Ohio State ironman Bruce Thornton carries load for Isaac Likekele

On Dec 12, 2022

There are, off the top of coach Chris Holtmann’s head, three teams he wouldn’t want to play against without the services of versatile graduate transfer Isaac Likekele.

Naturally, when the Oklahoma State product took a leave of absence from the team to attend to a family situation back home in Texas, one of them was looming next on the schedule. So with about 24 hours to prepare for the physicality that Rutgers would bring to Value City Arena, Holtmann had a riddle to solve: how could the No. 25 Buckeyes replace the strength, reliability and all-around production of the 6-5, 215-pound Likekele?

The answer, in most cases, was freshman guard Bruce Thornton. Without Likekele’s ability to spell Thornton throughout the evening, the first-year player in his ninth career game played all but 90 seconds of a grueling, buzzer-beating win against the Scarlet Knights.

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Although they were thorough in their recruitment of Thornton, a four-star prospect from Alpharetta (Georgia) Milton, Holtmann said projecting this much on his shoulders this soon would have been a stretch.

“We knew how well-coached he’d been, the high level he’d played at, how much of a winner he was, but it would’ve been much for me to say a couple summers ago, ‘Bruce is going to play 38 minutes in the first game of the Big Ten season against one of the best defensive teams in the country,’ ” Holtmann said. “I don’t think I would’ve went that far, but I would’ve said he’s going to play a very important role.”

The Scarlet Knights, at 87.9 points allowed per 100 possessions, entered Sunday’s game with Seton Hall as the nation’s No. 5 defense in adjusted efficiency according to KenPom.com. They entered the game holding teams to 35.4% shooting from the floor, 20.6% shooting from 3-point range and 54.1 points while pressuring them into 18.0 turnovers per game. Returning Big Ten defensive player of the year Caleb McConnell, all 6-7, 200 pounds of him, anchors a veteran backcourt that also features fourth-year nuisance Paul Mulcahy (6-7, 210) and fourth-year Loyola (Maryland) transfer Cam Spencer.

The three entered Value City Arena with a combined 277 career games played. Thornton and the Buckeyes left with the win.

“He’s really tough, guys,” Holtmann said of his freshman point guard. “He really does have great poise. He’s used to winning, and as much as anybody I’ve coached at a young age he plays to win. Not every kid plays to win or understands what playing to win looks like. He was extremely well-coached in high school and he understands what playing to win is.”

As case in point, Holtmann cited two key plays from Thornton in the final minutes of the game. With the game tied at 57 and the ball loose at the Rutgers end, Thornton sent the game into the final media timeout at 3:56 when he stepped in and took a charge on 6-6, 227-pound forward Aundre Hyatt to negate a basket. Then, in the frenetic final minute capped by Tanner Holden’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, Thornton was able to corral a loose ball on defense and call timeout with 23.7 seconds left and Rutgers ahead 63-62.

Both plays proved critical to giving Ohio State a final chance to win.

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“I’m forgetting Bruce is a freshman,” third-year center Zed Key, who led all players in points (22) and rebounds (14). “He plays like such an older player. He’s very poised. He makes the right reads in the game. He did a really good job tonight. It just shows that he’s a really tough-minded guard and he’s a great player.”

Thornton’s first break didn’t come until the 10:25 mark of the second half with Ohio State ahead 47-46. Sixth-year forward Justice Sueing and freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. helped handle the point in his absence, but Thornton checked back in 90 seconds later with the Buckeyes leading 51-49. He finished the game with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting but had a career-high five assists with four rebounds, two steals and six fouls drawn while committing three turnovers.

Isaac Likekele’s status unknown for Ohio State vs. North Carolina

Likekele’s status is unknown as Ohio State prepares for Saturday’s game against North Carolina at Madison Square Garden as part of the CBS Sports Classic. Although he’s eighth on the team in scoring, Likekele is third in minutes played per game, second in rebounding and tied for first in steals. Thornton now leads the team in minutes played, is tied with Likekele for the lead in assists and is averaging 9.9 points per game while shooting 46.7% (14 for 30) from 3.