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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It wasnt like North Dakota State could sneak up on No. 3 Ohio State. After watching film of the Bison pull off a huge upset at Notre Dame on Wednesday night, there was no way the Buckeyes were going to be on anything but high alert. LaQuinton Ross and Lenzelle Smith Jr. each scored 18 points and the Buckeyes never trailed in rolling over NDSU 79-62 Saturday night. "I said it after the game on Wednesday, so much for tip-toeing into Ohio State," NDSU coach Saul Phillips said. "We kind of clomped in here with big old (size) 16s on and they clocked us pretty good." The Buckeyes (9-0) continued their hot shooting. They made 53 per cent from the field, pushing them over 50 per cent for the fifth game in a row. Freshman Mark Loving had a career-high 12 points, and Sam Thompson also had 12. Aaron Craft added six points and seven assists -- setting a school record for career assists with 581 for the Buckeyes. Asked if the Buckeyes got a good look at what the Bison had done to the Fighting Irish, Craft said theyd watched the video like they were film critics. "Absolutely," he said. "Probably the best thing for us was that they beat Notre Dame and that really got our attention. Not that we try to really overlook anyone, but we got to sit down and see them play at their best. And we wanted to come out and play our best." The game was part of the BlackRock Gotham Classic. Taylor Braun led the Bison (7-4) with 21 points, while Marshall Bjorklund had 12 and Lawrence Alexander 10. NDSU shot 42 per cent from the field and was outrebounded 36-26. The Bison were coming off a 73-69 victory at Notre Dame, the programs first win against an ACC team. That win came against a Fighting Irish squad that was 124-10 at home over the last six-plus seasons. "They had some really big guys that can get up and that altered some shots inside," Braun said. "I dont think we expected them to shoot as well as they did from the 3-point line. That was a real difference in the game." The Buckeyes were 6 for 11 behind the arc in the first half and finished 10 of 20. The threat of hitting outside shots opened up things underneath. Down by as many as 19 points against the Buckeyes, the Bison went on a 7-2 run to pull within 14 midway through the second half. But Craft, who also had four steals and four rebounds, came up with a loose ball and fed Thompson, who was thrown to the floor by Bjorklund. Thompson hit both free throws after the flagrant foul, and then on the resulting possession, Craft lobbed an alley-oop to Thompson for a dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. Loving then hit back-to-back 3s and the lead was back up to 65-43 with 8 1/2 minutes left. "I was up all night a couple of nights ago trying to find a weakness," Phillips said. "And then I realized they really dont have a lot (of them)." The Bison were playing a ranked Division I opponent for only the seventh time. Theyve lost the last five since beating No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 9 Marquette in 2006. Ohio State built a 41-28 lead at the break. Ross overcame a sluggish start with 13 points while Smith had 10. The Buckeyes closed the first half with a 7-0 burst. Ross got a pass from Craft and buried a 3. After a Bison miss, Thompson hit a foul shot. Off another miss, Craft drove the lane and then twisted to fire a pass from underneath the basket to Thompson in the left corner. He put up a 3 that caught only net with 1.7 seconds left. That final pass tied Craft with Jamar Butler for the career record at Ohio State with 579 assists. Then on the Buckeyes first possession of the second half, Craft found Ross all alone under the basket for the record-breaker and a 43-28 lead. "Ever since Ive been here Ive had the easy job," the senior point guard said. "Ive played with a lot of great players, a lot of great shooters, who have done the hard part. I just have to find those guys and put them in a great opportunity to score. Ill have a lot of time to think about (this) when I get older. By the time Im a grandfather, itll probably be about 800 assists in my career." Ohio State cant move up in the coaches poll on Phillips ballot. "You know, in the coaches poll they only had one first-place vote. Guess who that first-place vote was," he said. "And that didnt change my mind tonight." Kevin Huerter Hawks Jersey . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Alex Len Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen. https://www.thehawkslockerroom.com/. Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Chandler Parsons jersey . PAUL, Minn. Dominique Wilkins Jersey . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. BRASILIA, Brazil -- Ghana threw Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng out of its World Cup squad for disciplinary reasons on Thursday, plunging the African team into further chaos ahead of its decisive group-stage match against Portugal. Just a day after seeming to resolve a possible player mutiny over World Cup bonus payments, the Ghana Football Association released two separate statements saying two of the countrys stars had been "suspended ... indefinitely from the Black Stars with immediate effect." Muntari was suspended "in the wake of his unprovoked physical attack on an executive committee member of the GFA and a management member of the Black Stars, Mr. Moses Armah" on Tuesday, one statement read. The other statement said Boateng was dropped from the squad because of "vulgar verbal insults targeted at coach Kwesi Appiah" during a training session this week. "Boateng has since showed no remorse for his actions which has resulted in the decision," the statement added. Both players have had their World Cup accreditation withdrawn. Boateng, who plays for German club Schalke, told German newspaper Sport Bild that he accepted his suspension and wished his teammates well for Thursdays game against Portugal -- "but no one should think that I insulted the coach or did anything wrong." Boateng said he and Muntari had been joking with each other during training Wednesday. The coach asked why they were laughing, and then sent Boateng to the dressing room, he added. "After training I went to the coach and asked him if he had a minute for me. I asked him what he had agaainst me," Boateng was quoted as saying.dddddddddddd "Then he started shouting at me." Ghana, a quarterfinalist in 2010, must beat Portugal in Brasilia on Thursday to stand any chance of reaching the second round from Group G. Muntari was suspended for the match after collecting two yellow cards. Ghanas World Cup campaign was already in turmoil following a row over appearance-fee payments that squad members had been promised but had not yet received. The countrys cash-strapped federation had been forced to ask FIFA for an advance on the $8 million prize money it is guaranteed from playing at the World Cup to pay outstanding debts to players. FIFA said Wednesday that Ghanas request was "under evaluation." Ghanas deputy sports minister earlier had said that as much as $3 million in cash was being flown into Brazil from the West African nation to finally pay the bonuses to the unhappy players, averting a possible player strike. World Cup prize money -- which ranges in Brazil from $8 million for being knocked out in the group stage to $35 million for winning the title -- is normally paid after the tournament. Ghana midfielder Christian Atsu dismissed fears the team would boycott its final group game in Brasilia over the bonus-payment row. "We are not going to say we are not going to play because of the money," Atsu said. "We love our nation and we are going to play for our nation." Appiah said Wednesday that he had been having "sleepless nights" this week, and also said he had patched up his differences with Boateng after a training-ground altercation. ' ' '