Western Michigan No Match For Buckeyes In 91-58 Loss
Western Michigan was no match for the Ohio State Buckeyes’ Men’s Basketball team, as Ohio State won 91-58. Against Western Michigan, Christoph Tilly scored 17 points, and John Mobley Jr. scored 15 in the victory.
Ohio State, by virtue of its win over Western Michigan, is now 5-0. Amare Bynum added a double-double for Ohio State, and so did Devin Royal. Bruce Thornton scored 11 points for the Buckeyes, who shot 49% and made 9-of-29 3-pointers. It is nice that Ohio State does not have to rely on him to score. Who do you think will be the leading scorer for Ohio State this season?
Western Michigan and Ohio State Game Summary
Ohio State has had some slow starts this season, but that was not the case against Western Michigan. A pair of two-handed slams from Brandon Noel got the Buckeyes going early, and the latter triggered an 8-0. The Buckeyes jumped out to an early 15-4 lead.
Western Michigan cut the Ohio State lead back to 18-12, but the Buckeyes responded with a dominating 17-0 run featuring five points from Mobley. He had 10 points in the first 11 minutes of the game. Bynum added 5 points, and Tilly hit a three-pointer in transition. Those scores led to an extended 31-7 run from Ohio State.
There were also some showy moves in this game. Bynum had an alley-oop off a feed from Royal, pushed the lead to 41-14 a few minutes later. Almost 24 minutes remained in the game, but it already felt like a stamp on an Ohio State victory. Three-pointers from Thornton and Taison Chatman amplified the feeling. The Buckeyes carried a 49-24 lead into halftime.
The second half was more of the same, and the Ohio State bench players got to play a lot of minutes. The second half started with a 9-0 run that included two baskets by Tilly. One on a coast-to-coast layup following a steal he collected, making it a 62-28 Ohio State lead at the first media timeout of the second half.
Among those backups, Center Ivan Njegovan and Guard Gabe Cupps each had three points as part of an 11-0 run that pushed the Buckeye lead to 43 points at 73-30. The lead never dropped below 35 from that point on. Ohio State had a comfortable victory.
Western Michigan and Ohio State Scoring
This was a blowout for the Buckeyes. Nevertheless, we have to record how the scoring went down. Ohio State was leading 49-24 at halftime. They outscored the Broncos 42-34 in the second half en route to a 91-58 victory. Braylan Nash was the only player who did not score for the Buckeyes. Aside from him, all Ohio State bench players scored. This is a magical time of year. Considering that these players will never play professionally, this is their moment in the sun.
The domination was total for Ohio State in this game. They out-rebounded the Broncos 49-30. The Buckeyes out-assisted the Broncos 19-9. Ohio State had more fast-break points than the Broncos, and they had more points in the paint. Their maximum lead was 43 points. The Broncos never led.
Conclusion
This was a good victory for Ohio State against Western Michigan. They got to play many of their bench players in a blowout. The Buckeyes were not seriously challenged in this game. Ohio State will aim for a 6-0 start to its season against Mount Saint Mary’s on Tuesday. They should try to fatten up in that game, because the next game is against a strong Pittsburgh team. The Big Ten conference schedule is next. It is unlikely we will see the Ohio State bench.
