No. 3 Ohio State 71, Louisiana-Monroe 31: Lenzelle Smith Jr. collected 17 points and seven rebounds and LaQuinton Ross added 15 points and 10 boards as the Buckeyes cruised past the visiting Warhawks.

Amedeo Della Valle chipped in 14 points off the bench for Ohio State (13-0), which closed out its non-conference slate with a perfect record. Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott combined for seven points and nine assists out of the Buckeyes’ backcourt.

Jayon James scored seven points to pace Louisiana-Monroe (3-5), which struggled to 18.5 percent from the field. Tylor Ongwae added five points and five rebounds.

Ross’ 3-pointer capped a game-opening 12-0 run and Smith connected from beyond the arc just over five minutes later to spread it out to 25-4. James scored all of his points in the final 7:39 of the first half to keep it within 41-20 at the break.

The Warhawks went the first 9:58 of the second half without a field goal and Ohio State scored the first 15 points to put the game out of reach. Sam Thompson knocked down a 3-pointer with a minute left to push the lead to 40 as the Buckeyes ran away with it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Scott had three steals as Ohio State forced 17 turnovers. … The Buckeyes improved to 8-1 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference. … Louisiana-Monroe has not beaten a ranked opponent since taking out No. 5 Arkansas in 1992.