Jamison Battle returned from an injury to score a season-high 32 points for resurgent Ohio State in a 78-69 win over Nebraska in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday.
The Buckeyes (17-12, 7-11 Big Ten) have won three of four under interim head coach Jake Diebler. Chris Holtmann was fired on Feb. 14 after losing nine of 11 games.
Battle, who had 15 second-half points, missed the previous game against Michigan State because of an ankle sprain.
Roddy Gayle Jr. had 16 points and Devin Royal 13 for the Buckeyes.
Nebraska (20-9, 10-8) had a four-game winning streak end.
Rienk Mast and Jamarques Lawrence each had 14 points for the Cornhuskers.
The Buckeyes played without Bruce Thornton because of a migraine, ending his streak of starting the first 63 games of his career. The sophomore guard leads the Buckeyes in points per game (16.2), assists (4.2) and minutes (33.8).
Ohio State went on a 12-3 run, including nine unanswered points in one stretch, for a 39-37 halftime lead.
Battle led the way, tying the score at 35-35 with a layup then putting the Buckeyes up by two on the next possession with a lay-in off the fast break. He then made a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left for a 39-35 score before Mast countered with two foul shots to pull the Cornhuskers to within two.
Mast scored a career-high 34 points, including 6 for 8 on 3-pointers when the Cornhuskers defeated the visiting Buckeyes 83-69 on Jan. 23.
The Cornhuskers are trying to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2013-14 season.
Nebraska had held opponents to 70 points or less in their previous four games.
Each team has two regular-season games left. Nebraska hosts Rutgers on Sunday while the Buckeyes remain home to play Michigan.
–Field Level Media
