Tag: ohio state basketball

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 gets huge win over ranked Texas team to start season

Great start to the season for the Buckeyes! #GoBucks

In case you missed it with all the hubbub of the election cycle and what Ohio State football is doing on the field, we’re here to remind you that the Buckeye basketball team opened the season on Monday night in Vegas.

And it wasn’t just any game. Ohio State was on the Strip playing the No. 19 ranked Texas Longhorns, meaning there wasn’t a lot of time to ease into the season.

Don’t tell that to the Buckeye hoopsters though because they went out and got an impressive win over the Longhorns by jumping out to the lead early and doing enough to keep them at arm’s reach for most of the game, winning by a score of 80-72. In fact Ohio State never trailed in the contest.

The Buckeyes came out of the gate shooting hot from beyond the arc and raced out to an 8-0 lead before Texas even got on the board. Guard John Mobley Jr. pulled the trigger from deep early on, making three, 3-point baskets to set the tone early.

OSU even extended the lead out to 13 points but Texas chipped away the rest of the half. The Buckeyes went into the break thanks to hot shooting up by a score of 38-31 in a fast paced, frenzied type of game that we’ll likely see from this OSU squad this season.

The second half saw the game flow even out with both teams playing pretty evenly. Ohio State’s cushion would hold up with the Longhorns getting as close as thee points but then OSU continuing to answer every min-run with one of its own throughout the second half in route to the victory.

We’ll see if it continues, but the win was orchestrated by going deep into the bench. Ten players got into the game with eight scoring at least one bucket. Guard Bruce Thornton led four Buckeyes in double figures with 20 points. Micah Parrish (17), Devyn Royal (16), and Mobley (14) joined him in chipping in double figures.

Ohio State shot 45.0% from the floor including a blistering 50.0% (14-of-28) from beyond the arc. OSU also out-rebounded the Longhorns 40-38, but offset that a bit by turning the ball over 15 times to just nine for Texas.

Ohio State will next be in action against Youngstown State in its home opener next Monday night.

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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.

Mike Conley crack ESPN’s top-100 NBA players

Mike Conley has been named a top-100 NBA player and is the only such former Ohio State basketball alum to receiver the honor.

Ohio State basketball has produced some elite NBA players over the last decade, including the likes of Mike Conley, Evan Turner, D’Angelo Russell and many others.

However, Conley is the only one that cracked ESPN’s top 100, their annual breakdown of the top players in the NBA. Conley barely made the cut, being ranked 98th after being 93rd the season prior.

Russell was snubbed from the list despite being a key piece for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Conley is expected to be the starting point guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that has championship expectations this upcoming season. He averaged 11.4 points per game last season, shooting 45.7% from the field and 44.2% from deep.

He’s shot over 40% from deep in two straight seasons and in four of his last five. He’s also averaged 5.0 or more assists per game in five straight seasons. Conley is a strong starting point guard and is a quality floor general.

Expect a big season from the 37-year-old guard who has managed just 100 games over the last two seasons.

Ohio State basketball vs. UCLA will feature honoring of late Bill Walton

Ohio State basketball will face the UCLA Bruins late in the season, and the battle will feature the honoring of the late Bill Walton.

The UCLA Bruins are in the Big Ten, so while in the past they wouldn’t have, they will now face Ohio State in basketball consistently. One of those games will be on February 23, 2025, at the Bruins campus on the West Coast.

The Bruins will honor the late Bill Walton in the game with a “tie-dye” tribute. Walton passed away earlier this year. Students will receive a tie-dyed tee per TheScore.com.

Walton, who was an icon at UCLA, helped lead the Bruins to multiple national championships in the 1970s and then continued his success with the Portland Trail Blazers and numerous other NBA teams.

UCLA was among the most dominant programs in the country for numerous years when Walton played. He was the starting center for the team for three seasons, playing under legendary head coach John Wooden. The Bruins were 86-4 during those seasons.

The Buckeyes will tip their season off with the top-25 Texas Longhorns on November 4, 2024.

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.

E.J. Liddell lands with third team in the past three months

On the move… again #GoBucks

Former Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell is on the move… again. You may recall Liddell was traded to the Atlanta Hawks from the New Orleans Pelicans on June 28. Just a month later, the Hawks sent the former Buckeye to the Phoenix Suns. However, his time didn’t last long in Phoenix either as Liddell was cut to make room for another roster move. It looks like he now has a new home once more.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has reported that the Chicago Bulls have signed Liddell who is an Illinois native. The Bulls are in the midst of a rebuild and the Liddell signing brings the offseason roster to 21 which is the maximum number allowed. He’ll still have some work to do to make the 15-man roster.

Liddell was selected by the Pelicans in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft but suffered a torn ACL that ended his rookie season before it had a chance to begin. He played sparingly in his return this past season, appearing in just five games for the Pelicans, picking up most of his playing time in the NBA’s G-League.

Liddell was limited to just 23 NBA minutes over eight games but averaged 17.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in the G League in 2023.

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