CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio State could not add to its nonconference resume before the new year.
The Buckeyes, ranked second in The Associated Press Top 25 and coaches poll, fell Sunday to West Virginia, 67-59, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as part of the Cleveland Classic in front of 16,781. It marked their fourth game against a Top 25 team, following victories against Villanova, North Carolina and Kentucky in the first two months of the men’s college basketball season.
Ohio State (11-2) won those three games by an 18.7-point average margin, but the Mountaineers' pressure defense and freshman guard Miles McBride proved too much.
"We haven't been in that situation a whole lot," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said, "but we took some quick, ill-advised shots that we've got to learn from."
The Buckeyes shot just 30.6 percent from the floor, including a 2-of-9 shooting finish after Andre Wesson's go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:43 left. Consecutive turnovers sandwiched around an off-balanced shot by McBride, who scored a game-high 21 points off the bench, doomed the Buckeyes.
Ohio State shot 49.1 percent in its first 12 games and averaged just 13.1 turnovers, but had 22 on Sunday with that shooting slump.
"We knew if we continued to play solid defense that at the end of the day their shots weren't going to fall," said McBride, who won Ohio high school state championships the last two years at Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller.
McBride is one of two Ohio natives on coach Bob Huggins' roster, which includes Warren Harding product Derek Culver. The 6-foot-10 sophomore pulled down 10 rebounds to go with seven points, as the Mountaineers (11-1) ended up with their first win this season against a ranked opponent.
"We knew the type of talent that we have," Culver said. "Not to discredit anything from Ohio State, but we came in with a purpose."
Four players scored in double figures for Ohio State, led by junior forward Kaleb Wesson with 17 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Duane Washington Jr. added 12 points, while Luther Muhammad and C.J. Walker each had 10.
Junior forward Kyle Young fought through a stomach flu, Holtmann said, to grab a game-high 11 rebounds in 22 minutes.
"He was throwing up just before the game," Holtmann said. "We were trying to limit his minutes. It was touch and go with him."
Ohio State led by nine points in the closing minute of the first half, thanks to a Muhammad 3-pointer. However, Sean McNeil answered with his own 3 in the final 25 seconds on an assist from McBride to make it 37-31.
Ohio State (1-1 in the Big Ten) resumes conference play Friday night in Columbus against Wisconsin (7-5, 1-1). The Buckeyes then travel to No. 13 Maryland (11-2, 1-1) and Indiana (11-1, 1-1) the following week.
"I think you hope we can take it and learn from it and move forward," Holtmann said. "We play a really challenging nonconference, but we all know the Big Ten's the best league in the country. It's not going to get any easier, starting Friday."
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