Kelsey Mitchell and Ohio State shredded Rutgers’ top-ranked Big Ten defense.
Mitchell scored 31 points and Ameryst Alston added 21 as the fifth-ranked Buckeyes beat Rutgers 90-78 on Sunday.
Ohio State (12-3, 4-0) never trailed, using a strong start defensively and a consistent offensive attack to win for the eighth time in a row and hand the Scarlet Knights (11-5, 2-2) their second loss in their last three games.
”I thought for the most part we played well for a lot of stretches in this game,” Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff said.
Rutgers entered the game as the No. 1 scoring defense in the Big Ten at 52.7 points per game, but Ohio State eclipsed that before the midway point of the third quarter.
”What’s most disappointing to us is the Scarlet Knights have always been known for their defense,” Stringer said. ”We might be scoring 52 or 53 points, but at the highest level we don’t allow this kind of scoring, and quite frankly our team doesn’t take enough pride in that.”
Ohio Stateheld a 20-10 lead after a first quarter in which it shot 60 percent (9 for 15) from the floor while holding the Scarlet Knights to 21 percent (4 for 19).
The Buckeyes led 43-34 at halftime and used a 13-2 run late in the third quarter to extend the lead to 23.
The Scarlet Knights scored 11 of the first 12 points in the fourth quarter but never were able to get the deficit into single digits.
Alston hit a 3-pointer to end the Rutgers run, and the Buckeyes maintained control the rest of the way.
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