Frustrated by a loss Saturday, Ohio State was very fortunate it had a game just two days later. The Buckeyes felt like they had to get something off their chests.
Their opponent, in-state foe Miami, wasn't so lucky.
Ohio State was angry about its 82-74 loss to North Carolina on Saturday and it showed as it hit the RedHawks with a series of early haymakers and ran away for a 93-55 victory Monday evening at the Schottenstein Center.
"Our biggest key was that we wanted to take the anger that we had from the North Carolina game out on the next opponent," redshirt freshman guard Kam Williams said. "Somebody had to be punished and unfortunately it was Miami of Ohio.”
The 21st-ranked Buckeyes (10-2) wasted no time asserting their will on the visiting RedHawks (3-8). Ohio State used a 17-0 first-half run to lead 34-7 at one point. The Buckeyes led by 22 at halftime and things only got worse from there.
Ohio State scored the first 10 points of the second half as it outscored Miami by 16 over the game's final 20 minutes.
It was Williams who led the charge for the Buckeyes in the second half, scoring 14 of his game-high 18. The redshirt freshman from Baltimore connected on 7 of his 10 shots from the field and nailed 2 of 4 from 3-point range. He also grabbed three rebounds and swiped a pair of steals.
"I knew some opportunities were going to open up and the biggest key for us is getting stops because when we get stops our transition game I think is top-notch," Williams said. "When we get it out and run, that’s one of our biggest strengths, that’s what opened up for me and everybody else that I was on the floor with.”
While Williams led the charge for Ohio State, he got some help, too. Sophomore Marc Loving scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while freshman D'Angelo Russell added 15 points and a career-high nine assists. Off the bench, Keita Bates-Diop finished with 12 points and seven rebounds and Jae'Sean Tate had 10 points and six boards.
"That’s what the non-conference games are for, getting better every game," Bates-Diop said. "We’re starting to improve on things, executing on offense, getting better with defensive principals and that’s going to prepare us for the Big Ten.”
As expected, Ohio State was dominant in all phases against the RedHawks. But with both of the Buckeyes' losses this season coming against the only two ranked opponents they've played, there's still the issue remaining of exactly how good this team is.
But even with a lot of uncertainty surrounding Ohio State as it only has one more game before Big Ten play, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta has liked what he's seen.
"I will say this: I like this basketball team," Matta said. "I like the things that I’ve seen at certain times."
