No. 2 Ohio State had little trouble with No. 15 Loyola in its second-round game in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Despite a late blip that convinced Thad Matta to reinsert his starters, the Buckeyes cruised to a 78-59 win.
2012 NCAA Bracket, Ohio State Vs. Loyola Score: Buckeyes Cruise 78-59
Deshaun Thomas was dominant for Ohio State, scoring a career-high 31 points and adding 12 rebounds. William Buford had 17 points, and Jared Sullinger 12, but the night belonged to Thomas, who made 13 of the Buckeyes' 26 field goals.
Loyola struggled to measure up to the rugged Buckeyes. The Greyhounds got outrebounded 45-23, shot 35.2 percent from the field and had just two players, Erik Etherly (19 points) and Dylon Cormier (14 points) break double figures.
Loyola did manage to cut Ohio State’s lead to 11 points with just more than two minutes to go, but Matta’s starters clicked off an 8-0 run to close the game that slammed the door emphatically.
Ohio State moves on to meet No. 7 Gonzaga on Saturday.
For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.
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