ST. LOUIS — In order to beat top-seeded North Carolina, Ohio knew it would have to match the Tar Heels for 40 minutes, and the Bobcats did that. But five more minutes was too much to handle.
Ohio’s season ended with a 73-65 overtime loss to North Carolina in Friday night’s Midwest regional semifinal.
The Tar Heels (32-5) entered the game as a double-digit favorite and got off to a quick start.
North Carolina mounted a 15-point first half lead while Ohio (29-8) struggled to make shots, missing 17 of its first 20 field-goal attempts.
But Ohio’s defense kept it in the game as the Bobcats limited the nation’s second-highest scoring team to 29 first-half points and trailed by only seven points at the half.
“The only reason we were in the game at the half was because of how well we defended the last 10 minutes in the first half,” Groce said. “That kept us in the game until we started making some shots in the second half.”
After the Tar Heels pushed the lead back to double digits in the opening minutes of the second half, Ohio began to chip away and took its first lead of the game with 8:30 remaining on a Nick Kellogg 3-pointer.
Ohio point guard D.J. Cooper extended Ohio’s lead to 67-63 with 3:49 to play, but North Carolina tied the game two possessions later.
Ohio shot 8-for-13 from 3-point range in the second half to get back in the game.
A Reggie Bullock 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining gave the Tar Heels a two-point lead, but Ohio guard Walter Offutt responded by dropping a layup and drawing a foul.
Offutt missed the bonus attempt, and the game went to overtime.
Bullock hit another 3-pointer to open the scoring in overtime, which would be enough to hold on for the win as the Bobcats shot 0-for-6 from the field in overtime.
“They made some big plays in overtime,” Cooper said. “They just stepped up and made some plays and we didn’t.”
North Carolina had a height advantage at every position against Ohio, and used that to outrebound the Bobcats 63-30.
Those 63 rebounds is the second-most ever scored by a North Carolina squad in the NCAA Tournament and 33 is the largest rebounding margin in the Tar Heels’ NCAA Tournament history.
North Carolina forward Tyler Zeller led the Tar Heels with 22 boards, also an NCAA Tournament school record.
“They’re huge,” Groce said about Ohio’s opponent. “We’re not the only team that they’ve done that too. What was able to cancel that out was that we were able to turn them over 24 times. That helped us offset that a little bit.”
Offutt led all scorers with a career-high 26 points while Zeller led North Carolina with 20.
“We feel like we got away with one,” Zeller said. “Ohio played the better game. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. Thankfully we were able to pull one out.”
Ohio finishes the season with a school-record 29 wins, the second most ever by a Mid-American Conference team.
“It’s great for the program,” Offutt said. “We went on a heck of a run. Obviously we’re not happy with this loss but we’re fortunate to win two games in the NCAA Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16.”
Quick Stats…
NCAA Tournament
Midwest regional semifinal
North Carolina 73, OHIO 65 (OT)
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Walter Offutt scored a career-high 26 points to lead all scorers.
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The Tar Heels outrebounded Ohio 63-30, the largest NCAA Tournament margin in North Carolina history.
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North Carolina played without starting point guard Kendall Marshall.
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D.J. Cooper broke Ohio’s all-time steals record.
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