Jorge Brian Diaz #21 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers attempts to pull a rebound away from Evan Ravenel #30 and Deshaun Thomas #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Bob Devany Sports Center January 21, 2012 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Ohio State defeated Nebraska 78-45. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images)
Entering Saturday’s slate of games in the Big Ten, the home team was winning at an 85 percent clip during conference play. To win a league title, Ohio State has to become road warriors. Before the trip to Lincoln, the Buckeyes were just 1-2 in Big Ten contests away from Value City Arena.
Ohio State laid to rest any road woes by demolishing Nebraska, 79-45, at Bob Devaney Sports Center, Saturday night, as three Buckeyes scored in double figures led by William Buford’s 15 points.
It did take awhile for Ohio State to get it into gear as they trailed Nebraska 8-5 with 15:44 left in the first half. But Aaron Craft’s three-pointer sparked a 13-0 run as the Buckeyes shutout the Cornhuskers over a span of six minutes, three seconds that essentially put the home team away.
From that point, Nebraska was able to get as close as six points on two different occasions later on in the opening stanza. With 2:14 remaining until intermission, Deshaun Thomas drained one of his two free throw attempts and Ohio State held a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
The Buckeyes held a 36-20 advantage at the break and continued to expand their lead in the second half.
Along with Buford’s 15 points, Thomas added 14 to go along with a team-high six rebounds. Jared Sullinger also added 14 points and five boards in 26 minutes of action.
For the game, Ohio State shot 44.1 percent (26-59) from the field and were 8-of-21 (38.1%) from beyond the arc.
Defensively, the Buckeyes held Nebraska to just 29.5 percent (13-44) from the floor and were 3-of-17 (17.6%) from three-point range. OSU also forced a whooping 27 turnovers while only committing 10.
Up next, Ohio State will host Penn State, Wednesday night. Tip-off at Value City Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on BTN.
