Bruce Thornton admits Ohio State needed a win 'bad'

Ohio State came into last weekend having lost 14 of their last 15 games in the Big Ten. From what freshman guard Bruce Thornton said afterward, that’s what made Saturday’s victory such a sigh of relief from the Buckeyes.

Thornton kept it brief when admitting how badly Ohio State needed their 72-60 win over Illinois. However, he then went on to thank the program and reassert his love for Columbus even through the struggles of this season.

“Bad,” said Thornton. “I feel like I owe it to my coaches, my teammates, the fans. They come out and it’s unbelievable support every game. I’m so glad I’m here at Ohio State. There’s no better place than here.”

Thornton was hot as he led Ohio State with a game-high 22 points on 8-11 shooting in 34 minutes. Brice Sensabaugh and Justice Sueing then combined for 28 points alongside Thornton in the starting lineup while Eugene Brown III and Sean McNeil gave them 18 off the bench. Overall, those efforts helped the Buckeyes shoot 53.6% from the field in a game where they led the rest of the way after the first five minutes.

After nine straight losses, Ohio State just needed to see their efforts rewarded by getting one to go in the win column. Now that they’ve done that, Thornton and the Buckeyes will try to turn this one into their first win streak of the new year come Wednesday evening versus No. 21 Maryland.

Holtmann shares how badly Ohio State needed Illinois win

Saying you needed a win badly after losing 14 of your last 15 games, including nine straight, could be considered a bit of an understatement. However, Chris Holtmann said Ohio State deserved their victory over Illinois on Sunday specifically because of how they’ve played as of late.

Holtmann shared what he meant following the Buckeye’s 72-60 win over the Fighting Illini. He said his team earned this one considering they’d been playing much better. They just had yet to see anything change in the win column. After two games of growth, though, he’s happy that things finally paid off for his players in this one.

“I think, at this point, it’s about how we’re playing as much as anything. We really did feel like we were playing better basketball but not always being rewarded necessarily for that,” said Holtmann. “I think, at this point, that is really what we’ve stressed. Play the right way and play it for longer stretches. We have been doing that since the Purdue game I believe…We just felt the dividends and reward of it with a win here.”