Centerville’s Gabe Cupps played a pivotal role in the Buckeyes’ win over Oregon on Thursday night, scoring nine points in relief of John Mobley, Jr. (Press Pros File Photos)
Ohio State brings its defense, gets balanced scoring and great bench production from guard Gabe Cupps to win its third straight road game in Big Ten play.
After Monday’s lackluster loss to unbeaten Nebraska, Ohio State basketball coach Jake Diebler didn’t dismiss his team as lazy. But he challenged its lack of a strong-minded focus from start to finish.
By the time they traveled three time zones from home, the Buckeyes got their minds right Thursday night in Eugene, Oregon.
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If you stayed up late enough to watch it well past midnight, you saw a team committed to defense for 40 minutes, offensive aggression and the ability to compete against Oregon’s tall front line, a group that looks like the imposing Douglas Fir in the middle of the Oregon license plate.
And the Buckeyes got great bench help from Gabe Cupps in a 72-62 victory that featured a 21-0 run in the second half.
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Cupps, the Centerville graduate who transferred from Indiana, scored seven of his nine points in the first half, canning a 3-pointer and driving hard to the rim twice in 23 minutes. He also had an assist and a steal and played his traditional unyielding on-the-ball defense.
“Gabe’s aggressiveness was exactly what we’ve been pushing him to do,” Diebler said. “This was more like what we expected from him.”
Cupps got a lot of time in the first half because John Mobley Jr. picked up his second foul midway through the half. Diebler said the message for Cupps was to do certain things like continue to be passionate on defense and do more on offense. If he didn’t, Diebler said, he wouldn’t have played much.
Cupps’ seven points were a difference maker in the Buckeyes’ 34-29 halftime lead. Oregon was fortunate to trail by only five because of 13% shooting and 1-of-11 shooting by big-man star Nate Bittle. The Ducks were also without 15-points-a-game point guard Jackson Shelstad.
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Cupps’ 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down pushed the lead to 18-9. He was later fouled on a fast break and made two free throws for a 27-17 lead. And his driving layup answered an Oregon run for a 32-25 lead.
Cupps had attempted only three shots in four Big Ten games and none in the past two.
Bruce Thornton scored 12 to reach 1,787 career points and surpass Jim Jackson for seventh place on the school’s career scoring list.
“You’re trying to establish a specific role within the team, and he was deferring too much, he was passing up some open shots, he wasn’t attacking the paint enough,” Diebler said. “In general, he was playing a little too safe. I told him you got to be aggressive. I’m not going to take you out for aggressive mistakes.”
Cupps’ production was right in line with a balanced scoring night for the Buckeyes. Devin Royal and Christoph Tilly scored 14 apiece, attacking the paint, the rim and Oregon’s bigs, which included Sean Stewart who transferred to Oregon from Ohio State after last season.
For a change, the Buckeyes didn’t have to rely on Bruce Thornton to score as majority of the important points. He scored 12 to reach 1,787 career points and surpass Jim Jackson for seventh place on the school’s career scoring list. Mobley Jr. added 13 points and Amare Bynum scored 10.
The Buckeyes outscored the Ducks 34-24 in the paint and outrebounded them 41-32. The big rebounding stat was limiting Oregon to six offensive rebounds in the second half after allowing nine in the first half.
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The key stretch was a 21-0 run that began with a Mobley Jr. jumper in the paint for a 48-43 lead with 13:37 to play. Royal’s layup capped the run for a 67-43 lead with 6:59 left.
From there, the math was in the Buckeyes’ favor. They began to use more of the shot clock to shorten the game. It didn’t matter that Oregon (8-8, 1-4) finally started making shots. The Ducks didn’t have enough time. The final margin was as close as they got.
The Buckeyes have won their first three league road games for the first time since the 2017-18 season. They take their 11-4 and 3-2 Big Ten record to Washington for a Sunday evening game. The Huskies are 9-6 and 1-3.
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