It wasn't pretty at times–OK, most of the time–but the Buckeyes, thanks to a big second half effort from JaQuan Lyle and Trevor Thompson, escaped 71-63 against Northwestern on a snowy Tuesday night in Columbus.
Lyle and Thompson combined for 23 second-half points but it was the Buckeyes' late-game foul shooting–Ohio State made 14 straight from the charity stripe in the games' final five minutes–that helped seal the Wildcats' fate.
The Buckeyes improved to 7-5 in the Big Ten conference and will travel to Rutgers on Saturday afternoon take on the Scarlet Knights.