Ohio State junior guard Duane Washington Jr. (4) communicates with his teammates during the OSU v U Mass. Lowell game on Nov. 29. Ohio State won 74-64. Credit: Christian Harsa | Assistant Photo Editor.
In search of a win to get back to level ground in conference play, Ohio State’s first-half surge and bench production provided a cushion for the Buckeyes to emphatically down the Cornhuskers Wednesday.
No. 25 Ohio State (8-2, 2-2) utilized a 15-0 run in the first half to jump on Nebraska (4-6, 0-3) early. The built-up lead would prove insurmountable for the Cornhuskers, and the Buckeyes would win the game 90-54.
With the game deadlocked at 13-13, the Buckeyes held the Cornhuskers for 10:14 without a made field goal.
“I thought we were locked in defensively,” head coach Chris Holtmann said Wednesday. “I thought we were in tune with what we need to do, we were locked in defensively and I think having some fresh bodies helped us.”
The Ohio State defense limited the Nebraska offense to 20.7-percent shooting in the first half. The Cornhuskers finished the game shooting 28.3 percent.
Ohio State would finish the game shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 12-of-32 from the 3-point line.
Junior forward Justin Ahrens would knock down 6-of-9 from downtown.
“It felt good to see it go through like that, and once I see one or two go through, I’m going to keep shooting until I miss,” Ahrens said.
Nebraska junior guard Teddy Allen, who entered the game averaging 18.2 points per game on 44.0-percent shooting, finished the game with 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Although Allen struggled to hit shots, junior guard Duane Washington Jr. improved on his shooting percentage with his performance against the Cornhuskers.
Entering the game shooting 34.8 percent on the season, Washington would connect on 5-of-11 shots to drop 13 points in the game.
Redshirt junior Justice Sueing also found some much-needed success in the game. Following a three-game stretch in which he scored a combined 14 points, Sueing scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting against Nebraska.
“I definitely had a couple struggles the past couple of games just adjusting, especially to the Big Ten style of play, but that’s kinda what we expected, kinda what I expected,” Sueing said. “I knew I was going to have some adversity and some obstacles I was going to have to get over, but nonetheless, I’m going to continue to work for it.”
The Buckeyes held a distinct advantage off the bench, where they outscored Nebraska 47-18. Behind Ahrens, freshman forward Zed Key helped lead the second-unit surge with 14 points and four rebounds.
Key topped his previous career high of 12 points set on two different occasions.
Graduate forward Seth Towns would follow an 11-point performance against Northwestern with 11 points against Nebraska. The Harvard transfer finished the game 2-of-5 from the field.
“I feel like the biggest point of pride for us tonight was everybody was ready to go,” Ahrens said. “From starters to guys coming off the bench, I felt like everybody, as soon as they got on the court, they were ready to go.”
On the defensive end, the Buckeyes would force 15 turnovers while turning the ball over 10 times themselves.
The Buckeyes return to the hardwood in a road clash with Minnesota. The game is set to tip Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
This story was updated Wednesday at 9:23 p.m. with quotes from Chris Holtmann, Justin Ahrens and Justice Sueing.
