Buford scores 15, Sullinger adds 14 in Buckeyes’ rout

Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb.

William Buford scored 15 points, Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas had 14 apiece, and sixth-ranked Ohio State blew out Nebraska for the second time this month with a 79-45 victory Saturday night.

The Buckeyes (17-3, 5-3 Big Ten) swept their games against Nebraska by a combined 65 points and moved into a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Michigan and Michigan State.

Ohio State came to Lincoln looking to polish its game on the road. The Buckeyes were 2-3 in road games, including 1-2 against Big Ten opponents.

The Buckeyes weren’t overly sharp, but still were good enough to beat the Huskers (10-9, 2-6) worse than they did in Columbus on Jan. 3, when they won 71-40.

Brandon Ubel and Bo Spencer had eight points apiece for Nebraska, which had two field-goal droughts of longer than eight minutes.

The Huskers, who upset No. 11 Indiana 70-69 on Wednesday, were looking for consecutive wins over ranked opponents for the first time since February 2008.

They never had a chance, committing a season-high 27 turnovers and shooting a season-low 29.5 percent from the floor.

The Buckeyes took their first double-digit lead 10 minutes into the game, going on a 13-0 run to erase an 8-5 deficit.

Nebraska scored only 12 points on 4-of-20 shooting the last 151/2 minutes of the half.

Fans started leaving the Devaney Sports Center with 12 minutes to play, when Ohio State led 56-28.

Sullinger, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the first game against Nebraska, took only three shots and was held to four points in the first half. Ubel and Jorge Brian Diaz took turns guarding him, and Spencer doubled him whenever he touched the ball in the post.

Sullinger shook loose in the second half, scoring 10 points and even making a rare 3-pointer.

Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored only two points after recording a career-high 28 in Sunday’s win over Indiana.