Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Save Best for Boilermakers in 87-64 Rout
By Brandon Castel
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Buckeyes finally put together a full 40 minutes Tuesday night, just in time to blow the doors off No. 12 Purdue on national television.
In one of the most dominant performances put together by any team all season, No. 1-ranked Ohio State dismantled the second-place Boilermakers 87-64 to give themselves a two-game lead over the rest of the field in the Big Ten.
“We played great defense and we had our offense connected,” said freshman Jared Sullinger, who scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“That was the first time we had both sides going at once. I think this is the best game we’ve played, period.”
Junior William Buford connected on back-to-back threes to open the game, and the Buckeyes (21-0, 8-0 Big Ten) were up 27-11 on Purdue (17-4, 6-2) before ESPN had even switched over from Florida’s double-overtime win against Georgia.
“I had pretty good looks,” said Buford, who was 6-of-8 shooting and 5-of-6 from behind the arc.
“We got the ball into Sully and they were doubling down and he did a good job finding me.”
Buford finished with a team-high 19 points—including five of Ohio State’s 11 three pointers—as six Buckeyes scored in double-figures. Jon Diebler and Deshaun Thomas each had 13 points and the Buckeyes shot 55-percent as a team in a game where they couldn’t miss for the first 36 minutes.
“They were great, and when that happens it snowballs in the first half,” Purdue Head Coach Curtis Painter said after the game.
“We can’t allow a great team like that to get it going. They were ready to play. They were ready to roll and they stole our spirit.”
Purdue big man JaJuan Johnson did his best to keep the Boilermakers in the game with 11 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. E’Twaun Moore also had seven of his 16 points in the first half, but Purdue’s two-man attack was no match for an Ohio State team that was clicking on all cylinders.
“I can’t say enough about him,” Matta said of Johnson.
“You watch him make those shots on film and say ‘He will never make those shots against us,’ but he did.”
The Buckeyes still went to the lockers at halftime with a 20-point lead, thanks in large part to the play of point guard Aaron Craft. When he wasn’t dishing the ball to his teammates or grabbing rebounds at the defensive end, Craft was spinning into the lane to go by Johnson inside for a highlight-reel layup.
“He’s been a tremendous player for us this year,” Buford said of the freshman out of Findlay, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes.
“He has brought intensity on offense and defense.”
It was Ohio State’s intensity on defense that turned Tuesday’s game from a tough-fought battle into a complete 40-minute blowout. The Buckeyes got out to a 26-9 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, and increased their lead to 22 points when David Lighty’s layup made it 35-13 with 5:52 to play in the first half.
“Our minds, coming out with the mentality of doing it on the defense,” said Lighty, who finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
“If our defense leads our team, our offense will come with it. If we play as a unit, we’re a hard team to score on.”
Outside of Johnson, they were nearly impossible to score on Tuesday. The Boilermakers shot just 38.5-percent from the floor in the first half, and things didn’t get much better after that.
With Johnson leading the way, Purdue went on a 7-4 run to start the second half, cutting Ohio State’s lead to 17 points at 50-33.
“(We were thinking) it’s not over,” Lighty said.
“We were down at their place last year and came back and won the game in the end. They’re totally capable of doing it with the players they have. Just continue to play hard and not giving up easy buckets.”
That’s when Sullinger stepped out behind the arc and connected on a Johnson-esque three to put the Buckeyes back on top by 20 points. From there, they extended their lead to 27 points on a free throw by Sullinger—who missed three of his five attempts at the line.
Diebler put them by 30 points with his third three of the game at the 8:17 mark. The lead got to as many as 31 when Thomas chipped in a layup at the 4:19 mark after rebounding his first two misses.
“I think it’s a big message to send,” Craft said.
“I think Jared is a great player, but we have to put people around him that can make plays. I think that’s a big part of our team, that everyone can make baskets.”
Game Notes
Box Score
Game Play by Play
Season Stats Year to Date
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