COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State set a statement with its blowout 91-78 win against Indiana on Saturday evening at the Schottenstein Center in front of 18,809 fans in attendance.
Senior guard Bruce Thornton was honored before the game, alongside Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel as part of the team’s senior day recognition. After sinking a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half, with 12 points, Thornton surpassed Dennis Hopson to become the all-time leading scorer in Ohio State program history.
Head coach Jake Diebler met with the media following the win, along with Thornton. You can find a summary of their postgame comments below.
Jake Diebler
+ On whether this game is the vision of what he wants Ohio State basketball to look like, Diebler said this night was it. Celebrating a player who is in the record books, who stayed for four years, a huge game, fighting for weekend games at home, I could go on and on… there’s so much that went into the moment today… We’re building something and this was a huge step for us.”
+ On Thornton finally getting an NCAA tournament, Diebler said he and Thornton talked a lot about that before the season and it was a hard, emotional conversation but Thornton developed a firm foundation that he stands on and they were committed to having great joy, sticking together, and he has embraced the moment. Thornton hasn’t made it about himself and has been focused on winning. They didn’t shy away from that as a goal of his but together they said they were going to give it all they got. “He’s followed through on that.” Thornton has earned this and Diebler wants it for him and has wanted it for him in the worst way.
+ On three wins to end the regular season, Diebler said there’s a lot that has gone on that has allowed them to play their best lately and that includes being healthy. “The most important ingredient has been the closeness of the team. This league is a marathon and we’re peaking at the right time.”
+ On the sellout crowd and number of former players in attendance, Diebler said it felt different and that impacts winning. The fans showed up and Diebler hopes this is a sign of great things to come. “Today was huge, Buckeye Nation showed up in a big way and it felt different.”
+ “When Thornton steps on the court, he is consumed by winning.” It is always about winning for him.
+ On whether Ohio State is an NCAA Tournament team, Diebler said they beat really good teams, have the metrics, and won 12 games in the Big Ten which is really hard. “We’re playing the right way at the right time.”
Bruce Thornton
+ On the 3-pointer that set the all-time scoring record, Thornton said he saw the separation and knew he was shooting it. He was so caught up in the game that he didn’t realize it was “the shot.” He was just trying to get a two for one.
+ On the emotions of senior day, Thornton said it was great and was a fun experience, “one-of-one type of experience.” It was great celebrating the win with his team and they deserved it. They could have folded after Iowa and they didn’t. They came together, bought in, and wanted to go out with a bang. Everybody feels this team can make a deep run and they believe in the process and in this team.
+ On this win clinching their spot in the NCAA tournament, Thornton said he won’t feel good about that until he sees it for himself. They have the Big Ten tournament coming up and with the swag and mojo they have, he feels they can make a run. The team is holding each other accountable, playing to win, communicating, and they know what it takes. They are unselfish and playing with a lot of swagger right now. Making the NCAA tournament was a goal of his before he even came to Ohio State. He has worked so hard and has an opportunity to make one of his dreams come true. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”
+ On his favorite memory playing in the Schottenstein Center, Thornton said beating Purdue twice at home, beating Maryland at home last year, and this senior night. “It was a different type of energy in The Schott tonight like no matter what we were going to win.”
+ The health of the team and having all five starters available means a lot, especially at this time of the year.
+ On what’s more important to him — the scoring record or clinching the NCAA tournament —Thornton said both. “And the fact that I got them in the same night, it’s more than I could ask for.” He felt confident the scoring record would come eventually but is extremely grateful it happened this way. He told himself he wouldn’t put pressure on himself to get the scoring record in this game, but he let the game come to him and trusted in his work. “Good things just happen.”
+ The turnaround after the Iowa game was “do or die.” They found out this team was not full of quitters. The goal was to be better as a team and the players did that at a high level.
+ Thornton was aware that Indiana was the only Big Ten team he hadn’t beaten yet. Out of everything, he couldn’t go out of college not beating Indiana. Out of the scoring record, NCAA tournament, and beating Indiana…it was that on his mind in this game.
+ On the legacy he wants to leave and the impact he wants to have on Ohio State basketball, Thornton said, “Tonight is how Ohio State basketball should be every night…the standard. Tonight had a different feel to it, a different energy and the confidence… we worked hard for that and fought for that.”
+ On how good this senior night feels after sticking it out through it all, Thornton referenced an interview he did as a freshman where after losing 12 games in a row, he said he would never feel that way again. Thornton said he is so glad and so proud of himself that he stayed true to who he was and his values. “I made things how I wanted them to be.”
