Ohio St. Buckeyes vs Northwestern Wildcats Box Score on Dec 26, 2020

Northwestern continued its perfect start to the Big Ten Conference season with a late comeback and earned a 71-70 victory at home over No. 23 Ohio State on Saturday at Evanston, Ill.

The Wildcats (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) outscored the Buckeyes (7-2, 1-2) by six points over the final three-plus minutes to rally from a 66-61 deficit. Boo Buie made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining for a 71-68 lead.

Miller Kopp led Northwestern with a game-high 23 points, going 9 of 16 from the field. Buie added 14 points and five assists as the Wildcats earned their first 3-0 start in Big Ten play since the 1967-68 season.

E.J. Liddell had a team-high 15 points for Ohio State, while the Wildcats held Duane Washington Jr. to seven points on just 1 of 9 shooting.

Ohio State started the game on an 8-0 run, before Kopp flipped a switch. He hit five shots, including two 3-pointers, to put Northwestern up 14-10 with 13:05 remaining in the half.

That four-point lead would be the Wildcats' biggest advantage for the rest of the half as the two teams went back and forth before going into halftime with a 34-34 tie.

Northwestern forced eight turnovers and scored 16 points off those Ohio State mistakes.

The Buckeyes had help from their bench, especially from Seth Towns. After being eased into the lineup the last two games after an offseason injury, Towns had 11 points by going 4 of 4 from the field in 11 first-half minutes.

Ohio State began the second half in similar fashion to the first. After Buie made a layup to give Northwestern a 36-34 lead, the Buckeyes hit three straight baskets on an 8-0 run to take a 42-36 lead.

Unlike in the first half, the Wildcats did not immediately respond. Except for a 22 second stretch when the game was tied 48-all, the Buckeyes did not trail until under 1:49 remained when Northwestern's when Chase Audige hit a 3-pointer for 68-66 lead.

Ohio State stayed in the game with six offensive rebounds in the second half that it converted into 13 second-chance points.

--Field Level Media