Chris Holtmann thought Bruce Thornton's block in the final seconds of a tied game against Minnesota looked clean. The Big Ten agreed.
The controversial foul call with 1.7 seconds remaining in Thursday night's Ohio State-Minnesota game sent Ta'lon Cooper to the free-throw line, and he made one of the two to put the Gophers ahead. It proved to be the game-winning sequence.
But Chris Holtmann issued a statement Friday morning to say the conference reached out to the Buckeyes after the fact and said a foul should not have been called after all.
Bruce Thorntons clean block is instead called a foul, leading to Minnesotas game-winning free throw with 1.7 seconds remaining.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) January 13, 2023
College coaches should be allowed to challenge a call like NBA coaches can. pic.twitter.com/ywt8uj3X9s
Ohio State suffered its third consecutive loss on Thursday, its longest losing streak since the 2020-21 season, and the missed call will make it even harder to swallow for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State has already been on the other side of this equation this season, though. The Big Ten released a statement following the Buckeyes' buzzer-beating win over Rutgers on Dec. 8 that said officials missed a call that would have stopped play before Tanner Holden got the game-winning shot off in the first place.
The Buckeyes return to action on the road Sunday in a 2:15 p.m. rematch with Rutgers in New Jersey.
