Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann was interested to see how his team would bounce back after suffering its first loss of the season on Sunday at Minnesota. Holtmann was not impressed, however, after his Buckeyes committed 13 first-half turnovers and led struggling Southeast Missouri State by just nine points at halftime.
But the fifth-ranked Buckeyes pulled it together with a commanding 22-2 second-half run and pulled away for an 80-48 victory over the visiting Redhawks. Kaleb Wesson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Ohio State (10-1), which dropped two spots in the AP Top 25 after the loss to Minnesota.
Andre Wesson scored 14 points, while Kyle Young and D.J. Carton each had 10 points for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State hit 64% of its shots from the floor (14 of 22) in the first half. But the Buckeyes only led 35-26 at the break because of turnovers.
Ohio State played its second straight game without sophomore guard Duane Washington Jr., who was sidelined with an apparent rib injury. Washington is the team’s second leading scorer at 11.4 points per game. His status remains unclear for Saturday’s game against Kentucky.