Ohio State hoops opens Big Ten conference play with a win over Northwestern

COLUMBUS — The Buckeyes bounced back in a big way on Saturday. After losing to Pittsburgh for the second straight year on a buzzer-beating three, Ohio State opened Big Ten conference play with a 86-82 win over Northwestern in Evanston.

Forward Brandon Noel led the way for Ohio State. The former Wright State transfer finished with 29 points and seven rebounds against the Wildcats. Point guard Bruce Thornton was the Buckeyes second leading scorer with 17 points. He also had ten assists and four rebounds.

Beyond those two, only two other Buckeyes finished in double figures. Forward Devin Royal had 10 points while freshman forward Amare Bynum scored 11 off the bench.

Guard John Mobley Jr. returned to action after missing the second half of the Pittsburgh game. He finished with eight points in 24 minutes of action.

Ohio State returns home for its next game. The Buckeyes will host Illinois on Dec. 9 before a pair of marquee nonconference matchups against West Virginia on Dec. 13 and North Carolina on Dec. 20. Both of those two nonconference games are at neutral sites.

Jake Diebler’s squad is now 7-1 and has the chance to earn some major resume boosting wins in the coming weeks.

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