Though Ohio State didn’t come away with the win in the Nashville Hoops Showdown this weekend in Tennessee, they kept it close against the No. 15 team in the country, even without the Buckeyes’ starting guard John Mobley Jr., who was ruled out indefinitely with a hand injury.
In large part, this was thanks to the efforts of senior guard Bruce Thornton, who put up 28 points, four rebounds, three steals, and an assist (his career 500th) in the back-and-forth game between the 16-9 Buckeyes and the 22-3
Virginia Cavaliers. He, along with freshman Amare Bynum, put up 10 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Thornton, who is now fifth on Ohio State’s all-time leading scoring list with 1978 points, continues to chase the record with Saturday’s performance. He now sits just 12 points behind Jerry Lucas (1960-62) and William Buford (2009-12), who are tied for third with 1990 career points each. Just one more game, as he had on Saturday, would push Thornton over the 2,000-point threshold.
While Thornton looked consistently unstoppable throughout the game, really until the Buckeyes went cold in the final four minutes, his talents were perhaps best showcased by one impressive play early in the first half.
Early in the half, the Buckeyes held a 9-4 lead. As the Cavaliers tried to set up a shot, Thornton stole the ball on a bad pass turnover from Virginia junior guard Sam Lewis, turning the steal into three points by nailing a driving layup and drawing a foul from the Cavs’ Jacari White.
Thornton hit the free throw for the and-one, putting the Buckeyes up 12-4.
The play is demonstrative of Thornton’s strong basketball IQ, or his ability to rely on good instincts to think fast and turn routine moments into big plays. This is a major reason why, despite some concerns about his size, he is projected to be a late first-round or early second-round NBA Draft pick this year.
Watch Thornton work quickly to take the ball away from the Cavaliers and hit his layup, drawing the fall on Lewis here:
Up next for the Buckeyes is a critical game against No. 24 Wisconsin tonight, Tuesday, in Columbus. The matchup kicks off the closing stretch of conference games for both teams ahead of the Big Ten Tournament, but the Badgers won’t make it easy for the Buckeyes. Wisconsin is hot off two consecutive top-10 wins, both conference victories (against No. 8 Illinois and No. 10 Michigan State, respectively). The Buckeyes will need to fire on all cylinders to interrupt their streak.
However, should Thornton put up another outing like he did Saturday against Virginia, it could be enough to crush the Badgers’ momentum—and put him over the 2,000 point threshold to move into third on the all-time scoring list.
Tune in at 8:30 p.m. EST to see how Thornton and the Buckeyes fare in the first of their final six regular-season games.
