Ohio State didn’t need Lou Brown to deliver the news. Head coach Thad Matta was sufficient enough. The Buckeyes are once again on a winning streak.
Friendly February yielded more positive results for Ohio State on Saturday as it flicked away upset-minded Purdue 67-49 in primetime. It’s the Buckeyes third consecutive win after losing five of six to end January near the bottom of the Big Ten standings.
LaQuinton Ross led Ohio State's scoring effort with 17 points. Lenzelle Smith Jr. connected on four three-pointers to score 16 points.
It took four minutes for the Buckeyes to warm up, but the almost 10 minutes that followed were dominant and resounding. Ohio State scored 10 straight points in a run that eventually reached 20-5. During the stretch, Purdue was 2-of-15 shooting with three turnovers.
After missing its first six shots of the game, the Buckeyes finished 46.3 percent from the field. Ohio State was 8-of-19 from long range.
Two players who’ve drawn the ire of fans – Amir Williams and Shannon Scott – factored largely in the Buckeyes widening their lead. In eight first-half minutes, Williams finished with four points, four rebounds and three blocks. A majority of those stats coincided with Purdue big man A.J. Hammons sitting on the bench.
Scott scored five straight points during Ohio State’s 20-5 run. The duo finished with a combined 18 points, five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.
During the Buckeyes’ resurgence, they’ve displayed a newfound confidence in crunch time. After the Boilermakers whittled a 10-point Ohio State advantage to three with nine minutes left, the Buckeyes outscored Purdue 19-4 the rest of the way. The Boilermakers committed six turnovers in the crucial stretch, including five in seven possessions.
Purdue’s leading scorer – Terone Johnson – was limited to 1-of-8 shooting on the night with three points.
In three games off the bench, Scott has scored 29 points on 50 percent shooting. He’s also recorded, seven rebounds, nine assists and five steals. Scott started the first 21 games before asking Matta to play a reserve role.
It started going downhill for Scott when the losses piled up. He became a less efficient player on offense and began fouling, which was uncharacteristic of the defensive stalwart. He admitted to deferring to senior Aaron Craft at times when other options were open. The pass-first, shoot-last mentality wasn’t always the team’s best selection.
But the two point guards have since meshed, scoring 60 points during Ohio State’s three-game win streak.
For the time being, the Buckeyes occupied fourth place alone in the Big Ten standings. That could change pending the outcome of the Wisconsin-Michigan State game. Ohio State is 19-5 overall and 6-5 in the conference. It hosts 10th-ranked Michigan on Tuesday night.