Ohio State is officially back to the .500 mark. The Buckeyes never trailed Tuesday night in a 74-50 rout of Air Force.
Leading the way for Ohio State was junior forward Marc Loving, who had his second-consecutive double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle had 12 points and sophomore forward Jae'Sean Tate added 11 to pace the Buckeyes. All 10 players who saw the floor scored for Ohio State.
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR FORCE | 16 | 34 | 50 |
| OHIO STATE | 37 | 37 | 74 |
The Buckeyes dominated on the interior all night as they struggled with the outside jump shot; Ohio State had 38 points in the paint. The Buckeyes shot 47 percent from the field, but made just 6-of-22 attempts from behind the 3-point line in what was a sloppy game. Air Force shot just 33 percent from the floor and committed 18 turnovers.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | Air Force |
|---|---|---|
| 74 | POINTS | 50 |
| 27-57 (47) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 17-51 (33) |
| 6-22 (27) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-15 (27) |
| 14-18 (78) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 12-17 (71) |
| 12 | TURNOVERS | 18 |
| 35 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 35 |
| 5 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 8 |
| 30 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 27 |
| 19 | BENCH POINTS | 21 |
| 6 | BLOCKS | 0 |
| 8 | STEALS | 4 |
| 11 | ASSISTS | 5 |
Ohio State's defense combined with Air Force's struggling offense made for a long first half for the Falcons. Air Force shot a dreadful 21.7 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, making just 5-of-23 attempts. The Falcons were only 1 for 8 from behind the 3-point line and committed 11 first-half turnovers. The Buckeyes' defense limited Air Force to just two made field goals over the final 14:26 of the first half as the Falcons had two scoring droughts last over five minutes.
Offensively, Ohio State didn't exactly set the world on fire either, but did enough to build 37-16 lead at halftime. The Buckeyes shot 47.1 percent from the field and was just 3 for 11 from downtown. Loving and Keita Bates-Diop led the way in the first half with eight points apiece, while Tate had seven. The Buckeyes ended the first half on a 24-5 run.
Ohio State will next be in action Saturday at Connecticut.
