Caleb McConnell delivers unforgettable block to provide a spark
If you listened closely -- which was hard given how loud Jersey Mike's Arena was -- you could hear play-by-play commentator Mike Breen.
BLOCK BY JA....MCCONNELL! MCCONNELL WITH THE REJECTION!
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Much like LeBron James during Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Caleb McConnell delivered his own chase down block of a Malachi Branham layup with 2:29 to go.
That was the beginning of the end for No. 16 Ohio State as the Rutgers men's basketball team defeated the Buckeyes, 66-64, on Wednesday in Piscataway.
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"This was probably my biggest block in the biggest game," McConnell told TKR. "Like I said, it came down to getting stops and that block has to go down as my best block. It ended up giving us momentum and it provided a spark. I wish it like (James' block), but the win was more important.
On the inbounds play underneath the basket, Branham broke the press by sprinting up the court. He caught the ball and went up for the layup and the easy two to help put the game away. But McConnell had other ideas.
“I just wanted to make a play. He went up and I just timed it perfectly. I just jumped and got it," McConnell said "He probably didn’t think I was going to get up and block it. I think he thought he had a free lane and free run to the rim. I just wanted to win. That’s what I do. I come up with plays like that.”
If you watch the replay, Geo Baker gave McConnell a nudge as they were running.
“I told Caleb I knew he was going to get it," Baker said. "We were both running after it and I gave him a little shove to help. I have seen Caleb do that a bunch of times so I wasn’t really surprised.”
After the block, on the other end, Baker drained his signature step-back jump shot to make it 64-62. Rutgers forced a shot clock violation on Ohio State's next possession, and Baker drove to the hoop and found Cliff Omoruyi for a slam dunk that tied the game.
Baker then calmly sank two free throws with 18 seconds left to put Rutgers ahead.
“I was telling myself that I’m home and nobody can touch me," Baker said. "People can talk, but it’s my basket and I’m at home. I had to make the shots.”
Ohio State called a timeout with 15 seconds to go, and with three seconds left, Branham again attacked the rim, but this time was blocked by Ron Harper Jr. The ball went out of bounds so the Buckeyes had another chance, but Justin Ahrens' 3-pointer was tipped in the far right corner by Baker.
“I think their play got messed up a little bit," Baker said of the last play. "I think they were supposed to curl around a screen but the screen got blown up so he sprinted to the corner. I just wanted to contest it. I was right there and I got my hand up and was able to tip the ball.”
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A pair of foul shots by Zed Key gave Ohio State an eight-point, 64-56 advantage with 3:48. That was the last time it put the ball into the net.
Rutgers held Ohio State scoreless over the final 3:48 of the game. Ohio State missed it's last seven shots and made just one of its last 12 field goals.
Baker made two free throws with 3:07 to go to make it 64-58 and then a driving layup with 2:33 left to make it 64-60. Rutgers was surging ahead, but McConnell knew his team needed more if the Scarlet Knights were going to pull out the win.
“We needed a spark. We were scoring and they would score. We were going back and forth. Those last three, four minutes, I felt like we needed a spark to change the game," McConnell said. "After that we had about three blocks. Geo was getting points and that’s when things started rolling.
“I was just saying to everybody to stick with it. We were down four and then we were down two. I was just saying we got it, we got it. If we want to win, we have to string together stops. Shoutout to Ohio State. They are a very efficient team, a great team. They have an arsenal of weapons. It just came down to getting stops and they didn’t score in last 3:48 and that’s how we won the game.”
Rutgers ended the game on a 10-0 run with eight points coming from Baker, who finished with a game-high 25 points. Rutgers had five blocks in the final 2:53, two by Omoruyi and one each by McConnell, Harper Jr., and Baker.
“I think all of the plays down the stretch were important down the stretch," Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell said. "They got the 30 second shot clock violation that I think the crowd really helped us with there. I told our guys, we can do those things. We’ve done it before. We just had to buckle down defensively against a really good team. We figured out a way. We willed it. A couple blocked shots down the stretch and we figured out a way to win against a really good opponent in a league that, I mean, the scores in this league are unbelievable. It comes down to one possession for everybody.
"We were down the same against Purdue. That's what this league is. Got to keep fighting. Obviously we were connected. Have to make big plays both offensively and defensively. We have some toughness. I keep telling you that I like this team, we practice the right way, guys prepare the right way. Guys were playing at high levels. You have to in this league. The whole league should be ranked to be quite honest."
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Rutgers, which just won back-to-back games against ranked teams for the first time since 2008 (No. 18 Villanova/No. 13 Pittsburgh) and is 3-0 against ranked Big Ten teams on the season, gets No. 14 Wisconsin up next on Saturday in Madison. The gauntlet continues. Rutgers then plays No. 13 Illinois at home before traveling to No. 3 Purdue and Michigan. The Scarlet Knights then face Wisconsin again, a previously ranked Indiana squad on the road, and Penn State at home to round out the regular season.
For now, the NCAA Tournament hopes are alive.
“We play one game at a time. We learned from the stuff in the past, it’s helped us move forward. Every team goes through it. We had injuries, COVID, and all those kinds of things. But this team is getting better. Every year our teams get better. The other teams are pretty good too. People don’t understand the depth of this league, it’s like no other. Just look at our scores every night. Our defense is getting better. We’re becoming more consistent. Those are good things."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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