For the first time since November 19, Aaron Bradshaw jogged over to the scorers table for Ohio State, checking in at the 17:46 mark of the first half. As his name was announced over the loudspeakers, though, a roar of boos echoed inside Madison Square Garden. Splitting up with Kentucky seemingly on good terms this offseason during the coaching change, the reaction was a bit of a surprise, but you never know the true emotions of a fanbase until they experience it in real time.

The former Wildcat’s response? Two quick buckets in two minutes, followed by the sixth 3-pointer of his career in the final segment of the first half. Bradshaw would close out with 11 points good for third on the team, shooting 5-6 overall and 1-2 from three with two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 18 minutes.

Given the circumstances and opponent, it was one of the best performances of his career — and undoubtedly a special one for him personally.

What was it like getting Bradshaw back in the lineup for the Buckeyes?

“Missing a 7-footer is always going to hurt,” Bruce Thornton, who finished with a game-high 30 points, said of Bradshaw. “Not a lot of people who are 7-foot are able to make tough shots in the mid-range. His energy and his passion, it’s very contagious. It rubs off on us. We’re just very thankful that he’s back.”

Bradshaw is now averaging 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.3 minutes per contest for the Buckeyes. He returned alongside Ques Glover, who had been previously dealing with an ankle injury and had been out since Nov. 15.

Those two were different-makers in Ohio State’s win with the Buckeyes’ bench outscoring the Wildcats 26-11 on Saturday.

“I thought it was a significant boost,” Jake Diebler said. “We felt like going into this year depth was going to be a real strength for us, and we haven’t had an opportunity to play with that depth much of this year. It’s also impacted practice and building because there’s still a lot of newness in this program, new staff, new players, new system, and it’s impacted our growth a little.”

You can see just how much that one meant to Bradshaw by watching OSU’s postgame celebration from the floor at MSG.

He wanted this one bad, and to his credit, he was a big reason for the win.