Ohio State held off a late surge in the final moments by UCLA to outlast the Bruins 67-60 in the first game of the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta on Saturday. The Buckeyes (9-2) scored only 22 points in the first half — their fewest of the season — and won despite struggling to hit shots from beyond the arc.
The Buckeyes have won three of the past four CBS Sports Classic meetings vs. the Bruins. Ohio State moved to 7-6 all-time against its future Big Ten foe in large part due to a big second half by star guard Bruce Thornton, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the final 20 minutes of action.
The loss to Ohio State marked the fourth defeat UCLA (5-4) has suffered its last six games. The Bruins are in the midst of a massive rebuilding effort after losing their top five scorers from a team that reached the Sweet 16 last spring.
Ohio State came into the weekend on a hot streak and has won eight of its last nine contests. The Buckeyes were coming off an overtime loss to Penn State in which they squandered an 18-point second-half lead in the second game of Big Ten play.
- Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle Jr. scored a game-high 19 points, marking his ninth double-digit scoring performance of the season.
- The Buckeyes were held without a 3-pointer until Jamison Battle knocked down a shot from beyond the arc in the final minute. Ohio State was in danger of recording its first win without a 3-pointer since 2002. Ohio State as a team finished 1-of-15 from deep.
- UCLA star freshman Sebastian Mack continued his hot start to the season by scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds and Adem Bona scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half.
Ohio State can contend in the Big Ten
The Buckeyes were tabbed to finish eighth in our CBS Sports Big Ten Expert Picks and have certainly exceeded expectations through the first seven weeks of the season. The schedule hasn't been battle tested of what the Buckeyes will experience once they hit the thick of Big Ten play, but Saturday showed they can win a game after struggling early against a quality opponent.
Ohio State scored a season-low 22 points in the first half and failed to hit a 3-pointer until the final minute of the game to put the Bruins away. This Ohio State team is going to be paced by guard play and the Buckeyes will go as far as Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bruce Thornton will take them. Still, this weekend showed Ohio State can win in many ways — including in ugly fashion.
UCLA's rebuild might take longer than expected
When you lose veterans such as Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell, David Singleton and Jaylen Clark, it's never going to be an easy transition. This UCLA team thrived off veteran leadership and it's a major reason why they made it past the first weekend in March Madness the last three seasons. This season, UCLA added eight newcomers to its roster and three of the five starters who played on Saturday weren't on the roster during the 2022-23 season.
Cronin is one of the best coaches in the country, but this would be a tricky assignment for anybody. UCLA has certainly showed flashes of why they can still be a Pac-12 contender this season — specifically what they showed against Marquette in the Maui Invitational last month. Freshman guard Sebastian Mack has been one of the top newcomers in America and Adem Bona proves to show why he's one of the best two-way players in the conference. This weekend showed that the Bruins still have a long way to go if they want to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.
