Ohio State star point guard Bruce Thornton was awarded with Big Ten Player of the Week honors for his performances versus No. 24 Wisconsin on Tuesday and at No. 15 Michigan State on Sunday.
Ohio State needed Thornton to rise to the occasion after fellow guard John Mobley Jr. was sidelined indefinitely with a hand injury, and the senior answered the call.
Thornton opened the week with 27 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in an 86-69 win over the Badgers, before ending the week with 32 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in Ohio State’s 66-60 loss to the Spartans. Thornton also shot 52 percent from the field (21 of 40) combined in the two contests.
In the midst of his two scoring outbursts, Thornton passed former Buckeye greats Jerry Lucas and William Burford (1,990 career points each) on Tuesday and Herb Williams (2,011) on Sunday to move into second place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 2,037 career points.
The Fairburn, Ga. native also became just the third Buckeye and the 36th player in the Big Ten with 2,000 points.
Thornton is also 21 rebounds shy of becoming just the second Big Ten player to total 2,000 points, 500 assists and 500 rebounds, joining former Penn State guard Talor Battle, who coached him last year as an assistant coach at Ohio State before taking the same role with the Nittany Lions.
The honor is Thornton’s third career Player of the Week award and second this season, adding to previous recognitions on Nov. 10, 2025, and Dec. 23, 2024.
