By halftime, Deshaun Thomas had scored more points than Nebraska.
Aaron Craft had not scored ? and would not. But unlike anyone else on the Ohio State men?s basketball team can, he set a tone regardless.
?I thought he was tremendous. Without a doubt, he had a great impact on the game offensively and defensively,? coach Thad Matta said. ?He?s three years in now. He has an appreciation for what lies ahead.?
The 18-game Big Ten season began for the Buckeyes with a 70-44 victory over Nebraska last night at Value City Arena, and, if not with his shooting, the point guard who helped Ohio State win conference championships the past two seasons showed his less-experienced teammates the diligence it will take to do it again.
Although Thomas scored 22 points and Lenzelle Smith Jr. 17 to lead the No. 8 Buckeyes (11-2), Craft chipped in with eight assists, six rebounds and three steals and set an unrelenting example for a defense that limited the Cornhuskers to 25.9 percent shooting in the first half and 30.4 for the game.
?The Big Ten is very physical, and you come into the game and want to throw the first punch,? Craft said. ?Steals and things like that were big for us early, just to set the tone, and we were able to do that.?
Center Amir Williams made his second straight start and anchored the interior of the defense with seven rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals. He scored eight points.
Ray Gallegos led Nebraska (9-5) with 14 points. The Cornhuskers did not scored more than 45 points against Ohio State for the third straight game since they joined the Big Ten last season.
?I thought they did a good job with their interior defense,?
Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. ?We were, what, 11 for 35 on twos? That?s just ineffective basketball. They blocked six shots and it felt like they probably altered another four, five or six. We couldn?t get (Dylan Talley or Brandon Ubel) going inside the paint, and that hurt us. Then you can just chase Ray Gallegos around a whole bunch and now you?ve got limited options.?
