Ohio State started off the new year playing the role of ungracious hosts, defeating visiting Rutgers 76-72 to move to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. The loss dropped the Scarlet Knights to 8-5 and 0-2 in the Big Ten. Ohio State built a lead as large as 17 before holding off a pesky Rutgers team who boasts the #1 defense in the Big Ten and clawed as close as 1, to earn a hard fought home Big Ten win. The Buckeyes, who got off to a hot start shooting, cooled off to shoot 47% for the game, 46% from deep, while holding Rutgers to 40% and just 25% from long range. The Rutgers defense locked Ohio State down on the perimeter to hold Ohio State, who was red hot from beyond the arc in the first half, to shoot just 2 of 9 from three in the second half and 39% in the 2nd half to key the comeback, but the Buckeyes made enough plays down the stretch to keep the Scarlet Knights from pulling the upset. Ohio State was led by Bruce Thornton’s 24 points and 7 assists, while Jamison Battle hit 6 triples and scored 22. Roddy Gayle added 11 and 7 rebounds for the winning Buckeyes. Rutgers was led by 23 from Derek Simpson, 17 from Noah Fernandez and 11 by Mawot Mag.
After Rutgers missed a shot on the opening possession of the game, Bruce Thornton grabbed the rebound and led a break to the frontcourt and pulled up just above the stripe and buried the jumper to open the scoring. Rutgers answered, hitting a short jumper on the right baseline, but quickly the other way, Jamison Battle wasted no time burying a triple to put the Buckeyes back on top. After another Rutgers bucket, Battle was at it again, drilling another triple to give Ohio State a 4 point lead. A pair of turnovers led to 4 straight by Rutgers and at the first media timeout, the game was tied at 8. Out of the break and facing a Rutgers zone, Zed Key caught a pass at the high post and kicked to the right wing to Battle for another triple. After a Rutgers answer with a deuce, Rutgers fell back into a man to man and Thornton drilled a jumper from the left elbow. After a defensive stop on the other end, Key took a pass on the right block and scored on a jump hook with the left hand. Rutgers answered again with a jumper, but back came Ohio State. Roddy Gayle drove to the right baseline and kicked to the left corner where Dale Bonner drilled a three. Rutgers got a prayer answered on their offensive possession, banking in a three from the top and after Ohio State turned it over, Rutgers scored again to get within 1. Thornton split a pair of free throws to put Ohio State up 2, but Rutgers hit a long three from the top to take their first lead and at the under 12 media timeout, Rutgers led 20-19. Out of the timeout, Ohio State went on a 11-0 run to force Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell to call a timeout with 7:49 to go in the first half. The run began when Gayle from the left baseline kicked out to the left point to Scotty Middleton who drilled a three. The Scarlet Knights came up empty on their possession and Ohio State extended the lead when Felix Okpara grabbed an offensive rebound of his own miss and scored. After Okpara split a pair of free throws, Thornton buried a jumper from the free throw line. Rutgers recent offensive woes continued as a 5 second inbound violation under their own bucket turned it back over to Ohio State and the Buckeyes whipped it around the perimeter with all 5 guys touching the basketball, finishing with Battle hitting another triple to force the timeout with the Buckeyes leading 30-20. Out of the timeout, Rutgers ended the run with a wild hook shot in the paint, but Thornton answered with a triple from the left wing to put the Buckeyes up 11. Rutgers scored in transition to get the game back into single digits, but that didn’t last long as Thornton drilled a three from the left corner. The lead increased when Thornton grabbed a steal and kicked ahead to Battle who went up for an uncontested dunk. Another defensive stop and facing another Rutgers zone, the red hot Jamison Battle hit another three from the right corner, his fifth in as many attempts and at the under 4 minute media timeout, Ohio State led 41-24 and was enjoying a 22-4 run. Rutgers came out of the timeout out scoring Ohio State 8-2 with the Buckeyes’ lone bucket coming from Evan Mahaffey’s jumper along the right lane line. Thornton backed into the left block and scored with a turnaround jumper to complete the first half scoring with Ohio State taking a 45-32 lead into the locker room. The Buckeyes assisted on 13 of 17 made baskets in the first half en route to a 53% shooting percentage including a red hot 60% from beyond the arc and held Rutgers to 43% shooting and just 3 of 11 from deep. Jamison Battle led Ohio State with 17 and Bruce Thornton added 15. Derek Simpson led Rutgers with 11 and Noah Fernandez chipped in 10.
Rutgers came out of the locker room with a concerted effort to change the tempo of the basketball game, picking up full court and playing aggressive perimeter defense and they were successful early as the Scarlet Knights scored the first four to trim the lead to 9. Thornton ended the early 2nd half OSU scoring drought with a 15 foot jumper and on the next possession, Thornton found Gayle cutting along the baseline for a two-handed dunk. Rutgers got back on the board when an errant Buckeye pass was stolen in the front court and went the other way for an easy dunk, but back the other way, Battle grabbed an offensive rebound and scored off the window. The Buckeyes attempted to extend the lead in transition but a blocked shot led to a cherry pick, uncontested dunk for Rutgers and Chris Holtmann took a timeout with 15:29 to play and Ohio State leading 51-40. Rutgers defense turned up the intensity, forcing three straight turnovers leading to 4 points and the Buckeye lead was cut to 7. Gayle stopped the run with a runner mid paint and after a defensive stop, Battle buried a triple from the right point to put Ohio State back up 12. A pair of Rutgers free throws was answered by a dribble drive and score by Gayle and at the under 12 timeout, Ohio State led 58-46. Out of the timeout, the Scarlet Knights ramped up their intensity, getting every 50/50 ball and scoring 5 in a row to cut the lead back to 7. A Thornton 10 footer stopped the run, but was answered quickly by a Rutgers jumper and after a pair of Scarlet Knight free throws, it was a 5 point ballgame. The 9-2 Scarlet Knight run was stopped when Thornton buried a 12 foot jumper from the elbow and was hit, sending him to the stripe where he completed the old-fashioned three point play, knocking down the freebie to put Ohio State up 8. A Rutgers jumper drew iron but bounced high and dropped through the cylinder to trim the lead, but a pair of Okpara free throws answered. After a Rutgers bucket, Okpara grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, but a bucket and a free throw for the Scarlet Knights cut the lead to 5 and Chris Holtmann took a timeout with 4:29 to play and the Buckeyes leading 67-62. After an Ohio State turnover out of the timeout, Rutgers scored with a short jumper off the glass. A Thornton jumper was blocked and Rutgers scored on the other end to cut the lead to just 1. Thornton, after grabbing a rebound of his own miss, penetrated the lane and left a lob for Mahaffey who laid it in to stem the tide and Ohio State took a timeout with 2:42 to play and the Buckeyes leading 69-66. After forcing a pair of Rutgers turnovers sandwiched around one of their own, Gayle buried a three from high on the top. Rutgers would not go away however, drilling a triple of their own to answer. Thornton got to the stripe on Ohio State’s possession and hit both to put Ohio State up 5 with under a minute to play. Ohio State turned up the defense forcing Rutgers to take a heavily contested three with the shot clock winding down and the ball wedged between the rim and the board giving the ball back to Ohio State. The Buckeyes inbounded to Thornton who was quickly fouled sending him to the stripe where he missed the front end and Rutgers drilled a three and Rutgers took a timeout with 15.4 seconds remaining and the Buckeyes clinging to a 74-72 lead. After Ohio State inbounded the basketball in the backcourt, Gayle was fouled sending him to the line and he drilled both to ice it. Rutgers attempted a pair of wild three’s before the horn sounded with Ohio State escaping with the win.
Welcome back to Big Ten basketball. It never comes easy and this one was no different. While Ohio State was extremely efficient on offense and got into a great rhythm shooting the basketball in the first half to build a comfortable lead, everyone in the building knew Rutgers would not stop fighting. To their credit, the Scarlet Knights came out of the locker room in the 2nd half with a different attitude on the defensive end, smothering Ohio State’s ball handlers on the perimeter and hedging every screen making it very difficult for the Buckeyes to get into their offense. To Ohio State’s credit, they played with great poise down the stretch and survived the late Rutgers flurry. Ohio State continued their incredibly unselfish play, led by their floor general Bruce Thornton, assisting on 17 of 28 made shots which will continue to benefit them as they move forward in conference play. So, here we go. It’s January and it’s all Big Ten, all the time from here on out. There will be 2 games almost every week and that leads to shorter practices in between games so the guys will have to pay great attention to detail which is paramount to be ready to go and be successful in a very deep and balanced conference. They are off to an excellent start and improving every time out, so if they can keep growing each time out, they have a chance to have a special season.
The Buckeyes hit the road for their next contest, invading Bloomington, IN on Saturday night for a showdown with the Hoosiers. Tip time is scheduled for 8 PM airing on FOX.
-Jason Harris