Ohio State basketball knocks off Loyola Chicago 54-41, advances to second round of NCAA Tournament PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Ohio State basketball got to the second round of the NCAA Tournament by doing something it hadn’t done all season. The Buckeyes avoided being added to the list of teams Loyola Chicago has upset over the recent years with a 54-41 win. And they did it by playing defense. They came into the tournament as one of the nation’s best offenses, but their defensive struggles — 132nd nationally — were at the root of its struggles to close out the season and its one-game exit in the Big Ten Tournament. But on Friday afternoon, it kept them afloat while the offense spent the first half trying to figure out how to best attack a team keeping them in check. The two teams combined to shoot 15 of 50 from the field while the Ramblers made all three of the 22 attempts take in the first half. E.J. Liddell shined on the defensive end with five rebounds and two blocks but missed his only three shot attempts. All four of his points came at the free-throw line. Malaki Branham spent the first half getting double-teamed on every ball screen but started to figure it out late, going on a personal run late to head into the locker room with 10 points as OSU led 23-18. Ohio State started to figure it out offensively in the second. Liddell made his first shot of the game a minute into the half as he and Branham sparked a run that pushed its lead to double digits on numerous occasions leading by as much as 14. Eventually, Loyola would make its run and the challenge would either be sustaining that or being in a position where the deficit was so wide that the run wouldn’t matter. The latter won out as the lead never got below nine again. OSU held the Ramblers to 27 percent shooting from the field, 29 percent from three and 3 of 10 from the free-throw line while routinely having empty trips. It’s the second time all season a team has failed to score at least 50 points on the Buckeyes with the other being Minnesota in a 70-45 game on Feb. 15. Liddell finished the game with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for his eighth double-double of the season while Branham followed with 14 points. Kyle Young played his first game since March 1 and ended with nine points, seven rebounds and several important hustle plays. Braden Norris led Loyola with 14 points as the only player to reach double figures. The Buckeyes roster wasn’t constructed in a way that suggested it would be an elite defensive team, and I spent the season watching that playout. Their defensive lapses cost them a chance at a share of a regular-season Big Ten and dramatically changed their seeding in the NCAA Tournament. But in what could arguably be considered a must-win game for the program, it served as the primary reason they advanced. What’s Next? The Buckeyes will await the winner between No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 15 seed Delaware who took the floor immediately following OSU’s win. Tip-off for Sunday’s second-round game is to be determined.