COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State coach Thad Matta didn't have to tell freshman guard D'Angelo Russell that he needed to be better.

A simple gesture was all it took. Russell knows that in order for Ohio State to be successful this season, he can't play the way he did last Tuesday against Marquette when he scored six points, turned the ball over seven times and looked overwhelmed against the first real opponent of his college career.

"I didn't say a whole lot to him, I just kinda raised my eyebrows as if to say, 'Hey we need a little bit more out of you,'" Matta said Sunday after Russell scored 32 points to lead Ohio State past Sacred Heart 106-48.

"Obviously he delivered tonight."

Sacred Heart isn't Marquette. Neither comes near the caliber of teams Ohio State will have to beat to win the Big Ten or make a deep tournament run come March. But they will need Russell to play the lights-out basketball he did on Sunday to accomplish those goals.

Only Russell doesn't quite see it that way. He dismissed the opportunity to say Sunday was an example of his ability to take over a game.

"I don't look at it as carry the load," Russell said. "I just happen to be an OK scorer."

Talk about a classic undersell.

He was 7-for-14 with 17 points at the half, using his quickness to get around overmacthed defenders, and acrobatic moves to finish near the basket. Russell came out on fire in the second half, knocking down a jumper, then three-straight 3-pointers for a personal 11-0 run.

Russell is so smooth that sometimes what he's doing with the basketball doesn't look as impressive as it actually is. It looked easy on Sunday night. It will get more difficult as the season wears on.

The lesson he learned against Marquette will help when things get tougher.

"He's a heck of a basketball player," Matta said. "I think the biggest thing for him, sometimes a freshman may need a game like that."

It helped Russell come in with a killer instinct on Sunday.

"I just told myself whoever was guarding me I was gonna destroy them," Russell said.

Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell (0) goes up for shot between Sacred Heart's Steve Glowiak (31) and Tevin Falzon (34) during the first half of Sunday's game.

It seemed Russell made it a point to get his shot early on. He was active early, missing a shot, getting an offensive rebound, turning the ball over then scoring on a layup in the game's first 90 seconds.

He finished 12-for-21 from the floor, adding nine rebounds and five assists. The 21 shot attempts were a career-high. He'll take more. That's OK for a leading man.

"I want him looking at the basket," Matta said. "The one thing that you see about him, he can find guys too. I liked his demeanor. I liked his flow tonight."

For as good of a scorer as Russell is, he's proven he can be an adept passer as well. But even that looks different.

He had a handful of no-look assists on Sunday, the best coming at the end of the first half when Sam Thompson slammed home a no-look lob pass from Russell at the halftime buzzer.

"Sam is a crazy athlete, just throwing it up to him knowing that he's gonna dunk it, I think it's more exciting when he's dunking the ball than me going unconscious," Russell said.

It's easy to get carried away in hyperbole after a night like Russell had against Scared Heart. He looked uncontainable, but he's a freshman.

He'll probably have more games closer to this one before he has another one like the Marquette game. But that's the nature of the nonconference season. It would be wrong not to expect other letdowns as Russell adjusts to becoming Ohio State's go-to guy. The more he plays like he did on Sunday, the more opposing coaches will take notice.

You can bet the Big Ten already has. Some said before the season that Russell could end up being the conference's best player.

He'll need to be Ohio State's.