D’Angelo Russell is not exactly certain who’s in the Big Ten. He just knows that he’s excited about finally finding out.
Russell scored 24 points on a stellar shooting night and Amir Williams added a career-high 21 to lead No. 21 Ohio State past Wright State 100-55 on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (11-2) begin Big Ten by hosting Iowa on Tuesday.
“Last year was probably (the first time) I figured out what teams were in the SEC, what teams were in the Big Ten, what teams were in the ACC,” said Russell, a freshman from Louisville. “But I’m just looking forward to it. I’ve heard there’s nothing like it.”
Russell was 7 of 8 from the field, including 6 for 6 behind the arc, and 4 of 5 on free throws against overmatched Wright State, which didn’t start anyone over 6-foot-7. That caught the attention of the Buckeyes, who consistently went to the 6-11 Williams, whose previous best was 18 points a year ago.
“Amir Williams is not the second option right now for Ohio State,” said Wright State coach Billy Donlon. “But right away they immediately recognized the starting lineup and they went right to town.”
It was clear the Buckeyes wanted to light a fire under their starter in the post.
“The guy guarding me wasn’t as tall as I was, so D’Angelo saw the mismatch right away and he gave me a couple of easy post feeds and we played off of that,” Williams said. “Coach (Thad Matta) was also saying that after this game stuff gets real in the Big Ten. So we have to be able to establish ourselves (inside) because we know how it’s going to be for these next 18 games.”
Kam Williams added 15 and Marc Loving 13 points for Ohio State, which shot 61 percent from the field and never looked back after breaking out to a 10-0 lead – with Williams scoring the first five.
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