Sean McNeil and Justice Sueing each scored 11 first-half points, Brice Sensabaugh added 16 of his 18 points after halftime and Ohio State led by double figures for nearly 33 minutes as the Buckeyes beat Northwestern 73-57 on Sunday night in Evanston.
McNeil made three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, and Sueing had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Zed Key added 11 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks for Ohio State (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten).
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Northwestern (10-3, 1-1) went into the game ranked No. 7 nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 55.7 points per game, and No. 3 in opponents field-goal percentage (35.1%). But it was the Buckeyes defense that was smothering Sunday.
The Wildcats shot 28.4% from the field (19 of 67) and 29% on 3-pointers (9 of 31). They weren’t much better at the line, hitting only 10 of 17.
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The Wildcats missed their first six shots before Boo Buie hit a 3-pointer to make it 4-3. Ohio State ripped off the next 10 points before Buie made another 3 to trim Northwestern’s deficit to 14-6 with 13:01 left in the first half.
McNeil hit a jumper 13 seconds later that pushed the lead into double figures for good and sparked a 20-2 spurt. The Buckeyes led 34-8 after Sueing made two free throws with 4:31 to go before halftime.
Northwestern, which made just three of its first 27 field-goal attempts before hitting 4 of 6 to close the first half, was 0-for-8 to start the second half. Key threw down a two-hand dunk with 15:31 to play that gave Ohio State its biggest lead at 46-18.
Chase Audige led the Wildcats with 16 points, Ty Berry scored 11 and Buie added 10. Matthew Nicholson, who was scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in 21 minutes, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Ohio State returns home for a game Thursday against No. 1 Purdue.
Northwestern wraps up a six-game homestand Wednesday against Illinois.
