It was a layup that meant plenty for Ohio State in terms of the immediate game at hand, but it also put D’Angelo Russell firmly past a former Buckeye great and into the program’s record book for good.
The star freshman’s bucket in the lane with 7:38 left in regulation gave 10th-seeded Ohio State a 56-55 lead in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against 7-seeded VCU Thursday. The score marked Russell's 20th and 21st points of the game, which gave him 659 on the season and broke Michael Redd's single-season record of 658 set in 1998.
| Year | PLayer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | D'ANGELO RUSSELL | 666 |
| 1997-98 | MICHAEL REDD | 658 |
| 2010-11 | JARED SULLINGER | 635 |
| 2008-09 | KOSTA KOUFOS | 534 |
| 2006-07 | GREG ODEN | 501 |
| 1989-90 | JIM JACKSON | 482 |
| 1977-78 | HERB WILLIAMS | 452 |
| 2006-07 | MIKE CONLEY JR. | 441 |
| 2006-07 | DAEQUAN COOK | 382 |
| 2008-09 | WILLIAM BUFORD | 372 |
Russell finished with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting, nailing 4-of-7 3-pointers and nailing a pair of crucial free throws with five seconds left in overtime to ice the 75-72 victory for the Buckeyes. He now has 666 points this season, a number that is likely to only grow as Ohio State advances deeper into the tournament.
Not only did he set the scoring record in the victory, but the 19-year-old from Louisville also battled through a cut above his left eye sustained near the 5-minute mark in regulation as he was defending a drive to the hoop by Doug Brooks. He didn't miss a second of action, frankly because his team couldn't afford him to, scoring five points in the latter stages of the second half and overtime to help push his team into the third round.
Ohio State is slated to take on 2nd-seeded Arizona Saturday in Portland, Ore., after the Wildcats destroyed Texas Southern, 93-72 earlier Thursday.
