Winners of three of their last four and coming off a dominant second half against St. Francis last weekend, the No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-2) welcomed the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-2, 2-0) to Columbus Thursday night to kick off Big Ten play. Steve Pikiell’s squad knocked off No. 14 Indiana 63-48 over the weekend, starting Big Ten play 1-0. Ohio State entered this game trying to start 1-0 in conference play for the second-straight season.
This matchup featured Rutgers’ top-10 defense (No. 6 according to KenPom) versus Ohio State’s top-five offense. The Scarlet Knights have also proven to be an elite team playing at home in recent years, but have a combined record of 12-31 (.