Thornton has given Ohio State fans three seasons of entertaining performances, with one more year to go.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another riveting college basketball debate between Land-Grant Holy Land’s two biggest college basketball dweebs. We continue the summer grind with a debate about a guy who very well may become Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer this year — Bruce Thornton.
Although the wins have not come as easily or as frequently as he probably would’ve liked, the Buckeyes’ struggles have been despite Thornton’s high level of play, not because of it. More on him later.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether Ohio State did enough in the transfer portal this offseason. Whether the Buckeyes did “enough” was subjective, depending on what you think Jake Diebler’s team needs to accomplish this year. For creative purposes, we didn’t set a goal for the 2025-26 team.
In one of the closest polls ever, 51% of readers sided with Connor, saying that no, Ohio State did not do enough in the transfer portal this off-season. The remaining 49% went with Justin, who said that Diebler and his staff did in fact do enough to satisfy his demands for the 2025-2026 roster.
After 208 weeks:
Connor- 95
Justin- 87
Other- 20
(There have been six ties)
Thornton has had more than his fair share of 20 and 30-point games, as he’s been Ohio State’s leading scorer in back-to-back seasons now. But points aren’t everything, and some games just mean more than others.
In our eyes, here are Bruce’s two best games he’s played as a member of the Ohio State men’s basketball team:
This week’s question: What has been Bruce Thornton’s best performance as a Buckeye?
Connor: Feb. 6, 2025 against Maryland
Makes me happy makes me smile pic.twitter.com/EgcAOivZpR
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 7, 2025
It wasn’t a career-high, but the way Thornton picked up his teammates in the final three minutes of Ohio State’s win over Maryland was a big-time performance, finishing with 31 points, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
Against a team that embarrassed them by 24 points in December, Ohio State fell behind by 17 at one point and was still down 11 with just under eight minutes remaining. The combo of Julian Reese and Derik Queen was a big problem for the Buckeyes, who were trying to counter that duo with Sean Stewart and Devin Royal.
Down 66-64 and just over two minutes remaining in the game, Mobley dribbled the ball down the floor and flipped it back to Thornton, who sprayed a three-pointer to put the Buckeyes up, 67-66. It was Ohio State’s first lead of the night, and a shot clock possession against Maryland on the next possession had the crowd roaring.
Maryland’s Rodney Rice was able to tie the game, 70-70, with 36 seconds left. Ohio State wasn’t going to be able to kill the entire clock on the final shot, but they were able to burn most of it. The possession didn’t really go anywhere, with Thornton’s teammates trying to set screens to get him open.
Eventually, Thornton settled for a contested three-pointer from the left wing, and actually shot it so strong that it glassed clean off the backboard and in, putting Ohio State up 73-70 with six seconds remaining.
The fact that this game came against a Big Ten team that had already shellacked Ohio State once, and got them back to an even 6-6 in Big Ten play seemed like a big deal at the time. After losing what felt like a winnable game at Illinois, bouncing back against a ranked Maryland team at home made it feel like Ohio State was destined for March Madness.
Justin: Dec. 21, 2024 against Kentucky
Bruce Thornton has had a number of memorable games as a Buckeye, and hopefully he has his best yet to come as he prepares for his final season, but the game at Madison Square Garden in December against Kentucky stands out amongst them all.
On Dec. 21, 2025, Bruce Thornton scored a then career-high 30 points and led the Buckeyes to an impressive 85-65 rout of No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats.
Thornton was 8-for-13 from the field, 1-for-3 from three-point range, 13-for-14 from the free throw line and recorded four rebounds, three assists and only two turnovers in 38 minutes as the main ball handler.
This win meant a lot for Ohio State at the time. It was a nationally televised game and a week that the Buckeyes were coming off one of their worst losses of the season to Maryland. This was a statement to the basketball world that the Buckeyes could put together a really solid 40 minutes of basketball, even though it did not amount to anything in the long run.
It was also a game where Devin Royal and Sean Stewart struggled with foul trouble and Micah Parrish finished with only two points. The guards had to lead them to this win, and Thornton was excellent all game.
This was the most impressive he has been and a showcase on how he can be one of the best guards in the country.