Ohio State freshman forward Kaleb Wesson backs down a Gonzaga defender during the first half of the Buckeyes’ loss to the Bulldogs at the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Oregon. Credit: Courtesy of OSU Athletics
Led by four double-digit point totals from its starters, the Ohio State men’s basketball (6-3, 1-0 Big Ten) rolled past Wisconsin (3-5, 0-1 Big Ten) to claim a 83-58 victory in both teams’ Big Ten openers in Madison, Wisconsin, Saturday.
Center Kaleb Wesson, forwards Keita Bates-Diop and Jae’Sean Tate, the latter of which played at point guard most of the game, and guard C.J. Jackson each recorded at least 10 points. Jackson did not start the game at point guard for the first time all season, and instead was replaced in the lineup by redshirt senior guard Kam Williams, who scored nine points.
Wesson led the team with 19 points and Bates-Diop recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Ohio State dominated on the interior, gathering 32 rebounds to Wisconsin’s 18. The Buckeyes scored 36 of their 83 points in the paint, while Wisconsin managed just 12 points in the paint.
The Buckeyes took the lead with 16:37 left in the first half on a jumper from Bates-Diop and held the lead for the remainder of the game. From there, they ran up the score on a 26-14 run to bring the game to 30-16 with 8:19 remaining in the half.
Ohio State went into halftime with a commanding 49-26 lead, and only continued to expand its lead out of the break, going on a quick 14-2 run to jump ahead 63-28 with 15:31 left in the game.
The next game for the Buckeyes will be against Michigan at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Schottenstein Center.
