Ohio State impressive in tourney opener

March 18, 2011 at 7:33p.m.

CLEVELAND (AP) — William Buford scored 18 points, freshman Jared Sullinger added 11, and Ohio State looked every inch the part of a No. 1 overall seed in rolling to a 75-46 win over Texas-San Antonio in the second round of the NCAA tournament Friday.

Playing just a two-hour drive from their Columbus campus, the Buckeyes (33-2) were cheered on by more than 15,000 fans, who made Quicken Loans Arena feel just like home. Ohio State built a 16-point halftime lead, ballooned it to 38 in the second half and were never threatened by the No. 16 seed Roadrunners (20-14).

The blowout allowed Ohio State coach Thad Matta to rest his starters for Sunday’s East region matchup with George Mason, a 61-57 winner over Villanova.

Read the story in Saturday’s Vindicator and vindy.com.