The Ohio State basketball team needed a shot in the arm Tuesday after getting hammered on the road by Minnesota Sunday. It by and large got what it needed despite a sloppy start, winning going away 80-48.
The Buckeyes came out with what looked like a hangover early on in the fist half. It struggled with far too many turnovers, and allowed a 3-7 mid-major program to hang around and even lead for a good bit of the first half. Ohio State went on a little run to end the first twenty minutes up 35-26, but there’s no doubt it got an earful from head coach Chris Holtmann in the locker room.
It seemed to work.
The Buckeyes came out of the second half with much more intensity and purpose, but more importantly stopped being as charitable with the basketball. In the end, it was a much needed bounce back prior to heading to Las Vegas to take on Kentucky.
Kaleb Wesson notched a double-double, leading the Buckeyes with 18 points and 10 rebounds. His brother Andre Wesson joined three others in double figures. The older Wesson chipped in 14 points, and D.J. Carton and Kyle Young each added 10 a piece as Ohio State shot 64% from the field for the game.
The matchup with Kentucky will be another good litmus test for the Buckeyes. Game time is set for 5:15 PM Eastern on CBS.
