Ohio State (15-4, 6-0) went on the road to Piscataway, New Jersey Sunday night and came away with a 68-46 win over Rutgers (11-8, 1-5), moving the Buckeyes to 6-0 in conference play. The 22-point victory gives them their fifth double-digit victory in six Big Ten contests this season.
Once again, it was fourth-year junior forward Keita Bates-Diop leading all scorers with 20 points, but it was the Buckeye defense that was the difference in the game.
Ohio State held the Scarlet Knights to just 15 points in the first half, and never looked back.
A three-pointer by Rutgers guard Geo Baker and a layup by Eugene Omoruyi two minutes later gave the Scarlet Knights a 9-8 lead with 10:46 to play in the first half. That lead was erased 27 seconds later by a three-pointer from sophomore center Micah Potter. Consecutive layups by Bates-Diop and Andrew Dakich extended the lead.
A little over a minute later, Bates-Diop hit three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the court, giving the Buckeyes a 21-11 lead. A pair of layups by freshman forward Kyle Young helped build the lead up to 15 points before Rutgers cut the halftime spread to 28-15.
The second half is where the Ohio State offense finally began matching their defense. The Buckeyes opened the half on a 10-0 run, with three of the baskets coming at the rim.
A free throw by Souf Mensah finally stopped the Buckeye run, but a quick jumper by Kam Williams and then a 4-point play by Williams bumped OSU’s lead up to 30 points, ending any Rutgers hopes that may have remained.
Williams finished with 11 points for the Buckeyes, hitting 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point territory. The 6-foot-2 Williams also blocked a pair of shots, which again gives you an idea of how effective Ohio State was on the defensive side of the ball.
The Scarlet Knights were able to get the lead under 20 points, but they never threatened in the second half.
Rutgers shot just 17-of-58 (.293) from the field and 6-of-18 (.333) from three-point range. They were outrebounded 49-31 by the Buckeyes.
Ohio State had three scorers in double figures, as freshman center Kalen Wesson scored 10 points, joining Kam Williams (11) and Keita Bates-Diop (20). Wesson also finished with a team-high nine rebounds.
Senior forward Jae’Sean Tate did a bit of everything in this game, including fouling out. Along with his five fouls, he also added six points, five rebounds, five blocks, and four steals. Point guard C.J. Jackson also stuffed the stat sheet a bit, scoring nine points, grabbing seven rebounds, and handing out five assists.
Up next for Ohio State is a trip to Northwestern (11-8, 2-4) on Wednesday at 9:00 pm on BTN.
How about all of you people who kept wanting to give Matta another year. Oh look at his record, he can win 20 games. Held on to him 3 years to long. Now they have a coach and I cant wait till he gets his own players.
Its strange to see an OSU team rebound well and hit free throws after so many years.