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Ohio State's Aaron Craft (4) drives to the basket as Northwestern's Drew Crawford (1) and Dave Sobolewski (3) defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Terry Gilliam, Associated Press
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Ohio State's Jared Sullinger (0) shoots over Northwestern's Luka Mirkovic (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. Terry Gilliam, Associated Press
By Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — William Buford had career-highs of 28 points and five 3-pointers as No. 2 Ohio State showed off its perimeter shooting in an 87-54 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Jared Sullinger added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Buckeyes (13-1, 1-0), who dominated the boards 49-30.

Deshaun Thomas had 16 points for Ohio State, which broke the game open with a 13-0 first-half run fueled by 3-pointers. Jordan Sibert added 12 points, all on 3s.

The conference's top two scorers, John Shurna and Drew Crawford, had miserable games. They were held to 11 and 13 points, respectively, on a combined 9-for-30 shooting.

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The loss was the 31st straight for the Wildcats (10-3, 0-1) in Columbus.

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