Ohio State University police said they are investigating officers who sprayed pepper spray at Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines players while trying to break up an on-field fight after Michigan’s 13-10 win over OSU. 

In a statement posted on the social media platform X (previously called Twitter), Ohio State University police addressed the incident.

“Following the game, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in breaking up an on-field altercation. During the scuffle, multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray. OSUPD is the lead agency for games & will continue to investigate,” the statement reads.

Ohio State did not disclose whether the officers who fired the pepper spray work for campus police or outside police agencies often hired to work as extra security during the events. It also did not disclose the officers’ identities.

In the moments after Michigan beat arch-rival Ohio State on Saturday at Ohio Stadium, Wolverines and Buckeyes players got into a skirmish near midfield after a group of Michigan players tried to plant a Michigan flag at midfield, The Dispatch previously reported.

From there, a physical altercation ensued between players of both teams. Videos that flooded social media showed several players throwing punches. After several minutes, the players were eventually separated.

Before the fight was broken up, Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer ripped the Michigan flag away from Wolverines players and threw it to the turf before walking away, The Dispatch reported earlier. 

According to reporters on the field during the fight, police used pepper spray, which caused at least two Michigan players to go to the turf rubbing their faces.

What did Ryan Day say about Ohio State-Michigan brawl?

In his post-game comments, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he didn’t know all the details about the fight.

“I don’t know all the details of it, but I know those guys were looking to put a flag on our field, and our guys weren’t going to let that happen,” he said. “I’ll find out exactly what happened, but it’s our field.”

But he did speak to players after the fight ended. 

“I talked to the team after the game. Without knowing all the details, there’s some prideful guys on our team that aren’t just going to sit back and watch that happen,” he said. 

Day did not have an update on the players who were peppered sprayed. The Dispatch captured an image of Buckeyes defensive tackle Hero Kanu receiving treatment for his eyes after the altercation.

“I don’t know if I know all that right now. It was a couple things kind of crazy that went on down there, but I think everybody’s OK,” he said.

Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told reporters he needed more information about the incident. 

mdevito@dispatch.com

Reserve Zack Austin scored 15 of his 16 points from 3-point range and his last one of the day came at the buzzer and Pitt rallied to beat Ohio State 91-90 in overtime on Friday.

It was Pitt’s first lead since Austin made a 3 with 6:04 left in regulation to put the Panthers up 66-64. Austin finished 5 of 8 from beyond the arc.

After Devin Royal made 1 of 2 foul shots to give Ohio State a 90-88 lead, with six seconds left and out of timeouts, Austin inbounded to Jaland Lowe who dribbled past mid-court, veered left and threw it to a lightly guarded Austin who stepped into the shot and buried it.

Austin made a 3-pointer with 1:23 remaining in regulation to bring the Panthers within 77-75. After an Ohio State miss, Lowe buried a jumper with 33 seconds to knot the score at 77 before the extra session.

Despite missing all five of his 3 attempts, Lowe led Pitt (7-1) with a career-high 28 points, shooting 10 for 11 from the foul line. Ishmael Leggett added 21 points and reserve Papa Amadou Kante 12.

Bruce Thornton scored 24 points, Royal 18 points and Micah Parrish 15 for Ohio State (5-2).

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In Ohio State’s first overtime game of the season, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Pitt forward Zack Austin lofted the Panthers (7-1) over Ohio State (5-2), 91-90, in overtime.

Ohio State led for the majority of the game and nearly all of overtime, but blew a 12-point lead in the second half before allowing Pitt to score six of the last seven points of the extra period.

Guard Jaland Lowe led the way for Pitt, racking up 28 points for a game-high. Fellow guard Ishmael Leggett added 21 points while Austin picked up 16.

Bruce Thornton collected 24 points and nine assists in the loss, both team-highs. Devin Royal and Micah Parrish followed with 18 and 15 points, respectively.

First Half

It took nearly eight minutes for either team to take a two-score lead in the Schottenstein Center.

Meechie Johnson Jr. collected eight points in that time, including two well-contested 3-pointers, one from the right corner and one from the left wing. The second of those triples made it 19-13 Ohio State with 12:07 to play in the first half.

Pitt had a clear size advantage from the opening tip, especially as the Buckeyes were forced to start a small-ball lineup without regular starting center Aaron Bradshaw, who remains out amid a university investigation. Sean Stewart opened the game at center but picked up two fouls and took a seat on the bench just 6:30 into the game.

Austin Parks came in at center and made a bit of noise. He hit a clean reverse layup off an up-and-under then slammed home a feed from John Mobley Jr. after the sharpshooting freshman drew a perimeter double team. Mobley showed why he deserved that double-team on Ohio State’s next possession by canning a 3-pointer with his feet planted inside the Buckeyes’ half-court logo.

Thornton hit a mid-range jumper to cap a 7-0 run and Ohio State led 28-18. Royal collected six points and Mobley hit a left-corner 3 to help sustain the lead for a while before a pair of Leggett layups cut the edge to six. A Thornton three from the top of the key helped the Buckeyes carry a 48-39 advantage into halftime.

Bradshaw’s absence and Stewart’s foul trouble forced the Buckeyes to opt for a lot of three-guard lineups in the first half but it proved beneficial to their passing and shooting. Ohio State went 6-of-9 from 3-point range and collected 12 assists on 20 made shots.

Second Half

Stewart opened the second half with a 3-point play and combined with Thornton to get a massive pop from a decently crowded arena on an alley-oop flush. Ohio State led 57-46. Then the Buckeyes came crashing back to earth.

Turnovers mounted as the Buckeyes tried and failed on several more alley-oop attempts. Ohio State missed five straight field goals and went more than seven minutes without scoring, giving the ball away six times in that span.

Meanwhile, Pitt’s offense kept humming, especially Leggett, who quickly made a pair of 3-point plays both the old-fashioned way and with a shot from beyond the arc. The latter play gave the Panthers their first lead since they were up 9-7 in the first half, and the run kept going with a 3-point play from forward Amadou Kante. Another layup from Leggett capped the scoring streak at 15-0 and Pitt led 61-57 with 10:53 remaining.

Parrish brought the crowd back into things with a four-point play as he was fouled by Leggett at the top of the key as he splashed a 3-pointer. Mahaffey slammed back a miss to give the Buckeyes the lead back. Zack Austin hit a triple for the Panthers, but Thornton responded with a three of his own to make it a 67-66 Buckeye edge with 5:28 to play.

Up 68-67, Parrish drained a nasty step-back 3-pointer from the right wing. Royal extended the lead to 73-68 on a pair of free throws. Pitt cut it to 73-72 but Parrish was ready with another triple. 

But Austin splashed a catch-and-shoot trey of his own before Lowe equalized the contest 77-77 with 33 seconds left. Thornton missed a potential game-winner and the two squads went to overtime.

Overtime

Thornton opened overtime with a bang, pulling up for a quick triple while running full speed to his left. Two free throws from Royal gave Ohio State an early two-score lead in the extra period, 82-78.

Kante fouled out for the Panthers and Thornton sank two more at the charity stripe to set the margin at 84-80. Then Leggett fouled out and Thornton hit two more. But Lowe kept Pitt around. He scored eight consecutive points for the Panthers to make it a one-point game, 89-88. After Royal made just one free throw on Ohio State’s next possession, Austin hit a three with Parrish’s hand in his face to win the game for Pitt.

PITT WINS IT IN COLUMBUS! ZACK AUSTIN THE HERO FOR THE PANTHERS! @Pitt_MBB pic.twitter.com/2e1Tiy4mEk

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) November 29, 2024

What’s Next?

Ohio State plays its first Big Ten game of the 2024-25 season when it travels to College Park to face Maryland on Wednesday. Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

Game Notes

• Ohio State’s loss was the first overtime game of the Jake Diebler era.
• Friday marked the 26th all-time meeting between Pitt and Ohio State in men’s basketball, with Pitt now leading the series 16-10.
• Freshman forward Colin White was out with an injury against the Panthers and was seen wearing a walking boot.
• Royal got dinged up multiple times, once coming up favoring his ankle and another time his hamstring, but re-entered the contest on both occasions.