Is Ohio State getting better or was it just an overmatched opponent?

Freshman William Buford scored a career-high 19 points and the Buckeyes pressured and fastbreaked past road-weary Houston Baptist 89-65 on Friday night.

Even the Huskies coach said it was hard to tell how much of the blowout was Ohio State’s doing and how much of it could be attributed to a struggling team trying to make the jump from NAIA to Division I.

“When you’re 1-16, yeah, you’ve had a lot of teams get hot on you during the year,” Houston Baptist coach Ron Cottrell cracked.

Evan Turner added 15 points and B.J. Mullens and Jeremie Simmons each had 12 for the Buckeyes (11-3), who had lost three of their last four after opening 9-0 and climbing to No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25.

The Buckeyes shot 56 percent from the field.

“I hope that it’s a stepping stone,” coach Thad Matta said.

Gordon Watt, a transfer from Purdue, had 28 points, and Andrew Puzyk added 18 for Houston Baptist, which lost its second in a row since beating Howard on Dec. 31. The Huskies, now in their second year of transition to Division I, opened the season with 14 losses.

They were playing their fifth straight road game and are in the midst of playing eight of nine away from home.

The Buckeyes scored nine of the first 10 points, holding the Huskies to one field goal in the first 4:20. By then, the lead was already 18-5, with Buford starting his sixth game in place of the injured David Lighty accounting for 11 points.

“I was a little hot today, I was knocking them down,” said Buford, a Toledo native who was Ohio’s Mr. Basketball last March. “They kept leaving me open, so I was just taking my shots.”

He flashed across the lane for a short jumper in traffic and was fouled, opening the scoring with the three-point play. After Simmons hit a 3-pointer, Buford hit consecutive 3s from almost the same spot on the floor to make it 12-2.

Ohio State then closed the half on a 14-4 run to build a 55-26 advantage.

Houston Baptist has played a treacherous schedule. Cottrell put the Buckeyes up with everybody his team has played.

“Villanova was very good. Their guards can shoot as good as anybody. Marquette’s guards are as good as any we’ve seen as well,” he said.

“But certainly tonight, the way the Buckeye guys shot the ball, they could compete with any of those teams in terms of perimeter scoring. And the inside game that Thad’s got is as good as we’ve seen.”

Friday’s Game

OHIO STATE 89, HOUSTON BAPTIST 65

HOUSTON BAPTIST (1-16)

Dillon 0-0 0-0 0, Flaherty 4-9 2-4 10, Sauls 0-9 2-2 2, Watt 8-13 6-11 28, Puzyk 6-11 0-0 18, Morris 1-4 0-0 3, Judge 0-1 0-0 0, Atang 0-1 0-0 0, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Hinnenkamp 0-0 0-0 0, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Havard 1-1 0-0 2, Willis 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 20-51 12-19 65.

OHIO STATE (11-3)

Turner 6-6 3-3 15, Lauderdale 3-3 2-2 8, Simmons 3-6 4-5 12, Diebler 2-6 0-1 5, Buford 6-13 3-3 19, Offutt 2-4 1-2 5, Hill 1-3 2-2 5, Peters 0-1 0-0 0, Madsen 1-3 0-0 2, Kecman 3-5 0-0 6, Mullens 5-7 2-2 12. Totals 32-57 17-20 89.

Halftime–Ohio St. 55-26. 3-Point Goals–Houston Baptist 13-27 (Watt 6-9, Puzyk 6-9, Morris 1-3, Atang 0-1, Sauls 0-5), Ohio St. 8-25 (Buford 4-9, Simmons 2-5, Hill 1-2, Diebler 1-5, Kecman 0-2, Offutt 0-2). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Houston Baptist 24 (Watt 10), Ohio St. 36 (Turner 7). Assists–Houston Baptist 13 (Sauls 6), Ohio St. 25 (Diebler 8). Total Fouls–Houston Baptist 19, Ohio St. 15. A–15,081.