Ohio State made quick work of Rutgers on Sunday night, dispatching the Scarlet Knights 68-46 on the road, pushing the Buckeyes' record to 15-4 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten, keeping Chris Holtmann's squad atop the conference standings.
In addition to maintaining a share of the conference lead, the sixth straight win to open league play made Holtmann the first Big Ten coach to go 6-0 in his first league season since Iowa's Tom Davis did so in 1987.
Ohio State's start to conference play is impressive for a number of reasons, starting with the fact that the Buckeyes were picked to finish outside the top 10 in the conference before the year began. In addition, Holtmann's squad isn't just winning games, they are blowing teams out.
The win over the Scarlet Knights gave the Buckeyes their fifth double-digit win over a conference opponent in six tries. In fact, Ohio State is beating Big Ten opponents by an average of 17.5 points per game, the lone victory by single digits coming when the Buckeyes defeated Michigan, 71-62, in early December.
Last season, the Buckeyes finished 7-11 in conference play, following an 0-4 start. Ohio State will look to match last season's Big Ten win total Wednesday when it travels to Rosemont, Ill. to take on Northwestern (11-8, 2-4).
