No. 10 Ohio State 87, Chicago State 44: Deshaun Thomas had 17 points and eight rebounds and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. added 13 points for the host Buckeyes in their final tune-up before the start of Big Ten play.

LaQuinton Ross and Amedeo Della Valle took advantage of extra playing time in the second half. Ross scored 13 of his 15 points after intermission and Della Valle added all 11 of his points for Ohio State (10-2). Evan Ravenel, a senior forward bumped from the starting lineup in favor of sophomore center Amir Williams, pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.

Quinton Pippen scored 12 points for Chicago State (3-12), its only player in double figures. Jeremy Robinson, who is the only player averaging double figures for the Cougars (10.4), was whistled for two fouls in the first 2:38 before picking up No. 3 early in the second half. He missed all four of his field-goal attempts and went scoreless.

Ohio State separated itself from Chicago State in the last 10 minutes of the first half, outscoring the Cougars 23-10 to take a 13-point halftime lead. Ohio State then scored 10 of the first 12 points in the second half to extend its lead to 47-26.

Ohio State owned a 44-18 advantage in rebounding but shot just 13-for-27 from the free-throw line (48.1 percent) after coming in at 71.1 for the season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Williams, who is three inches taller than Ravenel at 6-11, made his first career start after coming off the bench the first 40 games at Ohio State. He finished with four points and as many rebounds. … The Buckeyes, who were coming off a loss to No. 6 Kansas last Saturday, avoided losing two in a row for the first time since the end of the 2008-09 season. … Clarke Rosenberg, the second-leading scorer for Chicago State at 9.6, also failed to score against the Buckeyes. He missed all six of his field-goal attempts.