Tag: Buckeyes Basketball

Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball both surging to start season

The Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball teams are both off to hot starts as each is officially a top-25 team in the country.

Let’s start with the Ohio State men’s basketball team. There wasn’t as much expected from this group, starting the season unranked.

However, they took down a then-No. 19 Texas Longhorns side 80-72 to open the season and followed that up with an 81-47 victory over the Youngstown State Penguins Monday.

This team has grit, size, and a young, fired-up head coach. The Buckeyes star-studded backcourt of Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson Jr. helps as well. Due to their 2-0 start, the Buckeyes sit No. 22 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, up from unranked the week prior.

Ohio State women’s basketball hasn’t changed much in the rankings, but it has taken care of business.

Early in the season, sometimes a few dominant wins is all one can ask for.

The Buckeyes kicked their season off with a 104-69 win over Cleveland State and then throttled Charlotte 94-53 Tuesday, and they were treated to a near record-breaking performance from Chance Gray.

The women’s team ranks No. 12 in the country and is the third-highest Big Ten team, behind USC at NO. 3 and UCLA at No. 6.

Who shined in Ohio State basketball throttling of Youngstown State?

The Ohio State Buckeyes welcomed Youngstown State for their home opener. They walloped them, and here’s who shined the brightest.

The Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off their season with an 80-72 neutral-court win over the then-No. 19 Texas Longhorns on Monday, November 4.

They then went home to Schottenstein Center in Columbus and battled Youngstown State Monday. Ohio State remained undefeated, beating the Penguins 81-47. It covered the closing 18.5-point spread in the win.

Ohio State was led by Bruce Thornton and some torrid three-point shooting against Texas, and the key contributors changed up a bit in its second battle, although it did sustain its three-point onslaught, shooting over 40% from deep.

This time around, it was center Aaron Bradshaw, who scored 16 points and hauled down eight rebounds. Freshman Juni Mobley Jr. nailed 3-of-4 triples and ended with 16 points as well.

It was a full team effort as four of the Buckeyes’ five players ended in double figures.

Bradshaw finally started to get involved is the key takeaway as he ended with a triple and five made free throws. He also had a team-high two blocks. The Kentucky transfer, a former five-star recruit, struggled to open the season.

This should propel him moving forward, and it’ll be a key storyline to follow as the season progresses. Having a big man capable of putting up double figures consistently will be impactful for Ohio State.

Next up, the Buckeyes will face the No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies on Friday.

Ohio State basketball freshman guard erupts in upset win over Texas

The Ohio State Buckeyes may have a rising star on their hands with freshman John Mobley Jr., who tallied 14 points in his career debut.

If there’s just one takeaway from the Ohio State Buckeyes opening-season upset win over the No. 19 Texas Longhorns, it could be that John Mobley Jr. might be a budding star.

Originally from Las Vegas, Mobley Jr. obviously had a passion to light it up as the Buckeyes were taking on the Longhorns in the Hall of Fame Series from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The four-star point guard played for Wasatch Academy in Utah and was the highest-rated player by 247Sports from the state in the Class of 2024. He chose Ohio State over a plethora of other programs.

That said, Mobley Jr., in his first collegiate action, lit up the Longhorns, and some of the shots he was making were just downright impressive.

He ended up playing just 13 minutes but hoisted six shots and connected on four. He was 4-for-4 from deep and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Mobley Jr. was the only Buckeyes player to make 100% of his triples, and he shot four of them.

Expect to see more of the freshman guard in the coming weeks. The Buckeyes will take the court again Monday as they welcome Youngstown State to Columbus.

Ohio State basketball has the “best backcourt in the Big Ten”

Ohio State basketball beat Texas to open its season Monday, and it did so with a strong showing from its talented backcourt.

Ohio State basketball went into Las Vegas for a battle against the No. 19 Texas Longhorns as part of the Hall of Fame Series.

It wasn’t expected to come out on top, closing as a 2.5-point underdog, but it pulled off the upset and left with a resounding victory. The Buckeyes won 80-72, and they were led by a dynamic backcourt duo. Their guards off the bench played were efficient as well.

While the early-season overreactions are always welcome when they positively mention the Buckeyes, CBS Insider Jon Rothstein said following the game that Ohio State has the “best backcourt in the Big Ten.”

After Monday night’s battle, he might not be wrong either.

It was a strong showing for Ohio State’s guards.  The Buckeyes start three guards — Meechie Johnson Jr., Evan Mahaffey and Bruce Thornton.

Thornton led the team in scoring with 20 points, and his efficiency was what one should write home to Mom about. He went 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from deep. Mahaffey finished with 17 and three triples as well while Johnson Jr. had just six points on 2-for-11 shooting.

The Buckeyes guards off the bench scored 17. Twenty points were contributed by non-guard players and 16 of those were poured in by sophomore forward Devin Royal.

If this backcourt stays at this level, the sky is the limit for this Ohio State basketball side.

Ohio State basketball’s stifling defense led way in season-opening upset

Ohio State basketball traveled West to Las Vegas and came away with a season-opening win over the No. 19 Texas Longhorns.

It was a fun night for the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team in Las Vegas on Monday.

They kicked their season off with a battle against the No. 19 Texas Longhorns in the Hall of Famer Series.

While Ohio State did get some votes in the AP Poll, it didn’t end up cracking the top-25 teams in the country despite having one of the strongest backcourts in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes might get their name on that list next week as they left Vegas with an 80-72 win over Texas.

While Bruce Thorton was huge and led the team with 20 points, it was the defense that spearheaded the win for Ohio State. It allowed just 31 points in the first half and took a 7-point lead into the break.

The Buckeyes forced nine turnovers. The most impressive part of the team’s defense was their ability to defend the perimeter. The Longhorns finished 7-of-28 from deep. If that defensive intensity continues, Ohio State could be a formidable opponent and certainly a strong contender in the conference.

This was a huge win and was among just a few upsets in the first real kickoff of college hoops.

The Buckeyes will take the floor again next Monday as they battle Youngstown State at home. That game can be viewed at 6 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.

How to watch Ohio State basketball’s first game of the season

The Ohio State basketball team will open its season Monday evening with a major primetime battle against the No. 19 Texas Longhorns.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will take the court Monday evening in the Hall of Fame series in Las Vegas.

They will be facing the No. 19 Texas Longhorns, who were ranked a top-20 side via the AP Poll, a poll in which Ohio State also garnered some top-25 votes but didn’t quite crack the list.

At T-Mobile Arena in Nevada, fans in Columbus are going to have to stay up late for this one as it has a 10 p.m. EST tip. However, it is on national television and is being aired on TNT and truTV.

The Buckeyes have a promising roster and a young, hungry head coach, typically a good combination for success in college hoops. They also have several transfer players who bring experience at the highest level in the country.

Center Aaron Bradshaw is coming from Kentucky, and guard Meechie Johnson spent last season with South Carolina, also in the SEC, where he averaged 14.1 points per game.

Ohio State basketball’s Jake Diebler spearheading four-team charity push

Ohio State basketball will be facing the Cincinnati Bearcats in an exhibition game this Friday, but the goal is for a much bigger event.

Ohio State basketball will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats, led by Wes Miller, in a public exhibition game Friday. The proceeds will go to local mental health providers and charities.

The original game was a request by Dayton head coach Anthony Grant, but Jake Diebler, the Ohio State head coach, is set to take it a step further in the future.

Diebler, who will be at Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena Friday, spearheaded the idea of having Xavier, Dayton, Cincinnati and Ohio State all play in an exhibition event to benefit the local community.

“It was a collaborative effort for sure to get the conversations going, but it was Jake’s idea to get all four programs on the same page. To me that’s the thing that deserves a lot more credit, because that’s not easy to do,” Miller said via The Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy.

The four programs are the most high-profile collegiate teams in Ohio, and having an event that puts them all together, especially given the rivalry between Xavier and Cincinnati already, should sell tickets easily.

The goal is to benefit the community, specifically the basketball community, and bring an event that gets fans in the doors and excited for the season that is to come.

Diebler reiterated that as well.

“Being the head coach at Ohio State, I believe you have a responsibility to keep pushing the basketball community to grow and anything we can do to help that in our state is important,” he said.

The impact these games have is great, and the likelihood something like this becomes a reality seems increasingly high, just not for this immediate season given we’re just weeks away.

Ohio State basketball surprisingly named in Week 1 AP Poll

The Ohio State basketball program may have a surprise year, and they could soon crack the top 25 after the first release of the AP Poll.

Ohio State basketball hasn’t been able to get back to the dominance of the Mike Conley or Greg Oden days, but they have quietly put together a roster that should be capable of contending in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes will kick their season off with a Nov. 4 battle with the Texas Longhorns.

Ohio State should have one of the best backcourts in the country, led by a combination of Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson. Having a true 7-footer in Aaron Bradshaw to lock down the paint will help as well.

While the Buckeyes may not kick off the season with as high expectations as a program like Indiana, they will be expected to perform at a high level under first-year head coach Jon Diebler.

The AP Poll has some expectations for Ohio State as well. It has the Buckeyes basically at spot No. 32, receiving the 7th-most votes of teams that didn’t break the top-25 programs.

https://twitter.com/AP_Top25/status/1845857917360119871

The expectations are there, and in just a few short weeks, we’ll see how this team meshes on the court together.

Five things we learned about Ohio State’s loss to Duke

What were your takeaways? #GoBucks

Duke used a late first-half run to gain a 39-29 lead at intermission and never relinquished it until the final buzzer sounded as Ohio State fell 81-72 on Wednesday night in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup. It was a tough game for the Buckeyes, but one where they had their chances to win. Here are five things we learned during OSU’s loss to the Blue Devils.

Ohio State has a shot at a season-turning win against Maryland

The Ohio State Buckeyes have a chance to down the No. 7-ranked Maryland Terrapins, and they can’t miss their shot at redemption.

The Ohio State Buckeyes, much like they were in January, are entering a pivotal stretch of the season.

The team had a solid few games prior to a road loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, a performance that left many scratching their heads about this Buckeyes team. This wasn’t the same team we saw at the season commencement.

The lineup that took the floor Thursday didn’t even feel like the same team that defeated Michigan on the road just a few weeks ago. They were clumsy with the ball and failed to get their key playmakers going.

Living off their defensive intensity, the Buckeyes went seven-straight games holding their opponent to or under 70 points. The Hawkeyes put 85 on Ohio State.

Now, the Buckeyes will have to prepare for one of their most anticipated games of the season, at home against the No. 7-ranked Maryland Terrapins.

The Terrapins have already defeated the Buckeyes earlier this season.

However, both teams have grown since then, and Ohio State has regressed to a team falling down the seed line in the NCAA tournament versus one that was soundly a top-two seed after the first month of the season.

Ohio State desperately needs this game. It is in a rugged conference where every game will be a battle. If the Buckeyes lose, which many predict them to, Ohio State will drop to 7-9 in the Big Ten.

Yes, they have a terrific non-conference record, but it would be tough to see OSU not nearing bubble territory if it continues to go struggle down the stretch.

That said, Ohio State has both a shot at redemption on Saturday and a chance at solidifying their berth in the NCAA tournament. It’s early to say this, but Saturday is a very important game for the Buckeyes.