This week, 22 high-major scholarship men’s basketball players across the country will celebrate senior night at the same place they started their collegiate careers; 10 of these 22 athletes play in the Big Ten.
Ohio State starting point guard and four-year captain Bruce Thornton is one of them. Throw in the fact that he is just 12 points away from breaking the Ohio State all-time scoring record, and it will be a very big day for him on Saturday.
Thornton, already a two-time All-Big Ten selection (which
will become a three-time selection next week), is averaging 19.9 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 3.8 assists per game during his senior season. He is shooting 55.2% from the field, 39.4% from three-point range, and 81.9% from the free-throw line.
For his career, he is averaging 15.8 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the field, 37.9% from three-point range, and 82.6% from the free-throw line.
Thornton has played and started in 132 games, including all 30 this season. He has averaged 34 minutes played per game in his career and 36.2 minutes played per game this season.
He is only five starts away from tying Will Buford at 137 games started, which is the current program record. He is also only two games played away from getting into the top ten all-time in games played.
In those 132 games, he has racked up 2,085 points, just 11 less than the program record 2,096 by Dennis Hopson. Thornton will look to break the record on senior night Saturday against Indiana and lock up a berth to the NCAA tournament with a win.
Head coach Jake Diebler went on the Field of 68 after the game and had high praise for his captain.
“When you’re starting a new program, and you’re building something, you need a player that you can lean on that can help you establish that standard, that culture that’s so important,” Diebler told the Field of 68. “He was that guy. It was easy for me. He and I have built a special relationship over the last six years.
He added, “Everything that he’s getting, everything that he’s doing, he deserves because he works so hard. What you see on the court is who he is every single, every rep in practice. “And he’s an even better young man. Couldn’t be happier for him. He’s leading us down this stretch in such a great way. “We’re going to celebrate him, certainly. His Senior Night is something that should be celebrated. Guys like him should be celebrated across the country.”
After the Purdue win that put Ohio State on the right side of the bubble, Purdue head coach Matt Painter had similar praise for Thornton, a player he recruited out of high school.
“We recruited Bruce Thornton,” Painter said. “I traveled to Milton, we really liked Bruce. Bruce liked us so much, he went to Ohio State. I have that effect on people.”
Painter added, “Not a lot of young people are professional; he’s a professional… He’s what college basketball is all about. He could have ran, transferred, all that stuff. He stayed and fought… he’s all about winning. He’s not about himself. Dudes like him are gold.”
However, Indiana is coming to town with a chance to punch its ticket to the Big Dance as well and spoil Ohio State’s senior day.
“We’ve got a huge opportunity there,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said about the Ohio State game. “We’ve got to continue to find ways to play a complete 40 minutes, and that would be a great one to do it.”
This will be the 203rd all-time meeting between Ohio State and Indiana. Officially, the Hoosiers lead the series 111-84. There are six vacated games in the series.
The Hoosiers have had Ohio State’s number recently, winning the last five meetings in the series, including the last two games in Columbus. The last four meetings have all been decided by six points or less, which includes a one-point overtime win for Indiana in the team’s last meeting in Columbus last January.
For senior night and in honor of Thornton, the first 2,000 fans will get a Bruce Thornton bobblehead when they enter.
Make no mistake, there are not many programs in the country that would not welcome a player and person like Thornton will there arms wide open, and some have tried to get him into the portal. But he loves Ohio State, loves Jake Diebler, and will finish his career as a Buckeye.
In an era where loyalty isn’t celebrated, and some players go to four schools in four years and even five schools in five years, Saturday should be a testament to Bruce Thornton as a Buckeye, because he is one of the best.
