Ohio State Men’s Basketball 2-0 in the Early Going
Ohio State Men’s basketball has started the 2025-26 season 2-0 against non-conference competition. Ohio State men’s basketball beat both IU-Indianapolis (on November 3) and Purdue-Fort Wayne (on November 7). In both games, the Ohio State Men’s Basketball team had strong offensive performances.
Ohio State Men’s basketball is looking for star Bruce Thornton to lead their scoring attack. He had 38 points in the second game. That was a career high. Balanced scoring would be good for the Buckeyes, and they got 28 points from Christoph Tilly, a seven-foot center from Berlin. They scored the second-most points in program history in the game against IU Indianapolis. Do you think Ohio State Men’s Basketball will make the NCAA Tournament this year?
Ohio State Men’s Basketball Beats IU Indianapolis 118-102
Tilly scored 28 points in his Ohio State Men’s Basketball in his debut for the Buckeyes. OSU opened the season with a record-setting 118-102 victory over IU Indianapolis on Monday night. It was the second-most points the Buckeyes have ever scored.
Ohio State Men’s basketball veterans Thornton, Devin Royal, and John Mobley Jr. added 26, 22, and 16 points, respectively. Mobley added 8 assists. Tilly is a transfer from Santa Clara, made 9 of 11 shots, and grabbed 9 rebounds. Getting rebounds is easier if you are that tall.
Ohio State scored a whopping 66 points in the first half, led by Royal with 19 points. The Buckeyes scored 30 points in the paint and made 16-of-18 two-point tries. They shot 67% overall in the half and finished at 63%. Ohio State made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 150 seconds.
The scoring record is 121 points set against George Mason in 1995. Ohio State is 78-1 all-time when scoring 100 points. Though it is a little concerning, OSU gave up so many points to a non-conference opponent.
Kameron Tinsley led the IU Indianapolis Jaguars with 22 points. He came off the bench. Kyler D’Augustino scored 21 before he fouled out with about a minute remaining in the game. Everyone on the roster, all 11 players, played for the Jaguars in this game.
Jake Diebler is in his second full season as coach of the Buckeyes. Ohio State went 17-15 last season and did not play in a postseason tournament. He is on the hot seat and needs to have a good season to keep his job. IU Indianapolis, which was known in the past as IUPUI, is under the direction of first-year DI Head Coach Ben Howlett.
Ohio State Men’s Basketball Beats Purdue-Fort Wayne 94-68
As much as that was a balanced scoring effort for the Buckeyes in the first game against the Jaguars, the second game against Purdue-Fort Wayne was a dominant scoring effort. Thornton scored a career-high 38 points to lead Ohio State to a 94-68 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday night.
Thornton made 14 of 17 shots from the floor, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, for the Buckeyes (2-0). The senior guard added 5 rebounds and 5 assists. There were a couple of other notable performances from the Buckeyes. Mobley Jr. hit 5 of 9 from three-point range and scored 19 for Ohio State. Tilly had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Mobley, Thornton, and Tilly did all the scoring as Ohio State jumped out to a 24-7 lead.
Mikale Stevenson led the Mastodons (0-2) with 21 points. DeAndre Craig Jr. added 18 points, and Darius Duffy scored 10. DeAndre Craig cut the Mastodons’ deficit to 57-50 on a layup with 12:36 left to play in the game, but the Buckeyes hit two three-pointers and pulled away.
Conclusion
The Buckeyes got off to a good start in their first two games against IU-Indianapolis and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Diebler and the Buckeyes need to pile up the wins because he is on the hot seat. He needs to make the NCAA Tournament.
