March 7, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) celebrates breaking the school’s all-time scoring record with former record holder Dennis Hopson and Ohio State Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler (right) during the first half at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Image Bruce Thornton scored a game-high 25 points Saturday, setting Ohio State’s career scoring record. The Buckeyes strengthened their case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 91-78 win in Big Ten Conference action over visiting Indiana in Columbus.
Thornton drained a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left in the first half and gave up 12 points to give Ohio State (20-11, 12-8) a 50-33 halftime lead, breaking Dennis Hobson’s old record. Thornton also had seven assists.
John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum added 18 points each, Devin Royal had 12 points and Taison Chatman came off the bench to score 11 points. The Buckeyes blistered the Hoosiers’ defense to 29 of 49 shooting from the field, including 11 of 24 from the 3-point line, and added 22 of 25 foul shooting to stop them.
Lamar Wilkerson scored 18 points to lead Indiana (18-13, 9-11). They will need to win at least one game in next week’s conference tournament to be confident of an NCAA bid.
Tucker DeVries added 17 points and five assists, and Sam Alexis had 14 points. Conor Enright and Reed Bailey each scored 12 goals, but it wasn’t enough. The Hoosiers lost for the fifth time in six games despite sinking 28 of 51 attempts from the field.
Ohio State held a double-digit lead throughout the second half and extended it to 69-45 after Thornton hit three foul shots with 12:18 to play. A double-digit lead over the last 24:11.
The pregame storyline for both teams was that they needed a win to close out the regular season. Indiana has been considered closer to the bubble than the Buckeyes, but neither seems to have much wiggle room in this game.
Ohio State took control early with a 17-6 run that lasted nearly six minutes and took a 25-14 lead at 10:17 when Thornton fed Christoph Tilly for a 3-point play. Finished the first half 19 of 28 from the field.
–Field level media
