Ohio State Beats Loyola Chicago to Advance to 2nd Round of March Madness

No. 7 seed Ohio State is moving on to the Round of 32 after a 54-41 victory over No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament on Friday.

Ohio State limped into the tournament with seven losses in its last 13 games after starting the season 13-4. The Buckeyes ranked 263rd in the nation in defensive rating (103.9), per Sports Reference.

The Ramblers had won at least two tournament games in each of their last three appearances, dating back to 1985. First-year head coach Drew Valentine led his team to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title on the strength of a defense that allowed 50.3 points per game during its three wins.

Neither team put their best foot forward in this game. Ohio State was able to do enough on offense to get the win, but it's not one that will likely go on the season highlight reel. 

Both teams combined for 41 points in the first half, with the Buckeyes leading by five points. 

Ohio State started to look better in the second half. It was still a slog for both sides, but E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham did everything in their power to lift the Buckeyes to a win. They combined for 30 of the team's 54 points. 

Braden Norris was the only Ramblers player who had anything going on offense. He had 14 of the 29 points scored by the starting five. 

Notable Game Stats 

• E.J. Liddell (OSU): 16 points (8-of-10 FT), 10 rebounds, 3 blocks
  
• Malakhi Branham (OSU): 14 points (5-of-7 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 steals
• Kyle Young (OSU): 9 points (4-of-10 FG), 7 rebounds
• Braden Norris (Loyola): 14 points (5-of-13 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists
• Ryan Schwieger (Loyola): 8 points (3-of-6 FG), 6 rebounds

Buckeyes' Stars Shine in Victory

Coming into the tournament, Liddell felt like the Buckeyes were being underestimated because of how their roster looked down the stretch in the regular season. 

Both Zed Key and Kyle Young were able to play. Key played sparingly off the bench after playing just seven minutes against Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. 

Young returned to the starting lineup after sitting out three games with an illness and a concussion. He had a solid impact with nine points and seven rebounds. 

There are plenty of areas for Ohio State to clean up moving forward, but its best players stepped up huge on Friday against Loyola Chicago. 

Liddell made an impact on both ends of the court. He led all players with 10 rebounds and had three blocks. 

The junior forward is averaging 19.0 points per game over the past three games. 

Malaki Branham remains the most efficient scorer on the Buckeyes roster. The freshman went 5-of-7 from the field. 

One thing that wasn't working for Ohio State was three-point shooting. The team missed all nine of its three-point attempts in the first half and only went 1-of-15 behind the arc in the win. 

The most notable difference between the Buckeyes on Friday and during their late-season swoon was on the defensive end. They were fantastic at staying in front of the ball and helping when Loyola Chicago tried to attack the basket. 

If this is the kind of defensive effort Chris Holtmann can expect from his team on a nightly basis, they have all of the pieces in place to win multiple tournament games.     

Ice-Cold Shooting Spoils Ramblers' Tournament Hopes

It's going to be hard for any team in the tournament to sink as low as Loyola Chicago's offense did against Ohio State. 

While the Buckeyes certainly deserve credit for showing more effort on the defensive end of the court than they have in weeks, the Ramblers did a lot to hurt themselves.

They made just three of 10 free-throw attempts and shot 27.3 percent from the field overall. There was nowhere on the floor they could find success putting the ball in the basket. 

There was no indication coming into this game that Loyola Chicago was going to have issues putting the ball in the basket.

Friday's shooting performance was historic, though not in a way that Loyola Chicago will want to remember. 

The Ramblers ranked 31st in the nation in offensive rating (110.5), per Sports-Reference.com.  

Norris was the one Loyola Chicago player who was making anything. The junior guard was the only player on the team who broke double-digits in scoring. He made four of the team's eight three-pointers in the loss. 

The Ramblers had an 11-8 advantage in offensive rebounds and had nine steals, but would routinely struggle to turn those extra chances into points. This is a game that they will look back on with frustration at all the opportunities they missed.

Despite the difficult ending to the season, the 2021-22 campaign was a success on the whole. Their 25 wins were tied for the sixth-most in school history.       

What's Next?

Ohio State will play the Delaware-Villanova winner in the Round of 32 on Sunday.

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This article will be updated shortly to provide more information on this game.