COLUMBUS, Ohio — Deshaun Thomas scored 25 points, 10 during a game-breaking 15-0 second-half run, to lead No. 11 Ohio State past Wisconsin 58-49 on Tuesday night.
The leading scorer in the Big Ten, Thomas took over the game as both teams tried to gain leverage in a typically physical matchup between them.
The victory moved Ohio State (16-4, 6-2 Big Ten) into third place in the Big Ten and dropped Wisconsin (14-7, 5-3) two games off the pace set by co-leaders Indiana and Michigan (6-1).
Indiana St. 68, No. 15 Wichita St. 55: Manny Arop scored 17 points, including a celebratory slam in the final minute, and Indiana State snapped Wichita State’s 19-game home winning streak.
The Sycamores (14-7, 7-3 Missouri Valley) stayed in the conference race with their first victory over a ranked team in five tries this season. Davonte Brown and Jake Odum both added 10 points.
Cleanthony Early had 15 points and Demetric Williams added 14 for first-place Wichita State (19-3, 8-2), which shot 27.1 percent from the field.
Virginia 58, No. 10 N.C. State 55: Joe Harris scored 22 points, seven during a game-ending 13-6 run, and Virginia won its fourth straight.
Akil Mitchell added 14 points for Virginia (15-5, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), including an 18-foot jumper that put them ahead to stay, as the second-stingiest defense in the country put the clamps on.
Women, W. Virginia 67, Oklahoma St. 61: Christal Caldwell scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and Averee Fields added 19 to help West Virginia knock off Oklahoma State 67-61.
Caldwell added seven rebounds and six steals for the Mountaineers (12-8, 4-5 Big 12), who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Tiffany Bias and Toni Young had 15 points apiece for the Cowgirls (15-4, 4-4), but Bias committed 11 turnovers. Young extended her streak of double-figures scoring to 27 games, dating to last season.
West Virginia led most of the game and went ahead 48-35 on Caldwell’s 3-pointer 5 minutes into the second half, but Oklahoma State pulled within 58-57 on Young’s free throws with 4:19 to play. The Cowgirls trailed 63-61 after Young’s layup with 1:19 left, but Oklahoma State wouldn’t score again.
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