Awaken Ohio State basketball fans, it’s almost hoops season on the banks of the Olentangy despite the football team still taking names on the gridiron. In fact, we’ve already seen Big Ten basketball media days. And in a further step toward the start of the season, the men got on the court Sunday for an exhibition charity event on the road against the Dayton Flyers.
It was really the first public look at the team, including a number of newcomers, and on top of that, it was a winning look, with the Buckeyes winning by a score of 78-70.
It wasn’t a true game-type environment, but pretty close. The final score was there to see, but none of the stats in the box score count and players couldn’t foul out in the sold out in the UD Arena.
But back to the game. It was a revealing show for the Buckeyes with another year of plenty of new faces. It was a tight affair pretty much throughout, with OSU holding just a three point lead at halftime, then extending it out late to win fairly comfortably.
All 11 scholarship players that were available played, with Bruce Thorton leading the way with 21 points. Minnesota transfer, Jamison Battle, showed that he’s going to be counted on to score this season with 15 points, and Roddy Gayle also finished in double figures with 12.
Thank you @DaytonMBB for hosting a great game for a worthy cause.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/UsC4C1gBWl
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) October 23, 2023
The game was held to benefit mental health and dubbed, “Take hope to the hoop,” with the proceeds from the game reportedly raising over $500,000 for mental health initiatives.
Now, that’s a cause worthy of a televised (ESPN+) exhibition if I’ve ever heard of one.
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