Bruce Thornton scored 24 of his 27 points in the second half and Ohio State got a much-needed signature win, 86-69 against No. 24 Wisconsin in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday.
Devin Royal posted a season-high 25 points and Amare Bynum added 13 for the Buckeyes (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten), who led by 12 at halftime and were not threatened over the final 20 minutes.
Ohio State is on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and was 0-6 against ranked opponents and 0-8 vs. Quad 1 teams but trailed the Badgers for just 44 seconds.
Braeden Carrington tried to keep the Badgers (18-8, 10-5) close by hitting five 3-point attempts in the second and finishing with a team-high 20 points. Nick Boyd and John Blackwell chipped in with 14 points apiece.
Thornton sank a layup with 13:03 to play, giving him 1,991 points and moving him move past Jerry Lucas and William Buford (1,990 apiece) for third on the Ohio State career scoring list. Thornton now has 2,005 points as he pursues Herb Williams (2,011) and Dennis Hopson (2,096).
Royal poured in 16 before the break, leading the Buckeyes to a 38-26 halftime lead, but he had helped.
After Wisconsin had cut a 12-point deficit in half before the Buckeyes built the gap up to 38-24 when Taison Chatman knocked down a 3-pointer and Bynum’s block led to a baseline layup by Puff Johnson with 1:58 left.
Royal had a stunning turnaround from a poor outing in Ohio State’s 70-66 defeat against then-No. 15 Virginia on Saturday, when he shot 2 of 12 from the floor for four points before fouling out late.
He quickly made amends to pace the Buckeyes to a 24-12 lead on Tuesday, outscoring the Badgers by two points. He made his first six shots, two from 3-point range, for 14 points. He had gone 2 for 25 from beyond the arc in his previous eight games.
Royal’s first miss came on a 3-point try at the 12:10 mark of the opening half.
Both teams were missing key players. The Badgers didn’t have fourth-leading scorer Austin Rapp (9.3 ppg) due to an illness. He had 19 points in Wisconsin’s 92-82 home win over the Buckeyes on Jan. 31.
Ohio State’s John Mobley Jr. (15.1 ppg) missed his second straight with a hand injury that has him out indefinitely.
The Buckeyes have alternated wins and losses for nine games, while Wisconsin had won four of its previous five contests.
