Keita Bates-Diop scored a game-high 20 points Sunday night as Ohio State remained in a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference with a workmanlike 68-46 defeat of Rutgers at Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.

Kam Williams tallied 11, while Kaleb Wesson added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes (15-4, 6-0 Big Ten). They could jump into the Top 25 after validating last Sunday's blowout win over then-No. 1 Michigan State with more conference victories.

This one was almost wire-to-wire, with the Scarlet Knights (11-8, 1-5) leading for only 25 seconds midway through the first half after a layup by Eugene Omoruyi made it 9-8. Ohio State promptly responded with an 18-2 run that gave it a 15-point lead and never looked back.

The Buckeyes took their 28-15 halftime advantage and proceeded to up it to 30 in the first 6:13 of the second half. When Williams converted a rare four-point play, Ohio State led 48-18 after a 20-3 spurt and simply cruised through the game's remainder.

Even a 14-0 run by Rutgers immediately afterwards did nothing but make the final score a bit more respectable. The Scarlet Knights might have had a better chance had they been able to make more than 28.8 percent of their field-goal attempts.

Geo Baker paced Rutgers with 14 points, while Corey Sanders hit for 13. The duo combined to make 11 of 29 field goal tries. Their teammates were a pitiful 6-of-30 shooting.

The Buckeyes shrugged off a sluggish first 10 minutes and finished the evening at 46.6 percent from the field. They also got a solid all-around effort from C.J. Jackson, who flirted with a triple-double, ending with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Ohio State owned the boards to the tune of 46-30. Bates-Diop matched Wesson's nine rebounds and also rejected five shots.

"Having a chance to win those first two conference games was big for us," first-year Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said. "We have to handle pressure better, and we have to be able to play with poise in certain situations. But this is a good group to work with."

Holtmann is the first first-year coach to start 6-0 in the Big Ten since Tom Davis did it at Iowa in 1986.

--Field Level Media