OSU rebounds with a hot shooting night

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

This time, Ohio State hit shots.

As a result, Illinois had no chance.

Deshaun Thomas scored 19 points and No. 8 Ohio State regained its shooting touch by hitting 65 percent from the field, rolling over Illinois 83-67 on Tuesday night to remain in the thick of the Big Ten race.

“You could just see they were in a zone shooting the ball,” embattled Illini coach Bruce Weber said. “Every shot that went up, it seemed like it was going to be all net.”

William Buford, maligned for his recent poor shooting, had 17 points on 7 of 9 from the field, and Aaron Craft added 11 points to go with five assists. Jared Sullinger, third in the conference at 17.5 points a game, managed just nine before fouling out — but the Buckeyes didn’t really need him.

“It was obviously good to see the ball go in early,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said of the Buckeyes hitting 11 of their first 12 shots and 16 of the first 19. “We had good shots, we got the ball moving and we were able to get out and get some easy buckets because of our defense. That was delightful to see, trust me.”

Ohio State was coming off a 58-48 loss at Value City Arena to Michigan State on Feb. 11 that ended a 39-game home winning streak. The Buckeyes made only 14 of 53 shots against the Spartans, an arena-record low of 26.4 percent for the home team. They connected on 2 of 15 3-pointers.

In their most recent game, a 56-51 loss to No. 17 Michigan on Saturday, they shot 38.8 percent.

“We were so ready. That’s what practice does,” Thomas said.