Ohio State’s buzzer-beater against Rutgers came with controversy

Ohio State got lucky Thursday night.

The No. 25 Buckeyes hosted Rutgers in a back-and-forth game in which neither team held more than a three-point lead over the final 14 minutes.

With five seconds left, Caleb McConnell hit a free throw to extend the Scarlet Knights’ lead to 66-64. McConnell missed his second attempt, leaving Ohio State an opening. Tanner Holden heaved a deep three and college basketball was gifted its first big buzzer beater of the season.

“I think I might have saw it go through,” Holden said. “I think I heard the crowd more, so I think that reassurance helped me.”

But should it have counted?

It might be hard to miss on the first watch, but ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas pointed out a missed call.

“Before hitting the game winner, OSU’s Tanner Holden was out of bounds before stepping back in to catch the [Bruce] Thornton pass,” Bilas wrote on Twitter. “After stepping OB, you can’t be the first to catch it. Violation. Tough break for Rutgers.”

Upon closer review, Holden was indeed out of bounds and it wasn’t even close — both of his feet were fully out. There’s a case to be made that he was still out of bounds when he caught the pass from Thornton.

It’s one the Scarlet Knights will be left thinking about for some time.

“I thought he kind of went out of bounds, I’m not sure, but hit a huge 3 and won the game,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell told reporters.

The shot counted, as did the loss for the Scarlet Knights, but the game left fans with a buzzer-beater — and plenty of debate to be had.