COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Keita Bates-Diop went to the floor for a loose ball, lost it, got it back, fed a pass to Andrew Dakich from a seated position, then trailed Dakich for a fastbreak dunk. It was easy.

Getting after loose balls, and looking more organized on the break. Two ways in which this Ohio State basketball team, so far, is much improved from last season.

The Buckeyes had just about everything go right in Sunday afternoon's 80-55 win over Northeastern.

Things got a bit sloppy in the second half, and Ohio State lost two players to injury late. But a strong first half made sure the Buckeyes got to 4-0 comfortably.

First the injuries. Sophomore center Micah Potter went to the locker room with an apparent left leg injury midway through the second half and did not return. Senior forward Jae'Sean Tate was limping after slipping to the floor with 2:57 left, but the didn't get much extended medical attention.

Tate is fine. He said he stepped on a teammate's foot. Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said Potter has an ankle sprain, and is day-to-day. His status for Thursday's game against Gonzaga is unknown.

Other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing for Ohio State.

Tate was a perfect 10 for 10 from floor, pacing the Buckeyes with a career-high 24 points. He set an Ohio State record for highest field goal percentage in a game with a minimum of 10 attempts.

Keita Bates-Diop matched his scoring average with 19 points and seven rebounds, but snapped a three-game double-double streak. Kaleb Wessson, in his first game back from a one-game suspension, scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench.

The Buckeyes led 47-17 at the break thanks to a hot shooting start (17 of 27) and a cold shooting start from Northeastern (6 of 28). The Huskies (2-2) cut Ohio State's lead down inside of 30 points a few times in the second half, but it was never in doubt despite the Buckeyes missing some of the same energy they had in the first half.

What it means

Ohio State is unbeaten heading into maybe the toughest stretch of their schedule. The Buckeyes will play Gonzaga, either Florida or Stanford, Clemson, Michigan and Wisconsin in the next two weeks.

What's next?

Ohio State travels to Portland, Ore., next week for the PK80 Invitational. The Buckeyes will open play on Thursday night against No. 17 Gonzaga. The 11:59 p.m. tip -- yes, that late -- will be televised on ESPN2.