After an embarrassing loss to Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night, Ohio State coach Thad Matta felt like the average fan: he wanted to see how the Buckeyes would respond.
Saturday afternoon against a Connecticut team that presented a chance for a bounce-back win as well as a resume-booster, he eventually liked what he saw. Ohio State (8-2) came out fast, limped through the middle of the game but pulled away and hung on late for a 64-60 win against the Huskies (4-5) at Value City Arena.
Junior Trevor Thompson’s career night paved the way. Off the bench, Thompson set new career highs with 17 points and 17 rebounds.