Ohio State Validates No. 10 Ranking by Crushing Stetson
Ohio State celebrated its first ascent into the Top 10 in over a year by looking like it might not be ranked highly enough in an 86-51 annihilation of Stetson on Monday night at Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes (4-0) raced to a 17-3 lead, just like they did last week in an eventual 76-51 win over then-No. 10 Villanova that moved them six spots forward in the poll.
Stetson (2-2) missed 19 consecutive shots in the first half amid a stretch where it made one of its first 24 field goal attempts.
"It was good, pretty consistently good," OSU coach Chris Holtmann said. "They struggled their last time out. Obviously, our competition is going to get ratcheted up here pretty quick. The team we played Friday night (Purdue-Fort Wayne) beat this team by 26. We'll continue to grow and get tested."
Kyle Young led Ohio State with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kaleb Wesson had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. D.J. Carton had 10 points and five assists.
Senior Andre Wesson returned for the first time since fracturing his right eye socket in a season-opening win against Cincinnati.
He played 25 minutes and made 2-of-5 three-point attempts.
"I thought he was pretty sharp," Holtmann said. "His leadership defensively...is really essential for us."
OSU increased its early lead to 42-14 halftime and emptied its bench with just under 10 minutes left.
The game was the Buckeyes first as a Top 10 team since losing at Michigan in February of 2018, Holtmann's first season.
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