Bruce Thornton scored a game-high 25 points Saturday, setting Ohio State’s career scoring record, as the Buckeyes strengthened their case for an NCAA tournament at-large bid with a 91-78 Big Ten Conference win over visiting Indiana in Columbus.
Thornton broke Dennis Hopson’s old mark by draining a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left in the first half, giving him 12 points and enabling Ohio State (20-11, 12-8) to take a 50-33 lead to halftime. Thornton also dished out seven assists.
John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum added 18 points each, while Devin Royal tallied 12 and Taison Chatman came off the bench to net 11 points. The Buckeyes blistered the Hoosiers’ defense for 29 of 49 shooting from the field, including 11 of 24 from the 3-point line, and added 22 of 25 foul shooting to keep them at bay.
Lamar Wilkerson scored 18 points to pace Indiana (18-13, 9-11), which will probably need to win at least one game in next week’s conference tournament to feel secure about getting an NCAA bid.
Tucker DeVries added 17 points and five assists, while Sam Alexis hit for 14 points. Conor Enright and Reed Bailey chipped in 12 each, but it wasn’t enough. The Hoosiers lost for the fifth time in six games despite sinking 28 of 51 attempts from the field.
Ohio State owned a double-digit lead the entire second half, expanding it as high as 69-45 after Thornton canned three foul shots at the 12:18 mark. It led by double figures for the last 24:11.
The pregame storyline for both teams was their need for a victory to close the regular season. While Indiana was considered closer to the bubble than the Buckeyes, neither appeared to have much wiggle room going into this one.
Ohio State took control early with a 17-6 run that lasted nearly six minutes, establishing a 25-14 lead at the 10:17 mark when Thornton fed Christoph Tilly for a 3-point play. It finished the half at 19 of 28 from the field.
