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Though the Buckeyes' return home to take on the Northwestern Wildcats had the early makings of a potential spiritual successor to last weekend's ugly win over Illinois, a 9-0 OSU run (keyed heavily by LaQuinton Ross) reinvigorated both teams and turned a less than aesthetically pleasing early game into a more palatable contest.
LaQuinton Ross paced the Buckeyes with double digit scoring not far off his season total in the first half alone. Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith were both also aggressive on the offensive end early. Drew Crawford (surprise!) led the way for the Northwestern offense with Tre Demps and big man Alex Olah strong early too.
The Buckeyes were 13-point favorites going into this one and given their momentum to end the half, it's not out of the question they approach that. But given how Northwestern started (and the kind of team the 'Cats have been the entirety of the season), it'd be a mistake to think the second half will be easy.
Aaron Craft also made history by passing the great John Havlicek amongst Ohio State all-time scorers midway through the first half.