Ohio State (15-10, 7-7 Big Ten) picked up a 93-69 win over Washington (12-12, 3-10 Big Ten) Wednesday night at Value City Arena in which it trailed for just 45 seconds and shot the lights out from three.
The Buckeyes took advantage of the struggling Huskies making a coast-to-coast weekday trip to Columbus by getting out to a quick double-digit lead and never looking back, leading by as many as 30 points to pick up the comfortable 24-point victory.
The win was defined by its explosive offensive performance, in which Jake Diebler’s team shot 32 of 55 (58.2 percent) from the field and 11 of 18 from three (61.1 percent).
Ohio State’s dominance over the Huskies began early when it forced five turnovers in the first 5:25 and made seven of its first 10 shots to jump out to a 16-8 lead with 13:45 left after John Mobley Jr.’s second triple of the game.
Washington responded with five straight points, but it was answered by a 13-4 sequence that allowed the Buckeyes to go up 29-17 with 9:11 remaining after another Mobley triple.
The Huskies trimmed the lead back down to eight points twice in the ensuing minutes — the second one cutting the lead to 39-31 with 4:14 remaining — but a four-point play by fifth-year wing Micah Parrish on the other end put things in order and started a 12-5 run that allowed the Buckeyes to hold a comfortable 51-36 lead at halftime.
Ohio State made 10 of its last 12 shots of the half and eight of its 12 threes in the entire period.
The Buckeyes continued their dominance out of the break, scoring on four of their first five possessions to push their lead to 21, 59-38, with 17:38 left after a Bruce Thornton jumper.
After a brief Buckeye lull allowed Washington to trail by as low as 16, OSU used some tenacious defense and more solid offense to increase its lead to as high as 23, leading 73-50 with 11:24 remaining following a Thornton three-pointer.
That lead then ballooned to 30, 86-56, with 5:52 left after another dominant stretch in which Ohio State held the Huskies to three makes in their next 13 attempts. From there on, the only drama left in the game was whether or not the Buckeyes would reach 16 assists and gift the Buckeye fans free Chick-Fil-A.
And like against Iowa, the Scarlet and Gray were unable to get it done, going without an assist for the final 7:35, leaving the fans to playfully boo their home team as they dribbled out the clock on the final possession.
Ohio State had four players reach double figures in scoring in the win, with Parrish and Mobley leading the way with 21 points apiece on a combined 11-of-17 shooting, including 8-of-13 from three. Sophomore forward Sean Stewart led the Buckeyes with seven rebounds, helping them hold a 32-21 edge on the glass and 34-28 advantage in the paint, while Aaron Bradshaw added 12 points and three boards.
Washington was led by guards Zoom Diallo and DJ Davis along with forward Great Osobor, who each scored 14 points on a combined 13-of-23 shooting.
Ohio State will look to further boost its NCAA tournament resume on Sunday afternoon when it welcomes archrival, No. 20 Michigan to Value City Arena (1 p.m. CBS). The game will mark the return of Wolverines guard Roddy Gayle Jr., who transferred to Michigan over the offseason
