Buckeyes bounce back with Big Ten home win over Rutgers
COLUMBUS — Ohio State was blown out in its Big Ten opener earlier this week; the loss at Maryland was embarrassing for the program.
The Buckeyes bounced back in a major way in the second Big Ten game of December on Saturday, scoring an impressive home win over a good Rutgers team to get back to .500 in league play.
Final score: Ohio State 80, Rutgers 66.
Second-year forward Devin Royal and star guard Bruce Thornton shared a game-high 22 points for the Buckeyes. Micah Parrish added 12 in the win.
Even more impressively, Ohio State held the Rutgers freshman duo of future NBA players Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper to a combined 30 points, a good defensive showing for the home Buckeyes.
It’s a good thing the Buckeyes earned this win over Rutgers, avoiding an 0-2 start to Big Ten play in Jake Diebler’s first year. It’s a huge win because it gives them some much-needed momentum heading into a really tough stretch before the New Year.
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The rest of December isn’t getting any easier for this team.
Ohio State is off for a week before its next game against one of the best teams in the country: Auburn. The rest of the December slate is as follows, beginning with the neutral-site date with the Tigers:
Dec. 14 vs. Auburn (State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia)
Dec. 17 vs. Valparaiso
Dec. 21 vs. Kentucky (Madison Square Garden, New York, New York)
Dec. 29 vs. Indiana State
Ohio State already has a win over a ranked team for an early-season resume booster. That came in the opener against Texas. Then the Buckeyes lost at Texas A&M a couple of weeks ago to fall back out of the rankings before winning a couple of easy nonconference games.
This was yet another step up in competition for the Buckeyes after a blowout conference loss, and they passed this second Big Ten test — and earned a good win against a star-studded Rutgers team.
