Coming off of a loss to Purdue on Wednesday evening, No. 20 Ohio State (6-1, 1-1) had an opportunity to close out their non-conference schedule on a high note if they could conquer the UCLA Bruins (5-2) in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday. The Buckeyes struggled mightily with the size and physicality of the Boilermakers earlier in the week, but UCLA plays a different brand of basketball, and thus presented a unique challenge.
E.J. Liddell returned after missing the previous two games while dealing with mono, and finished with nine points and three rebounds.