Devin Royal came out firing, Bruce Thornton passed a milestone and Ohio State finally got a win against a ranked team.
Ohio State’s junior forward hit his first six shots, finishing with a season-high 24, and Thornton passed Jerry Lucas and William Buford for third on the program’s all-time scoring list as the Buckeyes (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) avenged a 10-point loss at Wisconsin barely two weeks ago with a nearly wire-to-wire 86-69 win at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
The No. 24 Badgers (18-8, 10-5) are the first ranked team Ohio State has beaten this year, and the Buckeyes left little to doubt. A Taison Chatman deep 3-pointer made it 36-24 with 3:06 left in the first half, and the Buckeyes led by double digits the rest of the way.
By the end, Ohio State’s fans were rooting for Wisconsin to go to the free-throw line so they could have a chance to win free chicken for missed free throws as part of an in-arena promotion.
Thornton nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. He subbed out to a standing ovation with 1:01 to play. Royal had 25 points and tied a career high with four made 3-pointers.
Follow along with all the action at our Dispatch live game blog below.
Christoph Tilly fouls out with 4:42 to play
He finished with four rebounds, three assists and two points. Ohio State still leads 75-58 with 4:10 to play.
Devin Royal up to season-high 24 points
Christoph Tilly was on the left block and running out of time. With the shot clock winding, he picked up his head, spun and located Devin Royal on the right wing. The big man hit the junior with a perfect pass and Royal buried the 3, his fourth of the night, to give Ohio State a 67-51 lead with 7:59 to play.
Royal’s 24 points are a season high, and his four made 3-pointers tie a career high.
Bruce Thornton is on triple-double watch. He’s got 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Bruce Thornton passes Jerry Lucas, William Buford
With a driving layup with 13:03 to play, Bruce Thornton scored his 1,991st career point, moving him one past Lucas and Buford and alone in third place in Ohio State history.
Ohio State leads 59-43 with 11:20 to play.
Ohio State extends halftime lead at first media timeout
The Buckeyes led by 12 at the break and that’s now a 47-33 lead with 15:41 left in the game. Bruce Thornton just drew a foul to send us to the under-16 media timeout.
Wisconsin averages 9.2 turnovers per game, and it already has nine in this game. The Badgers only had five in the first meeting against the Buckeyes.
The Badgers look tired. With Austin Rapp out due to illness, it’s possible that has affected other players on the roster as well.
Devin Royal closes half with 3-point block
With 1:05 left, Wisconsin had the ball and time to draw up what would likely be its final possession. The Buckeyes showed the zone defense they’ve been switching to throughout the game and Wisconsin looked confused, eventually settling for a 3-pointer from Braeden Carrington.
Devin Royal closed a significant half by blocking the shot, sending both teams into the break with Ohio State leading 38-26. The Buckeyes have battled back on the glass, holding a 16-14 advantage, and are 6 for 12 from 3 while the Badgers are 1 for 8.
Wisconsin has the ninth-highest percentage of shots taken from 3 this year nationally. If those shots don’t fall, Ohio State’s chances of a win against a ranked team figure to increase dramatically.
Ohio State extends lead on Wisconsin with 3-point barrage
It’s a 38-26 lead as we get to the under-4 media timeout with…1:05 left in the half.
Wisconsin shoots 35.4% from 3-point range, but the Badgers are only 1 for 7 to this point while the Buckeyes are 6 for 12. It’s made all the difference, especially as the officials suddenly started whistling everything as a foul for a few minutes.
Two fouls on John Blackwell
Wisconsin’s second-leading scorer picked up a second foul with 6:01 left in the first half and headed to the bench. Blackwell averages 19.0 points per game.
Ohio State leads 30-22 with 4:16 left.
Devin Royal breaks scoring skid
The Buckeyes missed six straight shots until Devin Royal’s bucket from the right block made it a 26-15 Ohio State lead, and it’s 26-17 with 7:41 left in the first half at the under-8 media timeout.
Royal is up to 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
Ohio State making winning plays, doubling up Wisconsin
Devin Royal already has 14 points, the most noteworthy development on the stat sheet, but the Buckeyes are doing a lot of little things really well in the early going. That has included 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard Gabe Cupps holding his ground while matched up with 7-foot, 235-pound center Nolan Winter on the left block, ultimately forcing him into a missed shot.
The Buckeyes have also forced five turnovers, turning that into a 9-0 advantage in points off turnovers. It’s a 24-12 Ohio State lead with 11:05 left in the first half.
Another Devin Royal 3-pointer forces Wisconsin timeout
Anecdotally, Royal was on a roll from 3 during pregame warmups and looked comfortable shooting them. He’s 2 for 2 in the first 6:30 of the game and is up to 12 points, single-handedly outpacing Wisconsin.
The Buckeyes lead 22-10 after a Badgers timeout with 13:30 to play.
Devin Royal already with more points than against Virginia
Ohio State’s junior wing struggled against the Cavaliers, finishing with 4 points on 2 for 12 shooting, but he’s already got 7 points in the first 5:17 as the Buckeyes have opened up a 14-10 lead at the first media timeout.
Royal hit a jumper, scored on a nice bounce pass from Bruce Thornton and drilled a 3-pointer, ending a rough shooting spell. He hadn’t hit one since Jan. 26 against Penn State, going 0 for 13 in his last five games.
Austin Rapp looks to be out for Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s sophomore forward torched Ohio State’s defense in the prior meeting between these teams this season, hitting five 3-pointers and pouring in 19 points, but he did not go through warmups.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Rapp is not going to play after being listed as questionable due to illness.
Starting lineups posted for Ohio State, Wisconsin
Here are tonight’s starters.
Ohio State: Bruce Thornton, Taison Chatman, Devin Royal, Amare Bynum, Christoph Tilly
Wisconsin: Nick Boyd, John Blackwell, Andrew Rohde, Nolan Winter, Aleksas Bieliauskas
Milestone in reach for Bruce Thornton tonight
Ohio State’s senior guard is up to 1,978 career points, good for fifth place on the program’s all-time scoring list. If he scores 12 points against the Badgers, he will move into a three-way tie for third place with Jerry Lucas and William Buford, who both finished with 1,990 points.
Lucas got there in only 82 games while Buford played 145. This will be Thornton’s 128th game. He’s averaging 15.6 points per game for his career and a career-high 19.6 this season.
Ohio State’s Evan Turner signs pregame autographs
It’s Trading Card Night at the Schottenstein Center, and Evan Turner is signing autographs for fans inside the practice gym.
Video: Ohio State pregame thoughts before hosting Wisconsin
Here’s a few pregame thoughts from Dispatch beat writer Adam Jardy.
No surprises on Ohio State’s injury report
The Buckeyes will be without John Mobley Jr. (hand), Brandon Noel (foot), Josh Ojianwuna (knee) and Myles Herro (redshirt), as expected.
Wisconsin, however, could be without Austin Rapp, who is listed as questionable. He lit up Ohio State’s defense in the prior meeting this season, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers off the bench.
Ohio State vs Wisconsin score updates
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Ohio State vs. Wisconsin time today
The Ohio State vs Wisconsin game starts at 8:30 p.m. from the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
What channel is Ohio State vs. Wisconsin on today?
The Buckeyes’ 26th game of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season will air nationally on FS1. Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery will call the game from the Schottenstein Center. Streaming options for the game include Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
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Ohio State vs Wisconsin predictions, picks, odds
Odds are according to BetMGM as of 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Spread: Wisconsin -1.5
Over/under: 157.5
Moneyline: Ohio State (+105) | Wisconsin (-125)
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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: Devin Royal, Bruce Thornton lead Ohio State blowout vs Wisconsin: Replay
Reporting by Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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