EUGENE, Ore. — Ohio State road a balanced scoring effort to its third road win of Big Ten play.
Playing at Oregon only three days after a three-point home loss to No. 10 Nebraska, the Buckeyes (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten) trailed for only 19 seconds, built a 24-point lead thanks to a 21-0 run and earned a 72-62 win against the Ducks (8-8, 1-4) on Jan. 8.
The Buckeyes held Oregon scoreless for 7:22 of the second half while scoring 21 straight points. That made it a 67-43 lead with 6:59 to play as fans started heading for the exits. They didn’t see Oregon put together a late 14-2 run that made the final score more respectable.
Ohio State is now 3-0 on the road in league play and 0-2 at home. The Buckeyes played their first game without sixth-year forward Brandon Noel, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury. Oregon, likewise was without star guard Jackson Shelstad, who missed his third game with a hand injury.
Devin Royal led Ohio State with his third double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Five Buckeyes finished in double figures with Christoph Tilly at 14 points, John Mobley Jr. at 13, Bruce Thornton with 12 and Amare Bynum with 10.
Follow along with all the action at our Dispatch live game blog below.
Ohio State blowing second half open at Oregon
The Buckeyes have scored on seven straight possessions and are on a 16-3 run that has given them a 59-43 lead with 9:58 left after an Oregon timeout. The latest bucket was a Gabe Cupps drive where he shook Devon Pryor at the 3-point line and drove for a wide-open finish at the left block.
Ohio State has led for 28:40, the most it has led a high-major team all season.
Watch Amare Bynum’s block
Ohio State’s freshman forward has three blocks tonight including this highlight.
Christoph Tilly draws fourth foul on Nate Bittle
Oregon has made it a one-possession game twice during the second half, but Ohio State has immediately answered each time. Ahead 36-34, Ohio State got a five-point possession to go back ahead by seven.
Then, with the lead at 43-40, the Buckeyes got a team offensive rebound after a John Mobley Jr. miss, then he hit a 3-pointer to make it a six-point lead. Now it’s 51-43 with 11:55 to play and Ohio State’s Christoph Tilly just drew a fourth foul on Oregon’s Nate Bittle who, after averaging a team-high 17.0 points per game entering tonight, has 4 on 1-of-12 shooting.
Ohio State maintains lead at Oregon as fouls pick up
Oregon got within 36-34 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Buckeyes have pushed it back to 43-36 with 15:55 left after a strong sequence from Christoph Tilly. After taking a charge on Nate Bittle in the paint, Tilly scored on a left-handed hook shot in the paint to set the score where it is.
Fouls could become an issue for Ohio State, however. Starters John Mobley and Amare Bynum each have three and have picked up one already during the second half.
Ohio State leads Oregon at half behind balanced scoring effort
Through 20 minutes, Ohio State coach Jake Diebler’s pleas for a few more guys to produce a little bit more have been heeded. The Buckeyes lead Oregon 34-29 at halftime and have seen six different players score.
All six have between 4-7 points with Bruce Thornton and Gabe Cupps both tied for the team high. For Cupps, that’s a season high. He came in having scored only 24 points all season and none since he had two against West Virginia on Dec. 13.
Oregon went 9 for 34 (26.5%) from the floor at the half. Ohio State has outrebounded Oregon 20-16.
This is Ohio State’s first halftime lead against a high-major opponent this season.
Ohio State keeping Oregon at bay at final media timeout of first half
It’s been far from a thing of beauty, but Ohio State has not trailed since it was 2-0 and holds a 25-17 lead at the under-4 media timeout with 3:50 left in the half.
Some of that has been some strong defense in stretches. Ohio State just forced an airballed, leaning 3-pointer from Takai Simpkins with the shot clock just about to expire, and then after a Jamari Phillips 3-point miss Ohio State’s Gabe Cupps got low and forced Oregon’s Kwame Evans to foul him on the rebound attempt.
That’s two on Evans, one of Oregon’s top options, in a half that has seen 18 fouls already — 11 on Ohio State and seven on Oregon.
Ohio State leads cold-shooting Oregon as half winds
Oregon is having an abysmal shooting performance to open the game. The Ducks are 4 for 25 (16.0%) from the floor and 1 for 10 (10.0%) from 3. Nate Bittle has missed his first 10 shots of the game for Oregon.
Ohio State leads 20-14 with 6:25 left.
Gabe Cupps hits 3-pointer, gets called for technical
Redshirt sophomore guard Gabe Cupps buried a 3-pointer with 8:20 left in the half, his first 3-pointer since the Dec. 6 win at Northwestern, then immediately turned toward the Oregon bench and yelled something the officials didn’t like.
He was called for a technical foul, and Oregon’s Takai Simpkins hit both free throws to pull within 18-11.
Fouls piling up for Ohio State
The Buckeyes lead, but Ohio State has been called for eight fouls compared to only two for Oregon. With 10:11 left in the first half, Ohio State leads 13-9
Ivan Njegovan picks up two quick fouls
Ohio State played both Christoph Tilly and Ivan Njegovan together for a minute, but the lightly-used Njegovan picked up two fouls with one turnover and two rebounds before being subbed out with 11:43 left at the under-12 media timeout.
The Buckeyes lead 10-4 as Oregon is 2 for 16 from the floor (12.5%) and empty on seven 3-point attempts. Neither team has scored in the last 2:16.
Amare Bynum keys Ohio State start
The Buckeyes hold a 7-2 lead at the first media timeout thanks in part to freshman forward Amare Bynum. He’s got four points, a rebound and a block on former Buckeye Sean Stewart through the first 4:39 of the game. Bynum also has a tip-in of a Bruce Thornton miss.
With Brandon Noel out, Christoph Tilly is getting subbed out for Ivan Njegovan at this timeout. Tilly has an early foul.
Watch Ohio State take the floor at Oregon
Starters posted for Ohio State-Oregon
Here are tonight’s starters.
Ohio State: Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr., Devin Royal, Amare Bynum, Christoph Tilly
Oregon: Takai Simpkins, Wei Lin, Kwame Evans, Sean Stewart, Nate Bittle
Video: Pregame Ohio State-Oregon thoughts
Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad to miss Ohio State game
The Ducks will be without one of their primary players. Jackson Shelstad, who helped Oregon beat Ohio State last season with 24 points including key late free throws, will miss the game due to a right hand injury. This is the third straight game Shelstad, who is averaging 15.6 points per game this year, has missed.
In addition to Brandon Noel, who is out indefinitely due to a foot injury, Ohio State remains without Josh Ojianwuna (knee surgery) and Myles Herro (redshirting).
Ohio State vs Oregon score updates
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Ohio State vs. Oregon time today
The Ohio State vs Oregon game starts at 10:30 p.m. from Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon.
What channel is Ohio State vs. Oregon on today?
The Buckeyes’ 15th game of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season will air nationally on the Big Ten Network. Guy Haberman and Jess Settles will call the game from Matthew Knight Arena. Streaming options for the game include Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
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Ohio State vs Oregon predictions, picks, odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Wednesday, Jan. 7
Spread: Oregon by 3.5
Over/under: 153.5
Moneyline: Ohio State (+125) | Oregon (-155)
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Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State shoots past Oregon in Big Ten road win: Replay
Reporting by Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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