 4 FINAL #5 TENNESSEE 17 23 26 16 82 #4 OHIO STATE 21 14 24 8 67
Ohio State played some of its best basketball of the night at the beginning of the game, scoring 16 of the game’s first 21 points – with contributions from six different Buckeyes – to take a double-digit lead just over six minutes into the game. Tennessee responded with a 12-2 run to make it a one-point game. Ohio State finished the first quarter with a four-point lead after a pair of free throws by Jaloni Cambridge and a 1-for-2 trip to the line by Cotie McMahon.
TENNESSEE STAT OHIO STATE 82 POINTS 67 32-71 (45%) FGM-FGA (PCT.) 25-54 (46%) 10-34 (29%) 3PM-3PA (PCT.) 5-12 (42%) 8-12 (67%) FTM-FTA (PCT.) 12-17 (71%) 14 TURNOVERS 23 39 TOTAL REBOUNDS 34 14 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS 8 25 DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS 26 38 BENCH POINTS 13 6 BLOCKS 4 15 STEALS 8 17 ASSISTS 10
After Ajae Petty scored four of the second quarter’s first seven points to give Ohio State a five-point lead, Tennessee went on a 7-0 run to take a 27-25 lead with six minutes to play before halftime. The Volunteers would stay in front for the remainder of the quarter from there, ultimately taking a 40-35 lead into halftime.
Tennessee extended its lead to 17 points just over three minutes into the third quarter as the Volunteers went on a 14-0 run that included back-to-back fast-break layups off of steals by Alyssa Latham and Zee Spearman and a pair of threes by Jewel Spear and Samara Spencer. Ohio State responded with a 16-0 run that included nine straight points by Cambridge.
“Obviously it’s a game of runs. They went on their runs. We went on our runs. We couldn’t keep the momentum going and we couldn’t lock in, focus after that,” Taylor Thierry said of that 16-0 run. “It was a great effort to get that run, but we couldn’t sustain it for the rest of the game.”
After a Spearman jumper stopped the bleeding for Tennessee, McMahon hit a three on Ohio State’s next trip down the floor to tie the game at 56-all. A free throw by McMahon on Ohio State’s following possession gave the Buckeyes a one-point lead, but Talaysia Cooper responded with a three to put Tennessee back in front by two. Ohio State turned the ball over on each of its next three possessions, and Tennessee scored at least one point off of each of them to pull ahead by seven.
The Lady Vols took a 66-59 lead into the fourth quarter and made it a 10-point game again on a Ruby Whitehorn three with 7:16 left to play. Ohio State made just two of its first 12 shots of the fourth quarter, preventing it from making the run it needed to get back into the game.
Cambridge led the Buckeyes with 19 points while McMahon had 17 points in defeat. Cooper had 19 to lead the Lady Vols to victory.
“I just think we got out-toughed,” Cambridge said. “There was nothing much that they did that we didn’t, we just didn’t do the things that we should have.”
“Turnover after turnover after turnover, not making the easy plays, and that’s it,” McMahon said of what went wrong.
With the loss, Ohio State ends the season with a 26-7 record.
Game Notes
- Ohio State is now 13-8 in the NCAA Tournament in Kevin McGuff’s tenure as head coach. It’s the fourth time in the Buckeyes’ last eight tournament trips that they’ve lost in the second round.
- The loss was Ohio State’s only home loss of the season.
- Freshman center Elsa Lemmilä returned to action after missing Ohio State’s first-round game against Montana State, but left the game early due to the foot injury that caused her to miss that game. She scored three points in seven minutes of action.
- Kennedy Cambridge went back to the locker room in the second quarter after a hard foul by Tennessee forward Alyssa Latham on a drive to the basket, but returned to action a few minutes later.
