Ohio State went into a full-court inbounds defense as its sizable cheeringsection attempted to rally its team, and Thomas' free throws trimmed the lead to 11 points with 7:41 to play.
With the packed, yellow-clad cheeringsection behind their bench roaring and rolling, the Shockers stretched their lead to 13 points 1:48 before halftime even though Ohio State finally got some defensive stops, bodying up to Carl Hall and Wichita State's low-post offense.