Andre Wesson's 3-pointer just a little more than five minutes into Ohio State's game against Minnesota Sunday night seemed little more than a run-of-the-mill field goal that broke a 5-5 tie. It was nothing more than an early made shot to end a three-minute field goal-less stretch.
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #16 OHIO STATE | 29 | 40 | 79 |
| MINNESOTA | 28 | 31 | 59 |
But the Buckeyes kept scoring, and kept scoring, and didn't go more than 73 seconds in a row without scoring for a six-minute stretch. During that run, the Golden Gophers went cold. By the time Minnesota scored its first field goal in since the stretch began, Ohio State had used a 21-2 run to pull ahead, 26-7.
Minnesota pulled back within eight points late in the opening half, but an outburst by Kaleb Wesson early in the second half helped increase Ohio State's lead to 17, and the Buckeyes built on the edge to pull ahead for a 79-59 win at the Schottenstein Center. Ohio State's win came one game after after the No. 16th-ranked team in the country had its first loss of the season, a 72-62 defeat to Syracuse.
Andre Wesson led the Buckeyes with a career-high 16 points, and six Ohio State players scored in double digits.
Many of the points came in spurts. Kaleb Wesson scored nine of his 15 points in the first five minutes of the second half. He added six rebounds. All of Musa Jallow's 11 points came during a seven-minute stretch in the first half. He scored nine points during Ohio State's 21-2 run.
Without Luther Muhammad, who missed the game and remains out indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder, Ohio State opted to start Keyshawn Woods. Woods, making his second start of the season, didn't score.
Minnesota, playing just 48 hours after beating Oklahoma State in Minneapolis, played sloppily on offense the entire night. The Golden Gophers didn't make any of their 13 3-point attempts and made 39.2 percent of their shots from the field.
Despite a severe size disadvantage, Ohio State out-rebounded Minnesota, 42-33. Kyle Young led the team with eight rebounds to go along with 10 points. C.J. Jackson had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
