Lincoln, Neb. • Lenzelle Smith Jr. had 21 points and No. 11 Ohio State held off a late Nebraska surge for a 63-56 victory Saturday night.
Ohio State (17-4, 7-2 Big Ten) led 53-38 after a pair of free throws by Aaron Craft with 9 minutes, 5 seconds left. Nebraska (11-12, 2-8) then made its comeback, outscoring the Buckeyes 15-5 and cutting the lead to 58-53 on David Rivers' free throws with 2:40 remaining.
Following an Ohio State miss, Nebraska's Brandon Ubel and Andre Almeida both missed shots at the rim and Ubel missed a 3-point attempt. Craft hit a pair of free throws with 56 seconds left to put the Buckeyes up seven.
Ohio State won the game at the free-throw line. The Buckeyes made 23 of 28, including all 10 of their first-half attempts. Nebraska was just 4 of 5 from the line.