National Basketball Association
Ohio St. 68, Rutgers 46
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 14, 2018
Where: Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC), Piscataway, New Jersey
Officials:
# Larry Scirotto, # Ted Valentine, # Kelly Pfeifer
Attendance:
7476
By Field Level Media
Keita Bates-Diop scored a game-high 20 points Sunday night as Ohio State remained in a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference with a workmanlike 68-46 defeat of Rutgers at Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.
Kam Williams tallied 11, while Kaleb Wesson added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes (15-4, 6-0 Big Ten). They could jump into the Top 25 after validating last Sunday's blowout win over then-No. 1 Michigan State with more conference victories.
This one was almost wire-to-wire, with the Scarlet Knights (11-8, 1-5) leading for only 25 seconds midway through the first half after a layup by Eugene Omoruyi made it 9-8. Ohio State promptly responded with an 18-2 run that gave it a 15-point lead and never looked back.
The Buckeyes took their 28-15 halftime advantage and proceeded to up it to 30 in the first 6:13 of the second half. When Williams converted a rare four-point play, Ohio State led 48-18 after a 20-3 spurt and simply cruised through the game's remainder.
Even a 14-0 run by Rutgers immediately afterwards did nothing but make the final score a bit more respectable. The Scarlet Knights might have had a better chance had they been able to make more than 28.8 percent of their field-goal attempts.
Geo Baker paced Rutgers with 14 points, while Corey Sanders hit for 13. The duo combined to make 11 of 29 field goal tries. Their teammates were a pitiful 6-of-30 shooting.
The Buckeyes shrugged off a sluggish first 10 minutes and finished the evening at 46.6 percent from the field. They also got a solid all-around effort from C.J. Jackson, who flirted with a triple-double, ending with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Ohio State owned the boards to the tune of 46-30. Bates-Diop matched Wesson's nine rebounds and also rejected five shots.
"Having a chance to win those first two conference games was big for us," first-year Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said. "We have to handle pressure better, and we have to be able to play with poise in certain situations. But this is a good group to work with."
Holtmann is the first first-year coach to start 6-0 in the Big Ten since Tom Davis did it at Iowa in 1986.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Ohio St. |
|
Rutgers |
|
Keita Bates-Diop 20 |
Scoring |
Geo Baker 14 |
|
C.J. Jackson 6 |
Assists |
Corey Sanders 3 |
|
Keita Bates-Diop 9 |
Rebounds |
Shaquille Doorson 6 |
|
Keita Bates-Diop 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Eugene Omoruyi 5 |
|
C.J. Jackson 2 |
Steals |
Eugene Omoruyi 2 |
|
Keita Bates-Diop 5 |
Blocks |
Shaquille Doorson 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Ohio St.
|
68 |
46.6 |
7-21 |
7-10 |
14 |
40 |
6 |
4 |
11 |
| Rutgers
|
46 |
28.8 |
6-18 |
6-11 |
6 |
29 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
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