The Ohio State basketball team continued to roll on Sunday night, winning its first Big Ten game of the season, 84-74 against Minnesota at home. It was the Buckeyes sixth win in a row and runs their record to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
The Golden Gophers Dawson Garcia had himself a night, pouring in 36 points on 12-of-24 shooting, but he was half of Minnesota’s offense and couldn’t keep pace in the first half.
OSU started the game up 3-0 and never trailed in the contest, first heading into the locker room up 42-28. Ohio State led by as many as 22 points, let the Gophers back within arm’s reach late in the contest but then held the maroon and gold at bay the rest of the way.
The Buckeyes were led by two players. Forward Jamison Battle scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds against his former team on 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. However, guard Bruce Thornton once again led Ohio State with 26 points, knocking down 8-of-12 from the floor, that included 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He also chipped in five assists and tallied three steals.
Battled to victory 😤#Team125 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/rPtw1k7zHZ
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) December 4, 2023
Ohio State continued its hot shooting, from deep, nailing 9-of-17 (52.9%) from three-point range and seemed to knock one down each time Minnesota tried to mount a run. The Buckeyes also had a good rebounding night against a pretty good front line of the Gophers, outrebounding them 34 to 30, and had a push in turnovers at 13 a piece.
OSU will now get ready to host Miami (OH) on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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