A day after former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes passed away, Dennis Hopson did what he did best: Score plenty of points while leading the Buckeyes to a win.
With Ohio State holding a 20-12 record and donning black shoulder patches in remembrance of Hayes, the No. 9-seeded Buckeyes were set to play No. 8 seed Kentucky in the first round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament, a team OSU was a perfect 4-0 against in the tournament.
In Gary Williams' first season leading Ohio State, the Buckeyes were looking to continue their dominance against Kentucky, blowing out the Wildcats 91-77. While top-seeded Georgetown then defeated the Buckeyes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to close out Hopson's tremendous college career, it was Hopson, again, leading OSU to a win in the opening round.
In a game where all five starters notched double digits in the scoring column, Hopson had a game-high 32 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal while shooting 12 of 19 from the field. He dominated inside the arc, making 11 of 17 2-pointers while also knocking down one of two 3-pointers as well.
With Ohio State holding a 42-40 lead at halftime, Hopson took it upon himself to lead the Buckeyes. He scored 21 second-half points, leaning on his dominance inside the arc.
"I always know I can go inside and get shots," the All-American said after the game. "My shot didn't go in from the outside, and I wasn't confident in it. So I went inside."
While the win over Kentucky was Hopson's final 30-point game as a Buckeye, he certainly left his mark in Columbus.
Hopson set the Ohio State scoring record on March 4, 1987, scoring his 2,013th point. In all, he finished his OSU career with 2,096 points, a record that still stands 39 years later.
THE shot that made Dennis the all time scoring leader pic.twitter.com/YffJWiVp56
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) March 4, 2026
Keep in mind: The 3-point line was introduced to college basketball ahead of the 1986-87 season, Hopson's senior year. In his lone season with 3-pointers, the Buckeye great made 41.8% of shots from beyond the arc while shooting 4.8 3-pointers per game. His scoring averages increased each season from 5.3 to 9.8 to 20.9 to 29.0 points per game throughout his four-year career at Ohio State.
Ironically, Hopson almost didn't become a Buckeye. He originally committed to Cincinnati but decommitted when former Bearcats head coach Ed Badger was let go before Hopson's freshman season.
While Hopson's all-time scoring record has remained the benchmark for the Buckeyes for 39 years, Bruce Thornton – Ohio State's only four-time team captain – is on the cusp of taking over the scoring record in Columbus.
Heading into OSU's regular-season finale against Indiana Saturday night, Thornton is just 12 points away from surpassing Hopson to become the Buckeyes' all-time leading scorer.
