Tag: ohio state basketball

Ohio State basketball wins second in a row with victory over Iowa

Two in a row … #GoBucks

Don’t look now, but all the pieces of the Ohio State basketball team might be starting to come together. Just a game removed from knocking of a top-15 Purdue team on the road, the Buckeyes returned to Value City Arena on Monday night and handled the Iowa Hawkeyes rather handily. The final score wasn’t even indicative of how comfortably OSU won, with the margin when the clock hit zero being 82-65.

The first half stayed fairly competitive, with Iowa cutting into a modest lead the Buckeyes held throughout the first half, with OSU heading into halftime up by a thin 30-28 margin.

The second half saw Ohio State run away with it and never look back. The Buckeyes extended the lead to as much as 25 points in the second half by dominating in the paint. The Buckeyes outrebounded Iowa 45-31, and had a 42-32 advantage in points inside the key. The Hawkeyes never got closer than 15-points from the 12:38 mark on as OSU cruised to victory.

It was a pretty balanced attack from Ohio State. Micah Parrish continued his hot play, leading the Buckeyes in scoring with 18 points, but Bruce Thornton (15), Devin Royal (12), and John Mobley Jr. (12) also finished in double figures.

The win improves OSU’s overall record to 12-8, and its Big Ten record to 4-5 as Ohio State looks to climb the standings heading into the midway point of the conference slate. The Buckeyes will next be in action against Penn State on the road Thursday in a quick turnaround.

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Ohio State basketball vs. Iowa: How to watch, stream the game Monday

Battle of the ‘Eyes #GoBucks

Ohio State got over the hump in a big way last week. Recently, the Buckeye basketball team lost three games in a row by a combined score of five points. All winnable games, but Jake Diebler’s team just couldn’t close them out.

Then OSU went to West Lafayette to face a tough Purdue team, a team that rarely loses in Mackey Arena. But Ohio State battled back from a halftime deficit to defeat the No. 11 ranked Boilermakers by a score of 73-70.

Now, the Buckeyes head back home to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Fran McCaffery’s team comes into the contest at 13-7 having struggled of late. The Hawkeyes are led by big man Owen Freeman who’s averaging close to 17 points per game.

Basic info

When: Monday, January 27, at 8 p.m. ET

Where:  Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)

How to watch/stream/listen:

Broadcast: FS1

Radio: IMG Radio Network (flagship station WBNS 97.1 The Fan)

Radio announcers:

  • Paul Keels (play-by-play)
  • Ron Stokes (analysis)

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. 

Big Ten women’s basketball championship race takes another turn

The Big Ten women’s basketball title race is now a three-way scramble involving USC, UCLA, and Ohio State.

The Big Ten women’s basketball championship is up for grabs, with USC at the head of the pack. Two teams chasing the Trojans, Maryland and Ohio State, faced each other on Thursday in Columbus. Ohio State’s win redraws the Big Ten basketball standings.

USC is 8-0 in Big Ten play. UCLA is 7-0. Ohio State — with its win on Thursday night — moves to 7-1 in the conference. Maryland slides down to 6-2, leaving USC, UCLA, and OSU as the only three teams in the conference with fewer than two losses.

On Sunday, Maryland must host UCLA. The Terrapins will lose a third Big Ten game if they can’t give UCLA its first loss of the season. Assuming Maryland does lose, the Terps would not have head-to-head tiebreakers against any of the top teams in the Big Ten: USC, UCLA, and Ohio State. The Terrapins would essentially — though not technically — be eliminated from contention.

Let’s see what happens for the Women of Troy and their foremost competitors in the battle for the Big Ten women’s basketball championship.

If you’re a UCLA fan, which team should you root for in Maryland-Ohio State?

There’s an argument to make for UCLA wanting Maryland to beat Ohio State. There is also a case for UCLA wanting OSU to beat Maryland. Let’s compare.

First things first: If you are a UCLA women’s basketball fan, you might reasonably say that outside results in other games don’t really matter. UCLA has the No. 1 team in the country. The Bruins should be able to handle any challenge which comes their way. UCLA should be able to deal with the situations it can control. There is no point in worrying about what it can’t control. That’s all true. That’s a winner’s mentality, and as the Big Ten season continues, it’s the right mindset to have. That said, it’s always good to get a piece of positive news elsewhere in the Big Ten. UCLA received one such piece of good news when Ohio State stumbled at Penn State on Sunday. This put OSU and Maryland — the two teams chasing UCLA and USC in the Big Ten — on even footing at 6-1 heading into a huge game on Thursday in Columbus.

The Buckeyes host the Terrapins with a lot on the line. UCLA — and USC as well — will focus primarily on taking care of business themselves, but it’s undeniable that the result of Maryland-Ohio State is of interest to the Bruins (and the Trojans).

It’s a natural question to ask: Which team should UCLA want to win (and lose)?

The argument for UCLA wanting Maryland to lose is simple enough: If Maryland loses to Ohio State, UCLA can basically eliminate the Terps from the Big Ten title race by beating Maryland next Sunday, January 26.

The argument for UCLA wanting Ohio State to lose — and Maryland to therefore win — this Thursday would be a little more nuanced. Maryland beating Ohio State would mean the Terrapins will feel happy going into the UCLA game. It’s better to face a team which is happy rather than a team which is mad and desperate. Maryland losing would make the Terps mad and desperate, just a little hungrier than they will be if they beat Ohio State. The “Maryland winning” argument is basically an argument built on wanting to face the Terps in the best possible set of circumstances. It doesn’t guarantee a win over Maryland but might provide a slight move of the needle in the right direction.

There’s no objectively right answer. The best thing for UCLA women’s basketball is that one of those two pursuers in the Big Ten championship race is guaranteed to fall this Thursday. We go back to the beginning: UCLA just needs to control what it can control and not worry about outside scores.

Fans, of course, will be interested. We will be, too.

USC women’s basketball will notice who wins Maryland-Ohio State showdown

Is it better for USC to have Maryland beat Ohio State, or vice-versa? You can discuss that point as you read this article.

USC women’s basketball is taking care of business in the Big Ten. The Trojans are 7-0 in league play entering a Wednesday night game versus Purdue. As long as they keep winning, they will win the league. We know, however, that college basketball teams generally don’t go undefeated in a full conference season. They are more likely than not to lose at least once if not twice. Therefore, this Thursday’s game between the Maryland Terrapins and Ohio State Buckeyes is an event the Trojans and their fans will be watching.

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her staff will watch this game because the Trojans play Ohio State in a few weeks, and because USC has a good chance of playing either the Buckeyes or the Terrapins at the Big Ten Tournament in March. USC fans will watch this game because the Big Ten women’s basketball championship race will give us a fresh talking point and an important shift in the standings.

USC and UCLA are unbeaten in Big Ten play, with Maryland and Ohio State one game behind at 6-1. One of Maryland or Ohio State will fall two games behind the Trojans and Bruins on Thursday.

If Maryland beats Ohio State, USC’s win over Maryland a few weeks ago would look even more impressive. Maryland would then go into a Sunday game (January 26) versus UCLA with momentum. The Terps could tie the Bruins for second place in the Big Ten standings if they can beat OSU and UCLA back to back.

If Ohio State beats Maryland, the Terps would then need to beat UCLA to avoid losing back-to-back games. If Maryland does lose to both OSU and UCLA, the Terrapins would have three Big Ten losses and would basically be done in the Big Ten title race.

Either way, the Big Ten women’s basketball standings are going to change. Which outcome in the Maryland-Ohio State game is better for USC? There are arguments to make on both sides. Our view: It’s better for that Maryland road win to look good on a team sheet, so we think it’s better that Maryland wins in Columbus.

Even if Ohio State wins, however, we know that the Big Ten standings will change, and USC is going to gain on the competition to some extent.

UCLA will gain one game on a leading Big Ten contender this week

UCLA knows that on Thursday, it will gain a game on either Maryland or Ohio State. The Bruins have a real opportunity in the next two weeks of Big Ten play.

UCLA women’s basketball is in the middle of a three-game road trip right now. A swing through the states of New Jersey and Maryland will finish off the month of January. The Bruins don’t play another home game until Sunday, February 2. When the Bruins do return to Westwood, they could have a significant edge over every other non-USC team in the Big Ten women’s basketball standings. One can easily envision a scenario in which at least one, maybe two, top Big Ten contenders suffer major blows in the championship chase before February begins.

This Thursday, Ohio State faces Maryland in a battle of the two teams right behind UCLA and USC. OSU and Maryland are tied for third place at 6-1 in the conference. Ohio State just got ambushed by Penn State on Sunday.

Because of Ohio State’s shocking loss, the Buckeyes and Maryland will both be in the same position, needing to avoid a loss which would put them two games behind UCLA and USC in the loss column. The loser will be 6-2 in the Big Ten. There is no escaping that fact.

UCLA then visits Maryland on Sunday, January 26. If Maryland loses at Ohio State, and the Bruins can then beat Maryland next Sunday, Maryland would have three losses in the Big Ten, including head-to-head versus UCLA. The Bruins would land a knockout punch to Maryland and essentially turn the Big Ten into a three-team race involving Ohio State.

If Maryland beats Ohio State this Thursday, then the UCLA-Maryland game becomes even bigger. Maryland would be 7-1 in the Big Ten entering the UCLA clash. However, even if Maryland does beat Ohio State on Thursday, it remains that UCLA would gain a game on the Buckeyes, who come to Los Angeles to play UCLA on February 5 and USC on February 8.

The bottom line: UCLA will gain a game on one primary Big Ten competitor (just not USC) this week. The Bruins will then play both of those competing teams, Maryland and Ohio State, in the next two weeks.

UCLA faces USC twice this season, the first of the two meetings being on February 13. There’s a real chance the Bruins and Trojans could clear out the rest of the field by then, making an already-huge season series even bigger in the Big Ten.

Best photos of Ohio State basketball’s upset of No. 11 Purdue

Some of the best still images of the upset of No. 11 Purdue on Tuesday night. #GoBucks

It sure didn’t look good in the first half, but the Ohio State basketball team kept the party going for OSU athletics by picking itself up off the mat and reeling in and outdueling the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night.

The Buckeyes went down by as many as 16 points in the first twenty minutes because of some tentative play and poor shooting, but flipped the script in the second half with a more aggressive and purposeful approach, going up by nine points and holding off a late rally by Purdue to win, 73-70.

The effort snapped a 26-game home winning streak by the Boilermakers and hopefully sets Ohio State up with some momentum to make a move in the Big Ten that will make the chance at the NCAA Tournament a reality.

As with every Ohio State contest, we like to bring you some of the best photos from all of the action, and there’s plenty to share with you after this one. Happy scrolling through a memorable upset in West Lafayette for the OSU men’s hoops team.

Ohio State basketball with furious comeback, holds on to upset Purdue on the road

Something to build on! #GoBucks

Ohio State fans are living in the moment. One day after the Buckeyes took home the national championship with a win over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Ohio State doubled down and beat No. 11 Purdue in West Lafayette, 73-70.

The win snaps a 26-game home winning streak for the Boilermakers, and the way that it was orchestrated was quite frustrating, and then remarkable. OSU looked lost and tentative in the first half and went down by as many as 16 points, but got a last-second three-pointer from Bruce Thornton to cut the deficit 41-28 heading into the half.

The second half saw Ohio State come out with more intensity and purpose on both ends of the floor. The Buckeyes reeled in Purdue and were eventually able eventually take the lead and go up by nine points with just over 2:42 left when Micah Parrish nailed a three-pointer.

But Purdue would not go quietly into the night and forced some turnovers and hesitant play from Ohio State with a desperate defense, eventually cutting getting to 68-67 with 1:02 remaining. But that’s when John Mobley Jr. came up big by hitting a shot from the corner to put OSU up by 73-70 with just :29 second left. The Buckeyes would then win the foul and free throw game from there and hold on for the victory.

Parrish led Ohio State in scoring by pouring in 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Devin Royal (16) and Bruce Thornton (11) also finished in double figures.

With the win, Ohio State improved its overall record to 11-8 and 3-5 in the Big Ten. Hopefully, this is a win that the team can build upon.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Ohio State basketball vs. Purdue: How to watch, stream the game

On the road to West Lafayette #GoBucks

Despite there being a pretty big football game to focus on, the Ohio State basketball team will be in action the day after the Buckeyes play for the National Championship. Jake Diebler’s squad heads to West Lafayette to take on the No. 17 ranked Purdue Boilermakers.

Ohio State has dropped three games in a row by a combined total of five points. The team led most of the way against Oregon, but couldn’t hold on for a win, and against Wisconsin and Indiana, the Buckeyes dug themselves a hole and couldn’t quite get over the hump.

The Boilermakers come into the contest with a 15-4 record having won seven straight. With only one conference loss, Purdue sits in second place in the Big Ten standings behind Michigan State.

Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Basic info

When: Tuesday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET

Where:  Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Indiana)

How to watch/stream/listen:

Broadcast: Peacock

Radio: IMG Radio Network (flagship station WBNS 97.1 The Fan)

Radio announcers:

  • Paul Keels (play-by-play)
  • Ron Stokes (analysis)

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. 

USC women’s basketball receives big boost in Big Ten championship race

USC received an unexpected gift in its pursuit of the Big Ten women’s basketball championship over the weekend.

USC women’s basketball had a doubly great Sunday. First and foremost, the Trojans did what they came to the state of Indiana to do: Beat the Hoosiers in the first of two games on their Big Ten basketball road trip, which continues against Purdue on Wednesday. The win enabled USC to move to 7-0 in the conference. The Trojans then received an unexpected second dose of good news on Sunday: Ohio State women’s basketball lost at Penn State.

Ohio State entered Sunday as one of three teams with unbeaten records in Big Ten play. USC and UCLA were the others. The Trojans and Bruins are now the only two teams with perfect Big Ten records. USC has a half-game lead in the conference standings with the Indiana win. The 7-0 Trojans are in first place just ahead of the 6-0 Bruins.

The Buckeyes’ stumble against a PSU team which was previously 0-7 in Big Ten games is a true shocker. Ohio State didn’t lose to a team in the upper half of the 18-team Big Ten; it lost to one of the bottom-feeders in the conference. The Buckeyes fell into a third-place tie with Maryland at 6-1 in the Big Ten. Michigan State, Minnesota and Nebraska are tied for fifth place at 5-2.

Looking ahead, Ohio State visits Los Angeles to play both UCLA and USC. The Buckeyes play the Bruins on Wednesday, Feb. 5, and the Trojans on Saturday, Feb. 8. If the Buckeyes get swept on that two-game LA trip, Ohio State would likely get knocked out of legitimate Big Ten championship contention.

USC already won at Maryland; UCLA will play Maryland on Sunday, January 26. Maryland and Ohio State also meet this coming Thursday, January 23. The Big Ten championship race is coming into focus. The heavyweights are going to face each other a lot in the coming weeks.