For the first time in his career, Bruce Thornton will get a chance to experience the NCAA Tournament. He has been the best player for the Ohio State basketball team pretty much every season he's played. His ability to score the ball and make tough shots is unparalleled on the roster.
Yet, a trip to the Big Dance had eluded Thornton to this point in his career. In his final season, the Buckeyes get to have Thornton help them try to win games that matter late in the month of March. The first game that Thornton gets to play in March Madness is against TCU.
If Ohio State is able to win that game, it will likely have to take on Duke, which is the number-one overall seed. Winning that game would put Thornton in a different stratosphere of players within the program. In fact, he would be considered perhaps the greatest Buckeye basketball player of all-time.
Ohio State basketball player Bruce Thornton has a chance to become an all-time great
Thornton is already the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Ohio State basketball program. His legacy in Columbus is already secure. If he can somehow take the Buckeyes on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament in his first time in the Big Dance, that would put him ahead of some other really good players.
Somehow taking this team to the Final Four would be an all-time upset. The Buckeyes are not expected to come anywhere near Indianapolis. Yet, Thornton is good enough to be the best player on the court in any game that the Bucekyes play. That includes a really good Duke team.
Thornton's first task is taking down the Horned Frogs on Thursday. If he can manage that, then the Buckeyes have a shot to create some history against the Blue Devils. Jake Diebler has some decisions to make when it comes to his rotation now that his team is getting healthier.