Putting the Heart in Heartbreak: Purdue Game Review

Heartbreak on the road for the Buckeyes despite true grit in the face of grim odds.

Adam Bloom | February 2nd, 2022

Ohio State entered their road matchup against #6 Purdue knowing that it would take their best game of the season to come away with a victory. They expected to play until the final buzzer, as they have in nearly every game this season. What they did not expect was to find themselves down 20 with 14:35 remaining in the game. Until then, the Buckeyes had shot 2-15 from 3, and had let Purdue go on an 8-0 run to start the second half.

Despite how awful OSU may have played until then, something amazing happened next. A ton of heart in the face of grave odds led OSU on a run for the ages. Ohio State outscored Purdue 46-29 in the final 14 minutes. In the final 3 minutes and 37 seconds, Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell didn’t miss a single shot, scoring a total of 17 points. With 35 seconds remaining, trailing by 6, Liddell hit a 3 coming out of a timeout. 6 seconds later, Branham stole the ball and hit Liddell who sunk another 3 with 26 seconds remaining. The Buckeyes had done it, they had tied the game. Nothing could stop them now, nothing except a Jaden Ivey fadeaway 3 as time expired.

Heartbreak is one of the most important parts of sports, because without the lows of defeat, the highs of victory wouldn’t carry as much meaning. Chris Holtmann said after the game that he “would have been devastated if we didn’t fight to the buzzer.” No one can say that Ohio State didn’t give everything they had despite how bleak things had looked at one point. The end result will certainly sting for a while, but there’s no denying that the Buckeyes put the heart in heartbreak.

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