Sam Thompson had no idea he had just set his career high at Ohio State when he sat down at the podium for post-game interviews Wednesday night after the Buckeyes had routed Penn State, 75-55.
Thompson poured in 22 points, the most he's ever had in an Ohio State uniform, on 6 of 11 shots. He also made three 3-pointers and also grabbed five rebounds, but was completely oblivious to the fact he had just had his highest-ever scoring output.
"I didn’t know that," he said. "What was it before?"
His previous career best was 20 points, way back in 2013 against Iona. But he changed that with his 22-point effort against the Nittany Lions as the Buckeyes cruised to their second-straight blowout win.
"We just played well and we executed," Thompson said. "Got me a lot of open shots, got me a lot of shots in transition and I was able to catch a few lobs. We just had it going tonight offensively."
Ohio State was in control from the opening tip as it scored the game's first 12 points. Penn State was held scoreless for the opening seven minutes of the contest. That was thanks in large part to Thompson, who scored 11 points in the first 11 minutes of action.
“That was big for us, I was so happy to see the ball going in for Sam," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. "He puts a lot of time in and we’ve kind of been saying if we can get him making some shots it makes us a lot more effective just in terms of our spacing and creating driving lanes, that sort of thing."
It was a good thing the Buckeyes had that production from Thompson, too, because he wasn't getting a ton of help.
D'Angelo Russell quietly scored 17 points, but was just 4 of 13 from the field. He also had six rebounds and seven assists — a solid all-around stat line — but was far from perfect in his play. No other Ohio State player reached double figures in scoring.
When the Buckeyes get a second scorer in addition to Russell, though, they've proven to be pretty tough to beat
"We're just that much better when other guys are playing well and when I'm playing well," Thompson said. "Just what we gotta keep doing. Something I've gotta keep doing."
Getting a second scorer like Thompson did against the Nittany Lions makes the game easier for Ohio State's superstar, too.
"Teams can’t really key on me if the other guys are stepping up and doing what they are good at and just making shots and playmaking," Russell said. "It makes the game a lot easier.”
While the game may be easier, but the competition certainly won't be in the coming weeks. After back-to-back blowouts of the Big Ten bottom feeders, the Buckeyes will be on the road for their next two games — traveling to Michigan State on Saturday and Michigan a week from Sunday.
Another performance like Wednesday's from Thompson, a senior, could be a good sign of things to come.
"This is the time," Matta said. "The sand in the hour glass is winding down for (the seniors). You hope that they have that sense of urgency to focus and intensify everything that they’re doing to play their best basketball down the stretch.”
