William Buford scored 15 points as No. 6 Ohio State pounded host Nebraska 79-45 on Saturday.

Much like its first meeting against the Cornhuskers – a 71-40 rout on Jan. 3 – Ohio State (17-3, 5-2 Big Ten) took control of the game by taking a commanding double-digit lead by halftime and piling on early in the second half to put the game out of reach.

In Saturday's game, Nebraska (10-9, 2-6) trailed by six points with 3:47 remaining before intermission with hopes of securing its second consecutive ranked team after defeating No. 13 Indiana on Wednesday, but the Buckeyes closed out the first half with a 12-2 run that left Ohio State with a 36-20 bulge at the break.

The run was made all the more impressive considering Jared Sullinger – the Big Ten’s fourth-leading scorer – went to the bench with four points after committing his second foul with 4:06 left.

Ohio State’s defense suffocated Nebraska in the second half as the Huskers endured three second-half field goal droughts of at least four minutes and didn’t hit their 10th field goal of the game until the 10:04 mark of the second half.

Nebraska, which was 2-2 over its previous four conference games after a 0-3 start, shot a season-low 29.5 percent and committed a season-high 28 turnovers, which more than doubled its 13 baskets. In two games against the Buckeyes this season, the Huskers made only 29 field goals and committed 45 turnovers.

Bo Spencer and Brandon Ubel led Nebraska with eight points apiece.