USC Trojans at Ohio State Buckeyes
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Thornton's 21 points lead Ohio State over USC 89-82
Ohio State (16-6, 8-6 Big Ten) trailed 43-40 at halftime after opening 2 of 13 at the free-throw line, but Thornton steadied the Buckeyes in the second half. He became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,935 career points and moved into fifth all-time in Ohio State scoring.
The Buckeyes grabbed their largest lead at 67-60 with eight minutes left after a Devin Royal layup and a John Mobley Jr. 3-pointer. USC (18-7, 7-7) answered with a 7-0 run capped by a Jordan Marsh 3 to cut it to 70-69, but Christoph Tilly scored inside, and Royal added a jumper to push the margin back to five.
Alijah Arenas hit a 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining to pull USC within 82-81, but Thornton responded with a driving layup and converted the free throw to make it 85-81. USC missed two shots in the final 30 seconds, and Thornton closed it out at the line.
Royal scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Ohio State, and Mobley added 13. Thornton reached double figures for the 23rd time this season.
Arenas scored 25 points for USC, Kam Woods added 14 and Ezra Ausar finished with 13 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. The Trojans have played eight consecutive games decided by seven points or fewer.
Ohio State faces No. 15 Virginia on Saturday.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 82 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 82 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:00 | Bruce Thornton Defensive Rebound. | 82 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:01 | Jordan Marsh misses 31-foot three point jumper | 82 - 89 |
| 2nd 0:05 | Bruce Thornton makes free throw 2 of 2 | 82 - 89 |
Statistics
 USC |
 OSU |
|
|---|---|---|
| 26-62 | FG | 29-58 |
| 42 | Field Goal % | 50 |
| 6-17 | 3PT | 7-22 |
| 35 | Three Point % | 32 |
| 24-33 | FT | 24-25 |
| 73 | Free Throw % | 96 |
| 32 | Rebounds | 32 |
| 14 | Offensive Rebounds | 8 |
| 18 | Defensive Rebounds | 24 |
| 10 | Assists | 14 |
| 11 | Steals | 5 |
| 4 | Blocks | 3 |
| 10 | Turnovers | 12 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 10 | Total Turnovers | 12 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 20 | Points Off Turnovers | 10 |
| 12 | Fast Break Points | 8 |
| 30 | Points in Paint | 26 |
| 21 | Fouls | 21 |
| 9 | Largest Lead | 9 |
| 5 | Lead Changes | 5 |
| 48 | Percent Led | 38 |
Game Information
Location: Columbus, OH
Attendance: 11,367 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 13-1 | - | 23-1 |
| Illinois | 11-3 | 2 | 20-5 |
| Nebraska | 10-3 | 2.5 | 21-3 |
| Purdue | 10-3 | 2.5 | 20-4 |
| Michigan State | 10-3 | 2.5 | 20-4 |
| Wisconsin | 9-4 | 3.5 | 17-7 |
| UCLA | 9-4 | 3.5 | 17-7 |
| Iowa | 8-5 | 4.5 | 18-6 |
| Indiana | 8-6 | 5 | 17-8 |
| Ohio State | 8-6 | 5 | 16-8 |
| USC | 7-7 | 6 | 18-7 |
| Minnesota | 4-9 | 8.5 | 11-13 |
| Washington | 4-10 | 9 | 12-13 |
| Maryland | 3-10 | 9.5 | 10-14 |
| Rutgers | 2-11 | 10.5 | 9-15 |
| Penn State | 2-12 | 11 | 11-14 |
| Northwestern | 2-12 | 11 | 10-15 |
| Oregon | 1-12 | 11.5 | 8-16 |