In the first of a critical stretch of three straight home games, the Buckeyes took care of business in game one, using a red hot shooting first half to build a 15 point halftime lead that bulged to as large as 30 en route to a 93-69 demolition of Washington in the Schott. The Buckeyes improve to 15-10, 7-7 while Washington slips to 12-12, 3-10. Ohio State took command early as Washington never really threatened as the Buckeyes led for all but five minutes very early. Although the Buckeyes cooled off a bit in the second half, they still hit on 58% of their shot attempts including 11 of 18 from beyond the arc. Washington finished with a 46.2% shooting clip, and 7 of 17 from deep. Statistically it was all Buckeyes in this one, out rebounding the Huskies 34-22, and forced 14 turnovers that turned into 21 points. Ohio State was not only efficient from the field, they did it from the stripe as well,  hitting on 18-22 free throws, while assisting on nearly half their field goals in an overall dominating effort. John Mobley Jr and Micah Parrish each scored 21 to lead the Buckeyes, while Parrish added 7 rebounds. Bruce Thornton added 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and Aaron Bradshaw came off the bench to score 12. Washington was led by 14 apiece by Tyler Harris, Zoom Diallo and DJ Davis in a losing effort.

Washington opened the game scoring on their first possession. The Buckeyes answered with the next 6 as Sean Stewart scored two and Devin Royal scored 4. The Huskies scored the next 4 before Micah Parrish drove baseline and banked in a runner. After Washington re-tied it with a bucket, John Mobley, Jr splashed in a three from the right wing and at the first media timeout of the game, Ohio State led 11-8. The Buckeyes extended the lead when Mobley lobbed to Aaron Bradshaw for a dunk and on the next possession, Mobley drilled a three from the left point. Washington stopped the 8-0 Buckeye run with a three of their own from the left wing and after an Ohio State turnover, the Huskies scored in the paint. A Bradshaw triple from the left point ended the mini Huskie run and at the under 12, Ohio State led 19-13. Ohio State increased the advantage when Bruce Thornton lobbed to Evan Mahaffey for two. After a Huskie bucket, Thornton scored on an up and under and his free throw completed an old-fashioned three point play upping the lead to 9. After a Washington bucket, Stewart scored on a tip-in and on the next possession, Parrish, exercising impressive patience, fed Mobley on the left wing for three forcing Washington to take a 30 second timeout. Washington scored 5 out of the next 7 with the Buckeye bucket coming off a Ques Glover dribble drive. The Buckeyes extended the lead just before the under 8 when Parrish drilled a three from the left wing to put the Buckeyes up 34-22 as the teams adjourned to their respective benches. Washington sliced into the lead with 4 free throws, but back came the Buckeyes. Bradshaw buried a three from the top and after an offensive foul gave the ball back to Ohio State, Thornton scored on a dribble drive.  The Huskies scored 5 straight to cut the lead back to 9 before a Parrish triple from the top while he was hit bumped the lead back to 11 and at the under 4, Ohio State led 42-31. Parrish hit the stripe out of the timeout and knocked it in to complete a four point play and extend the lead. More Parrish added to the lead when he converted a three point play of the old fashioned variety upping the lead to 15. A Mobley three upped the run to 10-0 before a Huskie three stopped the burst. After Parrish drilled a 17 footer, Washington scored at the rim to complete the scoring as Ohio State took a 51-36 lead into the locker room. The Buckeyes missed their last 3 shots but still managed to finish a red hot 71.4% from the floor including 8 of 11 from long range, while Washington hit on a respectable 46.2% and 3 of 6 from three. The Buckeyes scored 15 points off of 10 Huskie turnovers despite turning it over 9 times themselves. Micah Parrish led the Buckeyes with a first half game high 14 points and 5 rebounds, while John Mobley, Jr. added 12. Washington was led by Zoom Diallo’s 11, 

Ohio State opened the second half on a 8-2 run to open up a 21 point lead, but a 6-1 Huskie answer thanks to a pair of threes, cut the lead back to 16. Royal scored to stop the run and after an emphatic blocked shot into the third row of seats, the under 16 timeout was called with the Buckeyes leading 62-44. The Huskies split a pair of free throws followed by Parrish hitting a pair and when Washington got a steal and transition dunk, they had cut the lead down to 17. The Buckeyes came right back with buckets from Bradshaw and Mahaffey and at the under 12, Ohio State led 68-47. Thornton hit the stripe coming out of the timeout and canned both to increase the lead, but a three on the other end answered.  Bruce Thornton’s three and two free throws sandwiched three Huskie free throws to up the lead to 22. After Washington split two free throws, a Parrish bucket and transition lay up by Mobley added to the lead. The Huskies scored on their end but a Parrish triple and Bradshaw offensive rebound and dunk preceded the under 8 media timeout as it was all Buckeyes, leading 84-56. A pair of Mobley free throws was followed by five straight Huskie points before a Mobley triple fell from the top. A Washington deuce led to the final media timeout with the Buckeyes running away, 91-67. With the benches emptied in the final 2 minutes, Ivan Njegovan buried a pair of free throws and on the other end Washington hit a jumper and that would be all she wrote as the Buckeyes walked out with their 15th win. 

This was what the Buckeyes needed to do against a lesser opponent at home in a stretch of games that could define their season. Playing three straight at home, Ohio State needed to get off to a great start and that they did. They controlled the game in every facet, seemingly doing whatever they wanted on both ends of the floor in what was a complete 40 minutes of basketball. In what has been a welcome change from previous efforts, the Buckeyes got 20 points off their bench, led by Bradshaw’s 12 and scored 34 in the paint which has been a struggle in recent ballgames. This was a game that could start to build positive momentum and set up a huge matchup on Sunday afternoon that should attract a huge crowd to the Schottenstein Center, hosting that team up north in what I’m sure will be a warm welcome for former Buckeye Roddy Gayle. Beyond the rivalry and fanfare around that game, it will be another opportunity to knock off a ranked team that currently sits atop the Big Ten standings and get a quad 1 win that can further boost the tournament resume. If they are able to secure that one, things start to look really good for the Buckeyes to hear their name called in mid March.  

Ohio State hits the floor again on Sunday afternoon, hosting 20th ranked Michigan at the Schott. Tip time is scheduled for 1PM on CBS.

-Jason Harris