By MITCH STACY, AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS (AP) — Playing its fourth game in eight days, No. 13 Ohio State seemed vulnerable Monday night. Facing a surprising Nebraska team that upset Michigan last week, the Buckeyes were at risk of letting one slip away.
But that didn’t happen. Keita Bates-Diop, the Big Ten’s top scorer, had 14 of his 20 points in the second half and the surging Buckeyes ground out a 64-59 win over the Cornhuskers for their ninth straight conference victory.
Nebraska (14-8, 5-4 Big Ten), fresh off a 20-point win over then-No. 23 Michigan on Thursday, tied it at 46 with 7:56 left with a 3-pointer from James Palmer Jr., who finished with a career-high 34 points.
The lead changed six times in the next four minutes. A pair of foul shots by Palmer cut Ohio State’s lead to four with 2:19 remaining, but the Cornhuskers couldn’t pull any closer.
Jae’Sean Tate put the Buckeyes (18-4, 9-0 Big Ten) up by six with a layup with 1:02 left, and a pair of foul shots by Kaleb Wesson stretched it to eight. Palmer hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, but Nebraska ran out of time.
“I think mentally we just stayed together,” said Tate, who had 17 points. “There were times you could see we struggled. In the first half, we were getting a little frustrated, but I think we did a great job in the second half, especially later on, coming together and staying together.”
Neither team lit up the scoreboard. Ohio State shot 44 percent to Nebraska’s 39 percent.
BUCKEYES RISING
Every week seems to bring another pleasant surprise for Ohio State.
By beating Nebraska, the Buckeyes surpassed their win total for all of last season. Earlier in the day, they moved from No. 22 to No. 13 in the AP Top 25, their highest position since 2014.