After sitting for two games with back spasms, Jared Sullinger made his return to the Ohio State basketball team Wednesday night in their game against South Carolina Upstate. Despite coming off the bench at his own request, Ohio State’s preseason All-American gave the Buckeyes 12 points and 10 rebounds in their 82-58 rout of the Spartans.
Jared didn’t look like the dominant player we’ve grown used to watching against USC Upstate, at least early in the first half, and he was asked about it after the game, “I was tired -- two weeks off is a killer,” Jared said. “I did a lot of work on the treadmill these last few days, but I was still very out of shape tonight.”
Lucky for him, one of his teammates fueled Ohio State’s offense. Deshaun Thomas scored a game-high 23 points, one point shy of tying his career high, while adding three assists and two rebounds. Buford scored 14 points and Ravenel had nine in an effort where the Buckeyes shot 56% from the floor (29-51). On the other side, the Spartans shot 45% from the field in a decent effort against one of the best defenses in the country -- but 25 turnovers was the difference in a game that could’ve been a lot closer with the way it started.