Ohio State Uses Late Run to Beat South Dakota St. in 2018 NCAA Tournament

The Ohio State Buckeyes surged ahead with a 16-0 second-half run and then withstood a late rally from the South Dakota State Jackrabbits en route to an 81-73 victory Thursday in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament at Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho. 

Keita Bates-Diop led the way for OSU with 24 points and 12 rebounds. C.J. Jackson added 20 points, nine boards and five assists for a Buckeyes squad that leaned heavily on its starting lineup with the bench providing just seven points.

Mike Daum was the main reason South Dakota State remained competitive. The junior forward poured in 27 points, including 17 in the first half to pace the Jackrabbits' offense, which connected on 13 threes to nearly complete a massive comeback for the upset.

Ohio State, the No. 5 seed in the tournament's West Region, threatened to run away with the contest at a couple of points during the first half. Its lead reached nine with just under five minutes left before the break on a monster dunk by Bates-Diop:

Keita Bates-Diop hammers it home

South Dakota State answered back every time the Buckeyes pulled ahead, though. The upstart Jackrabbits closed the half on a 14-5 run to get back level at the break.

Both teams were red-hot from beyond the arc in the early going, knocking down nine three-pointers apiece during the opening 20 minutes.

Mitch Moss of the Vegas Stats & Information Network commented on the back-and-forth battle:

The complexion of the game changed for awhile in the second half.

Ohio State started using its athletic advantage more effectively by attacking the rim and South Dakota lost its touch from long range. That allowed the Buckeyes to go on the aforementioned 16-0 run, which covered five minutes of game time.

But the Jackrabbits once again wouldn't go away.

They fought all the way back to tie the game at 70 with just under two minutes to play. The Buckeyes responded with another spurt, however, this time scoring seven straight points to take control for good.

Kam Williams' four-point play was the turning point down the stretch for OSU:

Kam Williams gets the And-1

Williams added three more free throws after getting fouled on another long-distance jumper to put the game out of reach after several tense minutes for the Buckeyes.

EBSN Online passed along postgame comments Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann made on TNT about his team being a trendy upset pick after Selection Sunday.

"I just want to thank all of the fine, clever, smart journalists who didn't pick us," he said.

Ohio State advances to face Gonzaga in the second round Saturday. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs were pushed to the limit by No. 13 seed UNC Greensboro before pulling out a 68-64 victory.