As D'Angelo Russell toed the stripe during the first half Wednesday to attempt a pair of free throws, chants of "Overrated" echoed throughout the sparse crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The goal was to get Ohio State's star freshman rattled. The Penn State faithful tried their best to get inside Russell's head and, for a minute, it looked like it may have worked. Russell had just nine points at halftime on 3-of-8 shooting. He made only two of his four free-throw attempts.
But like any superstar does, Russell didn't let those first-half struggles bother him. Instead, he came out in the second half and let his game do the talking. He essentially made the Nittany Lions' fans eat their words.
The Buckeyes trailed 30-29 at the half and were down by as many as nine in the second half before Russell decided he'd had enough. With Ohio State trailing 38-36, Russell scored 11-straight points for the Buckeyes. That stretch included three-straight 3-pointers, turning a two-point deficit into a four-point lead.
From that point, Ohio State didn't look back.
The Buckeyes shot just 35 percent from the field in the first half. The second half, though? A cool 52 percent.
Russell's run merely sparked Ohio State's second-half dominance. His ability to knock down shots carried over to his teammates. Shannon Scott buried a 3-pointer from the corner, Sam Thompson knocked in a jumper and Kam Williams nailed a pair of mid-range looks from the baseline.
Buckeyes' head coach Thad Matta often says "shooting is contagious" and on this night, it certainly was.
But it all started with Russell, who finished with a game-high 28 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Nineteen of his points came in the second half and he made all four of his second-half 3-point attempts.
Scott scored 13 points while also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Freshman Jae'Sean Tate added 13 points and five boards as Ohio State outscored Penn State 48-37 in the second half.
The difference was the Buckeyes' aggressiveness in the final 20 minutes. They stopped settling for jump shots, took the ball to the hoop and scored at will or got fouled. Once Penn State feared Ohio State's ability to attack the basket, Russell buried the Nittany Lions.
There are many things you can call Russell: talented, smooth, efficient. The list goes on and on.
Just don't call him overrated, apparently.
