Through three weeks, all arrows had been pointing in the direction of a solid bounce-back season for Thad Matta and Ohio State. The Buckeyes were 7-1, they owned a solid win over Providence, and their lone loss had come by just two points on the road against then No. 6 Virginia.
Ohio State loses at home in stunning upset to 20-point underdog Florida Atlantic
Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
In a little over two hours, Florida Atlantic wrecked all that.
The Owls, who walked into the Value City Arena on Tuesday night as 20-point underdogs and owners of a 2-5 record, stunned OSU with a 79-77 win in overtime. Nick Rutherford’s runner in the lane with 1.0 second to go in the extra frame proved to be the difference.
Ohio State just lost at home to Florida Atlantic. Florida Atlantic isn't good. pic.twitter.com/NMgOB2Hqsw
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) December 7, 2016
Despite trailing for nearly the entirety of the game’s final regulation minutes, Ohio State still had an opportunity to avoid the upset before overtime. JaQuan Lyle brought the ball down the floor with 6.7 seconds to play, but he dribbled it off his foot and never got a shot off.
Outside of Rutherford, the star of the evening was Florida Atlantic senior guard Adonis Filer, who came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points. Another reserve, junior center Trevor Thompson, led Ohio State with 16 points.
The victory was especially sweet for Florida Atlantic when you consider that all five of its losses have come by single digits, including two by a single point.
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