With NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance, Devin Royal carried the Buckeyes through the first half before Bruce Thornton finished the job in the second. Amare Bynum and Taison Chatman had their say, too.

A complete showing from the squad earned Ohio State (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) its first ranked win of the season over No. 24 Wisconsin (18-8, 10-5), 86-69, after an offensive collapse cost the Buckeyes a win against No. 15 Virginia on Saturday.

The win also avenged an earlier road loss to the Badgers for the Buckeyes.

Bruce Thornton started slow but starred again, scoring 27 points with 24 of them coming in the second half. He nearly reached a triple-double, with nine rebounds and eight assists. Devin Royal racked up a season-high 25 points, 16 in the first half, on a 10-of-17 shooting night. Bynum tacked on 13 points and Chatman scored 11.

Guard Braeden Carrington led the way in the loss for Wisconsin, scoring 19 points and shooting 5-of-12 from three.

First Half

Royal struggled when Thornton needed aid in Ohio State’s previous loss to No. 15 Virginia, shooting 2-of-12 from the field for just four points. Against the Badgers, his hot start fueled a hot start for the team.

He hit a turnaround jumper over a strong contest, drained a 3-pointer and cashed in an open layup on his first three shots for a quick burst of seven points in the first four minutes. Bynum tacked on a 3-pointer and Ohio State held a 12-6 lead at the outset.

Royal didn’t stop. He carved out space for a layup and collected his first assist of the contest on a Thornton 3-pointer. Then Royal hit his second triple of the night to make it 12 points in the first 6:30 of game action, handing Ohio State a 22-10 advantage that it worked to maintain the rest of the first half.

The first bit of that maintenance work was also done by Royal. Two more fancy post moves granted him two more clean layups. Star guard John Blackwell sank a corner 3-pointer to bring Wisconsin back within six points, but then picked up his second foul on defense and had to sit. Bynum hit a sky-high floater in response.

Up 30-24, the Buckeyes launched an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the first half. Bynum led the charge, flying out of nowhere to swat a shot from Wisconsin guard Braden Carrington and splashing home his second 3-pointer in three attempts. Chatman hit a triple and Puff Johnson a circus floater as the Schottenstein Center erupted. The standing ovation rang in a 14-point lead for Ohio State.

Wisconsin center Nolan Winter hit a layup under the to cut the lead to 38-26 at halftime. Smothering defense aided Ohio State in gaining its separation: The Buckeyes had nine points off turnovers and held Wisconsin to 1-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half.

Second Half

A Chatman drive and finish, combined with a Thornton 3-pointer, stretched Ohio State’s lead to its largest yet at 15 points. Thornton kept coming alive after he scored just three points in the first half.

He put together a nice series of dribble moves and finished strong at the rim, then got downhill to draw a foul. Royal added a mid-range jumper in the eye of his defender in between as the Buckeyes’ advantage grew to 16. Carrington kept splashing impossible-looking 3-pointers, but the Badgers still weren’t clawing back into the game.

Thornton converted a layup through a foul and Royal hit a 3-pointer for a quick 6-0 run that gave Ohio State’s lead its largest yet at 57-39. Bynum strung together five points before Wisconsin strung a couple of baskets together and cut its deficit back to 13 – only for Royal to can another 3-pointer and stop the momentum.

The Badgers got a layup from star guard Nick Boyd and a tip-in from forward Hayden Jones, which sliced it back to a 12-point game, but Thornton drained another triple before an and-one layup from the Buckeyes’ brightest star made it a 17-point lead once more. 

Four more points from Thornton made it a 20-point advantage at 83-63 with 1:37 to play. Coach Jake Diebler took him out with one minute remaining, allowing the crowd to welcome him with a standing ovation. Ohio State dribbled out the win from there.

What’s Next?

After finally getting a layoff longer than two days, Ohio State hits the road to East Lansing for a clash with No. 15 Michigan State on Sunday. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. on CBS.

Game Notes

• Ohio State improves to 92-78 all-time against Wisconsin.
• Royal’s 12 points in the first 6:30 were already triple what he scored against Virginia.
• Thornton passed Jerry Lucas and William Buford’s mark of 1,990 points to go into third all-time in career points for the Buckeyes. Ohio State played a video tribute featuring both Lucas and Buford at the break after it happened. He is now 92 points from passing Dennis Hopson for the most in Buckeye history, surpassing 2,000 for his career.
• Ohio State was 0-6 against ranked teams this season before beating the Badgers.