Few Buckeyes have ever deserved an NCAA Tournament bid more than Bruce Thornton.
The first four-time team captain in Ohio State history is on track to break the school record of 2,096 career points, set by Dennis Hopson, before his tenure concludes at the end of this season. In his latest game, he passed Kelvin Ransey for fifth all-time, now up to 1,950 points. Such records are only possible due to Thornton’s exemplary loyalty in an era often bereft of it. Through a coaching change and huge seasons, he never took an NIL deal to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
Records are meaningful. But winning has always meant more to Thornton.
“I'm super happy for him, but all that guy cares about is us winning, and that's what makes it great,” Jake Diebler said after Ohio State beat USC on Wednesday. “The other cool part about this is, I'm a history buff of this program, and so when Gary (Petit) tells me a name that he could pass or something, it's just a reminder of some of the talented players that have come through this program.”
Ohio State’s bid to breach its first NCAA Tournament in four years is heavily reliant on Thornton, its brightest star. In what was effectively a must-win game against the Trojans two days ago, he delivered. 21 points. Eight assists. 11-of-11 at the free-throw line. But what he did in crunch time, especially, made the difference.
Thornton scored the Buckeyes’ final nine points in their 89-82 victory over USC, a fellow Big Dance bubble contender. Thornton’s sheer will down the stretch capped off a necessary triumph.
It’s clear he’s not going down without a fight for the potential lone March Madness of his career.
“The clutchness of a lot of those possessions in the last three, four minutes was important,” Diebler said. “I thought he was a critical component of when we were able to build a lead, which was a huge, huge response from our guys. He read the game really well. They do some things defensively that you typically don't see.”
Thornton is a consummate leader. And Ohio State needed a consummate leader after being humiliated on its home floor on Sunday.
No. 3 Michigan has humiliated a lot of teams, but as with everything in the greatest rivalry in college athletics, it stings much more for the Buckeyes to be beaten by 21 points by that team in the Schottenstein Center. Ohio State had to rally to avoid a spiral. Thornton provided shelter in the storm.
“We stick true to ourselves,” Thornton said of moving on from the loss. “I don't wanna be like nobody else in the country. Going back to work, putting in the work, see what we did wrong. And we own up to the mistakes that we didn't show up on Sunday. That's the first step of moving forward, you gotta own up to what you do wrong. So we did what we did wrong, we fixed it, we practiced. Had two good days of practice. We bonded, even, together, understanding what we need to do. And it showed today, and we got the dub.”
Passing and sage decisions have always been central to Thornton’s play style. His assist numbers have dipped a touch this year, however, as Ohio State has played him off the ball more to facilitate more scoring. Not the case against USC. He dished out eight assists, his highest mark since he had 10 at Northwestern on Dec. 6. Play-making still comes naturally to the Georgia native.
“I just love to hoop. I don’t know what to tell you,” Thornton said with a smile. “I just play basketball at a super high level. So if I see a wide-open guy, I’m gonna hit him. If you’re not open, I’m gonna shoot it. Not much to break down to you. That’s just how I play, how I look at the game.”
Ohio State needed that leadership and distribution after falling behind by nine points in the first handful of minutes against USC. The Buckeyes climbed back into the contest as Thornton and the other leaders on their roster got vocal in huddles, entering halftime with just a three-point deficit.
“I thought he was a little more talkative about the stuff we need him talking about,” Diebler said. “I thought his voice in timeouts was at the level it has been at times this year. He certainly has been really – you've seen it, right? You guys have asked me about it because you've seen it, I think, in some timeouts. So I thought that stuff was back to being at the level it needs to. But I think the important thing is he wasn't on an island from that standpoint. Other guys were engaged from a leadership standpoint. Devin (Royal), his voice was really good today. Juni (Mobley)’s voice was really good today. Gabe (Cupps) had a really good voice today. (Christoph) Tilly even, too.”
Ohio State took multiple three-possession-plus leads in the second half. USC kept finding answers. When the Buckeyes led 78-69 with 4:01 to play, the Trojans launched a 9-2 run to get back to 80-78. A few possessions later, the edge came down to 82-81. But Thornton met the moment when it mattered most.
With 45 seconds left, Thornton picked up a screen from Tilly, drove to the left wing and put a hesitation move on 7-foot-5 USC center Gabe Dynes, then flew past him to pick up a foul and finish the basket. He sank the ensuing free throw and his next four attempts from the charity stripe to ice the win.
Diebler felt Thornton rose to the occasion as a “high-level player.”
“This is the time of year where you see high-level players rise up, and we got a handful of high-level players, and we got some guys who are really evolving into some really good pieces,” Diebler said. “So I like where we're headed, I like our response. We’ve got to learn from the areas we weren't good enough tonight, and get ready for a big-time game this weekend.”
There will be more big occasions Thornton and the Buckeyes need to rise to if they are to at last snap their NCAA Tournament drought. The next opportunity arrives in Nashville on Saturday against No. 15 Virginia. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. on FOX.
