Tag: Bruce Thornton

More good news for Ohio State basketball as another starter will return

Massive news for the Buckeyes hoops team. #GoBucks

When you undergo a coaching change there is bound to be some departures, and that has been the case with Ohio State basketball.

Although two players have left already and entered the portal, Bowen Hardman and Scotty Middleton, one on Monday night elected to say in center Felix Okpara.

Another joined Okpara Tuesday when starting point guard, [autotag]Bruce Thornton[/autotag], went to social media on Tuesday and announced that he will return for his junior season in Columbus. The rising-junior set new career-highs in points with 15.7, assists with 4.8, rebounds with 3.7, all while doing a great job of limiting his turnovers. He is now expected to make another leap during the next season.

That now makes two starters that are confirmed to return for Ohio State, and the biggest one now is [autotag]Roddy Gayle Jr.[/autotag], as we await his announcement.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X. 

The Big Ten regular season is over as Rutgers men’s basketball falls to Ohio State

Rutgers men’s basketball lost their Big Ten regular season finale.

On Sunday afternoon, Rutgers men’s basketball could not get much going offensively in their regular-season finale against Ohio State. After a strong start, Rutgers fell apart in the second half as Ohio State left New Jersey with a 73-51 win.

Rutgers finished the regular season 15-16 (7-13 Big Ten). They lost their last three games including six of their last seven.

As Ohio State outscored Rutgers 43-23 in the second half, they got impressive performances from Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bruce Thornton. Gayle Jr. led Ohio State in scoring with 14 points. Thornton added 11 points to his resume and was tied for second on the team in rebounds with five.

While Sunday ended in disappointing fashion, there were still a few bright spots for Rutgers. That list includes Aundre Hyatt and Clifford Omoruyi. Hyatt led the team in scoring with 11 points in 28 minutes of action. Omoruyi continued to make an impact on the board with a team-high seven rebounds.

 

 

In this matchup, Ohio State was able to build its lead partly due to its success from beyond the arc. The Buckeyes shot 45 percent from three-point range, while Rutgers shot 22.2 percent. They also had success close to the basket, outscoring Rutgers 28-20 in the paint.

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Although Rutgers regular season is over, the last few months have provided optimism for the future, with prospects like Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper months away from starting their college careers.

Oh, and there is the upcoming Big Ten Tournament as well.

Rutgers basketball closes out their Big Ten regular season against Ohio State

Rutgers basketball faces a big game on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, Rutgers men’s basketball will be looking for revenge when they take on Ohio State. In the first matchup between these two teams this season in January, Ohio State recorded a 76-72. While Ohio State has a better record, they will play the role of the underdogs, according to ESPN.

Rutgers is 15-15 (7-12 Big Ten) and coming off consecutive Big Ten losses.

Entering this game, Bruce Thornton has been the Buckeyes’ best offensive player. The Alpharetta, Georgia native is averaging a team-high 16.2 points per game. Against Michigan State on February 3rd, Thornton added 17 points to his resume in 32 minutes of action.

 

As Ohio State looks to complete the season sweep, they will be tasked with stopping Jeremiah Williams. In 10 games this season, the talented junior is averaging 13.3 points per game. Against Wisconsin on Thursday, he scored 16 points and hauled in two rebounds.

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When these two teams met in January, Ohio State pulled out a win partly due to its three-point shooting. Rutgers only shot 25 percent from beyond the arc, while Ohio State shot 45.8 percent. Having Williams in the lineup could help even those numbers out.

Additionally, Rutgers has been hard to beat at home this season where they have posted a 12-4 record at Jersey Mike’s Arena. On the road, Ohio State has gone 1-8. This game should provide plenty of entertaining moments, with both teams having plenty to prove.

Ohio State basketball gets back to losing ways in loss at Minnesota

Welp. Back to the status quo. #GoBucks

After getting the proverbial coaching change boost in a win over Purdue at home last weekend, the Ohio State basketball team came back down to Earth on Thursday night with an 88-79 loss at Minnesota to run its ridiculously notorious road losing streak to seventeen straight games. That, by the way, is a school record.

The Buckeyes started out in a hole from the get go because of a hot shooting start by Minnesota. The Gophers went up by as many as eleven points about halfway through the first half before OSU started to get going a little bit, eventually tying the game and then falling back down by eight before heading to the locker room.

The second half didn’t get much closer with the Gophers controlling the second half, never falling behind and leading by as much as 17 points. OSU extended the game by fouling and notching a little closer heading down the stretch but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes again in scoring with 25 points on 10-of-14 from the floor, including a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Former Gopher Jamison Battle scored 21 points and Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in 13 points.

The loss drops Ohio State’s overall record to 15-12, while its conference record falls to 5-11. OSU will try again to stop the away losing streak when it travels to East Lansing on Sunday to take on Michigan State.

Best plays from Ohio State basketball’s upset victory over Purdue

Re-living some of the best plays from Ohio State basketball’s win over Purdue. #GoBucks

In what has been a disappointing season for Ohio State basketball, the Buckeyes pulled off an upset of the second ranked team in college basketball for their biggest win of the season.

After Chris Holtmann’s firing last week interim head coach Jake Diebler led Ohio State to a victory over Purdue in his first game as the head coach.

Many players made big contributions for the Buckeyes on Sunday as 11 players were utilized with nine playing 14 or more minutes. The Buckeyes did a good job of communicating on the defensive end to hold the Boilermakers who average 84.4 points per game to just 69 on Sunday.

On the offensive end, the Buckeyes came up with big shots time and time again throughout the game, particularly down the stretch to come out on top.

Here are some of best plays from Ohio State’s victory over the weekend.

Down big in the first half, Rutgers basketball battles back in loss at Ohio State

Rutgers basketball lost a tight Big Ten game at Ohio State.

On Wednesday night, Rutgers men’s basketball faced Ohio State in their first game of 2024. While the Scarlet Knights were able to keep things close, the Buckeyes emerged with a 76-72 win and improved to 8-1 at home.

Rutgers is now 8-5 (0-2 Big Ten) following the loss at Ohio State.

As Rutgers struggled to stop Ohio State, the Buckeyes’ Bruce Thornton was a scoring machine. Thornton, a guard, scored 24 points while dishing out seven assists. He has been Ohio State’s best player all season and he showed why in front of 10,614 fans at Value City Arena.

Although Clifford Omoruyi and Aundre Hyatt struggled, Rutgers got some solid offensive play from their backcourt. Derek Simpson led the way offensively with 23 points, and Noah Fernandez helped out with 17. The duo continued to step up when needed.

 

While Wednesday night ended in disappointing fashion, Rutgers showed a lot of fight. After being down 45-32 in the first half, Rutgers outscored Ohio State 40-31 in the second half. Had they not gotten off to a slow start, an upset was well within reach.

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After three days off, Rutgers will be back in action on Wednesday against Iowa. The Hawkeyes are off to an 8-6 start and have lost their last game on Tuesday. For Rutgers, taking care of the basketball will be vital after turning the ball over 11 times against Ohio State.

Rutgers men’s basketball searching for first Big Ten win in matchup with Ohio State

Rutgers men’s basketball has a big game tonight against Ohio State.

After a brief vacation, Rutgers men’s basketball returns to action on Wednesday night against Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights will be attempting to record their first Big Ten win of the season and start 2024 with a win. However, they have a tough Buckeyes team in the way.

Enter play on Wednesday, the Buckeyes are 4-1 in their last five games. During that span, they have been led by Bruce Thornton, who is averaging 16.9 points per game. The talented sophomore has scored at least 10 points in 10 straight games.

While Ohio State is favored in this game, they will be tasked with stopping Clifford Omoruyi and Derek Simpson. Omouryi has been a monster on the boards and Simpson has been an assists machine. The talented duo has been vital to Rutgers success.

 

Additionally, Rutgers will be looking to end Ohio State’s success at home. So far this season, the Buckeyes are 7-1 at Value City Arena. They have outscored opponents by 14.4 points.

Additionally, Rutgers has not played a lot on the road this season. They are 1-1 in games away from Jersey Mike’s Arena. Wednesday night presents a perfect opportunity for Rutgers to move up in the Big Ten standings.

Regardless of the outcome, this game should provide plenty of fireworks and memorable moments.

Ohio State basketball cruises past Central Michigan

That’s five in a row! #GoBucks

The Ohio State basketball team continued its impressive run of play by getting by Central Michigan easily Wednesday night by a score of 88-61 to run its record to 6-1.

The Buckeyes jumped out ahead early but let the Chippewas hang around for most of the first half, even allowing CMU to be just two points down, 22-20, with about seven minutes left before heading to the locker room. However, OSU went on a run to end the half, heading off the floor with a 41-29 lead at the break.

From there, Ohio State cruised with the game never getting anywhere near a threat from Central Michigan throughout the second half.

Guard Bruce Thornton had another big night, scoring 25 points to lead all scorers on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. He wasn’t the only bright spot. Felix Okpara turned into Felix Dunkpara, sending quite a few through the rim from close range as flushes. He tallied a career high 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. He finished just one rebound short of a double-double.

Starters Jamison Battle (12 points) and Roddy Gayle Jr. (11 points), also finished in double figures, but it was nice to see Devyn Royal breakout a little with 11 points of his own on 4-of-5 shooting.

And while the offense was pretty good, the defense continued its trend of playing well this year, holding Central Michigan to just 40% shooting and forcing 15 turnovers. Ohio State also owned the boards, out-rebounding the Chippewas 44-30 — all a part of a winning formula.

Ohio State will next welcome Minnesota to Value City Arena on Sunday to break the seal on the Big Ten season.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Ohio State basketball’s Bruce Thornton gets conference tournament recognition

Bruuuuuuuce!!! #GoBucks

The [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] basketball team had run not many expected in the [autotag]Big Ten Tournament[/autotag]. They became the lowest seed, No. 13, to ever make it to the conference semifinals.

On the way to the fourth day of the tournament, Buckeye guard [autotag]Bruce Thornton[/autotag] was phenomenal. He averaged 15.5 points, with 4.25 assists and 2.75 rebounds over the course of four games, and turned the ball over just four total times, none over the final three games. The freshman was the best player on the court for Ohio State and the Big Ten noticed.

The conference named Thornton to their all-tournament team, making him just the 10th freshman ever to be named to the team. The distinction makes it four for Ohio State, as Thornton joins [autotag]Greg Oden[/autotag], [autotag]Mike Conley[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Sullinger[/autotag]. That’s quite an impressive list of Buckeyes.

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The Georgia native really came on late in the season, being named a captain, upping his offensive game and this was the cherry on top. Expectations for Thornton rose significantly as the year went on and he is expected to lead the squad next year in what should be a much more prosperous season.

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Jalen Pickett leads Penn State to important road win at Ohio State

Jalen Pickett put Penn State on his back and carried them to a key road win at Ohio State.

The goal is simple for Penn State. Win out and they’ll have a shot of going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years.

After starting February with three straight losses, Penn State is now riding a three-game win streak after Tuesday’s 75-71 win over Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.

The game was spectacular. The two teams went back and forth throughout the 40 minutes of game time.

Coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] made sure his team knew they had to get off to an early start. The team listened and took an 11-8 lead four minutes into the game.

Then, it was a rollercoaster ride of who held the lead.

There were 12 lead changes in the first half alone, including a four minute stretch where every basket scored changed the lead.

When the first half buzzer sounded, the game was tied 37-37.

But things could have gone off the rails early for Penn State.

Coming into this game, the Nittany Lions had two road wins all season. They have not been the same team away from home and this was their second road game in a row.

Then, seven minutes into the game, [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] picked up his second foul. Their best player had to sit for a good chunk of time.

The senior guards rose to the occasion. [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] scored 14 points and [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] 11 in the first half to keep Penn State in the game.

The rollercoaster ride continued in the second half. There were eight more lead changes for a total of 20. When there wasn’t a lead change, the game was tied five times.

After scoring just two points at the break, Pickett wasn’t going to stay quiet for long.

He completely took the game over in the second half, scoring 21 of his 23 points in the period, including the dagger.

Up one with a minute left, Pickett isolated Ohio State freshman [autotag]Brice Sensabaugh[/autotag]. He made layup and drew a foul to give Penn State a 73-69 lead.

Four points was all the separation the Nittany Lions needed to close out the game as Ohio State missed five consecutive three pointers on the final possession.

Pickett’s 23 points led the game. Lundy finished with 19 points and Wynter with 18. The Ohio State freshmen guards Sensabaugh and [autotag]Bruce Thornton[/autotag] scored 20 and 19 points respectively.

This was an impressive win for Penn State. The Big Ten leader in three pointers, [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag], didn’t make a single one in this game. Other players had to fill the void when Pickett went out with foul trouble.

It feels like Penn State is starting to hit their stride at just the right time.

Their three remaining games on the schedule are all classified as Quad 1. Winning those games are the most important criteria the committee looks at when determining at large invitations.

Penn State plays Rutgers in the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday night. This will be a rematch from earlier in the year when the Nittany Lions lost on the road.

The game will be air on Big Ten Network starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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