VCU vs. Ohio State: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

The old cliche goes that it sometimes takes blood, sweat and tears to triumph in a battle. D'Angelo Russell certainly bled for Ohio State in their round-of-64 victory over VCU.

He shot the ball pretty well, too.

Russell finished with a game-high 28 points and also added six rebounds, two steals and two blocks to lead Ohio State past VCU 75-72. He also put his name in the record books, according to SportsCenter on Twitter: 

Shannon Scott (nine points, 10 assists) and Jae'Sean Tate (12 points, eight rebounds) were also excellent for the Buckeyes, while Melvin Johnson (17 points), Doug Brooks (14 points) and Treveon Graham (10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists) led the Rams.

Russell certainly gave Ohio State everything he had, including his own blood after taking an elbow to the face in the second half, per Bleacher Report on Twitter:

He also amazed everyone with moves like the following display, via B/R:

It was the type of performance that will have NBA scouts and front-office personnel drooling. ESPN's Chad Ford was certainly impressed:

Ohio State couldn't have started slower in this contest, and the Buckeyes found themselves trailing 25-13 with 6:36 remaining, as VCU dictated the pace and style of the game early on. That's when Russell seemed to wake up, scoring 10 of Ohio State's 16 points to close the half, as VCU saw its lead cut to 30-29.

Russell led the Buckeyes in the first half with 12 points, while  Johnson (seven points), Graham and JeQuan Lewis (six points apiece) paced the balanced VCU attack.

Ohio State carried its momentum into the second half. Russell gave the Buckeyes their first lead since Amir Williams scored the game's opening basket, as the star's three-pointer at the 17:22 mark gave Ohio State a 38-37 advantage.

Shots like that one had everyone singing his plaudits, including Chandler Parsons of the Dallas Mavericks:

As Derek Bodner of 973 ESPN noted, Russell creates scoring opportunities where none appear to be available:

But Doug Brooks got hot as well, and his fourth three of the second half gave VCU the lead back at the 12:33 mark, 48-47. That would set up a final 10 minutes full of lead changes (eight in total) and the normal share of March drama.

VCU was dealt a major blow at the 2:42 mark, as VCU big man Mo Alie-Cox fouled out of the game. It didn't hurt the Rams down the stretch of regulation, however, as the game went into overtime tied at 66 apiece after Graham couldn't execute a layup over the Ohio State defense with time expiring.

But VCU killed itself in the overtime session with two inexplicably poor passes that led to turnovers, giving up a killer wide-open three to Keita Bates-Diop with 2:34 remaining. The Rams then failed to secure a vital defensive rebound with 1:03 remaining, which allowed Ohio State to run a ton of time off the clock with a 73-70 advantage.

Bates-Diop didn't feature much in this game, but he surprised everyone with two vital three-pointers, per Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead:

VCU had the chance to tie the game when it regained possession with 22 seconds remaining, but Graham missed a three-pointer, Ohio State pulled down the rebound and Russell hit two free throws with 4.9 seconds on the clock to expand the Buckeyes lead to 75-70. VCU would hit a late bucket, but Ohio State escaped with the win.

The Buckeyes now have a very difficult test, as they'll face No. 2 Arizona on Saturday, pitting Thad Matta against his protege and friend, Sean Miller. The Wildcats are an excellent defensive team, but they'll certainly have their hands full against the talented Russell.

As VCU found out, a little gash over the eye isn't enough to slow him down.