Ohio State has played its depth more frequently since Jake Diebler became the Buckeyes’ head coach one month ago. That strategy paid off in a big way in the Buckeyes’ Big Ten Tournament opener against Iowa on Thursday night.
The Buckeyes got 37 points from their bench against the Hawkeyes, which played a key role in Ohio State outsourcing Iowa 90-78 to earn a second-round win over the tournament’s No. 7 seed and advance to Friday’s quarterfinals in Minneapolis.
All five backups who saw action against Iowa outscored their season averages to make a positive impact for the Buckeyes out of the bullpen.
No Buckeye backup came up bigger than Scotty Middleton, who scored 11 points – all in the first half – to lead the Buckeyes in scoring in the first 20 minutes. The freshman wing, who had averaged only 4.1 points per game during the regular season, made all four of his shot attempts – including three 3-pointers – in 15 minutes of action. It was his first double-digit scoring game since the season opener against Oakland.
Scotty Middleton for 3
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 14, 2024
The freshman extends the Buckeyes' lead@OhioStateHoops x @B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/zNaehXZJkw
Fellow freshman Devin Royal, who scored only 4.2 points per game during the regular season but had two double-digit outings in Ohio State’s final four games of the regular season, continued his late-season surge by scoring eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and collecting five rebounds in 17 minutes, the most played by any Buckeye backup against Iowa.
Devin Royal capped off the Buckeyes dub with this vicious dunk! #B1GMBBT x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/aS7ac4J2OX
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 15, 2024
Zed Key, the Buckeyes’ leading bench scorer for the season with 6.8 points per game, also scored eight points while picking up three rebounds and a block in just 11 minutes of relief duty.
Dale Bonner, who leads Ohio State’s backups with 18.8 minutes per game this season, likewise topped his season average of 4.7 points with seven points – plus two assists and two steals in only 13 minutes. His production continued Ohio State’s streak of winning all 14 games this season in which he has scored at least six points.
Ohio State is 14-0 when Dale Bonner scores 6+ points
— Brodie (@BrodieKnowsBall) March 15, 2024
X factor pic.twitter.com/9FNUPwBlGd
Even Taison Chatman, who had only 12 total points during the regular season, got on the board for the Buckeyes against Iowa as he hit a 3-pointer and grabbed an offensive rebound in three minutes of play against the Hawkeyes.
Collectively, the 37 bench points are the second-highest total off the bench for the Buckeyes all season behind only their 84-61 rout of Michigan on March 3, in which Ohio State had 40 points off the bench. However, that bench total includes 24 combined points from Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara and Evan Mahaffey – all of whom typically start but came off the bench in that game so that Key and Bonner (who combined for 19 points as starters) and Owen Spencer could start on Senior Day.
Excluding that game, Ohio State’s 37 bench points against Iowa were the most since Brice Sensabaugh, Zed Key and Tanner Holden combined for 38 points off the bench in a 68-64 overtime loss to Rutgers on Jan. 15, 2023.
Ohio State’s stars came up big against Iowa, too. Jamison Battle scored 23 points (all in the second half), Bruce Thornton totaled 14 points, a career-high nine assists and six rebounds and Gayle also hit double digits with 10. The Buckeyes will need all three of them to continue producing at a high level if they are to beat No. 2 seed Illinois in the quarterfinals (6:30 p.m. Friday, Big Ten Network) and make a deep Big Ten Tournament run.
But the Buckeyes can’t rely solely on their top players to lead them to victory if they are to win two games in two days, three games in three days or even four games in four days. Ohio State’s bench players proved they could deliver when called upon against Iowa, and their ability to build upon Thursday’s performance as the tournament continues could determine how far the Buckeyes can go.
