What we learned following Ohio State basketball’s win over New Orleans

Missing Holtmann and Okpara, the Buckeyes didn’t miss a beat. #GoBucks

It looks like Ohio State men’s basketball could have had a letdown against the visiting New Orleans Privateers down head coach Chris Holtmann and starting center Felix Okpara.

That didn’t happen, as the Buckeyes blew out New Orleans, posting a 78-36 win in front of a home crowd. The victory improves Ohio State’s season record to 10-2, as they have one more non-conference game before resuming the Big Ten schedule in the new year.

There was a lot to take away from this game, especially considering the Buckeyes were down two important pieces of this season’s team. Find out what we learned after Ohio State grabbed win No. 10 on the season.

Ohio State basketball surges in second half, blows out Saint Louis

Yeah, it was expected, but chalk up another one in the win column for Ohio State. #GoBucks

The Ohio State basketball team kept it winning ways going on Thursday night with a blowout 78-36 win over Saint Louis at Value City Arena.

The first half was fairly competitive with the Buckeyes actually down by one point, 15-14, with 5:49 left in the first. But that’s when things started to click for OSU enroute to a 16-3 run to end the half to head into the locker room up 31-17.

The second half finished like the first with Ohio State continuing to extend the lead through until the end of the game using a continued defensive effort in combination with efficient offense on the other end. The Privateers never made a run, and things were comfortable the rest of the way until the clock struck 0:00.

Jamison Battle led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-12 shotting, including a blistering 5-of-8 from three-point range. But he wasn’t the only one in double figures. Zed Key poured in 16, Bruce Thorton pitched in 11, and Dale Bonner notched 10. It was another balanced night for OSU, who was coached by Jake Diebler because of Chris Holtmann missing the game because of illness.

Ohio State dominated on the boards and in the paint, outrebounding Saint Louis 35-22, resulting in 11 more shot opportunities and 32 points from close range.

With the win, Ohio State improves to 10-2 and will next be in action, hosting West Virginia, Saturday, December 30.

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