Cincinnati, OH - The No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes traveled south to face an in-state opponent, the Xavier Mountaineers, in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Both teams came into the matchup undefeated, but unranked Xavier was looking to make a statement for the Big East.

That is exactly what they did as they took down the Buckeyes 71-65. Xavier really dominated the entire game. They were up by 9 points at the half, extending the lead to 10 at one point in the second half.

Coming off the Bench

The big story of the game for Xavier was bench production. Before the final minutes of the game, the bench was outscoring the starting five, showing just how much of a team game it was.

Jack Nudge, a junior forward and sixth man for the Musketeers, recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. This was only one of 4 players who scored in double digits tonight. The other three were Nate Johnson with 12 points, Paul Scruggs with 14 and Adam Kunkel with 10.

Down the Strech

As the game got tight at the end, star guard Paul Scruggs made a difference after not doing much prior to that. He has been the best player for the Musketeers averaging 20 points, 6 rebound, and 4.5 assists. On top of that he has maintained an amazing 43.8% field goal percentage.

With about 30 seconds left, Scruggs drove down the court for a huge dunk straight over Buckeye EJ Liddell, to really put the momentum on Xavier's side and close out the game.

Other Stats

Xavier was able to grab 43 rebounds, 8 more than Ohio State finished with. Rebounds are a huge component of the game, and having that large of a margin was a very big part in upsetting Ohio State.

What's Next?

Ohio State looks to bounce back in a matchup against Seton Hall on Monday, November 22. The Buckeyes could also be on upset alert here as Seton Hall was able to upset a top-10 Michigan team earlier this week.

For Xavier, they get a little bit of a break against Norfolk State on Sunday, November 21. Hopefully, the Musketeers aren't emotionally drained after this upset and are able to easily take care of business.