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LGHL Ryan Day gets his extension, five-star edge rusher has plans to visit Ohio State
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Ryan Day gets his extension, five-star edge rusher has plans to visit Ohio State
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Zion Elee may be committed to Maryland, but he still wants to visit Ohio State.
It seems as if each passing day so far this offseason there’s more news surrounding Ohio State’s coaching staff. Wednesday seeing the changes and additions to the offensive staff, Thursday brought more news as Ryan Day earned his latest contract as Ohio State’s head coach, extending him through the 2031 season.
With a big pay raise to go along with it, this move is deserved following the impressive national championship run Day was able to help lead this team to. Quite the change from the regular season finale, the Buckeyes have their coach for the long haul, and the desire to keep him as the program’s leader should give the Buckeyes continued success.
So far, Ohio State has yet to land a defensive line commit for their 2026 class, but that’s not going to be the case for too long. Offering well over 30 players at the position to this point, the Buckeyes are still fully in evaluation mode, and new names are sure to pop up here and there even with a priority list of targets already created.
A position of importance in every recruiting cycle, Larry Johnson and Ohio State are coming off an incredible four-game run, and should have more momentum now than possibly ever when it comes to recruiting. With a high level of production both from the edge rusher spot and the interior during the postseason, this program could very well cash in big time in the 2026 class once the ball really gets rolling.
Getting these highly touted targets on campus is always the goal for the coaching staff, and while most of the time that means the player is still deciding, Ohio State got word on Thursday that they would be hosting a five-star edge rusher currently committed elsewhere.
The No. 4 player nationally and top edge rusher per the 247Sports Composite, Maryland commit Zion Elee has only been off the market for two months now, but still has his mind open to taking official visits. As of now, he has five stops planned besides Maryland.
Planning to see Auburn, Penn State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Ohio State, the Buckeyes are one of the few remaining schools he’s at least keeping an open mind toward, and that bodes well for LJ, who has always recruited well when it comes to DMV natives. Plenty of work to be done, at least Ohio State will have a shot to host him on campus and prove why Columbus is the best place to be for development.
Continue reading...
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Zion Elee may be committed to Maryland, but he still wants to visit Ohio State.
It seems as if each passing day so far this offseason there’s more news surrounding Ohio State’s coaching staff. Wednesday seeing the changes and additions to the offensive staff, Thursday brought more news as Ryan Day earned his latest contract as Ohio State’s head coach, extending him through the 2031 season.
With a big pay raise to go along with it, this move is deserved following the impressive national championship run Day was able to help lead this team to. Quite the change from the regular season finale, the Buckeyes have their coach for the long haul, and the desire to keep him as the program’s leader should give the Buckeyes continued success.
Five-star Maryland commit still planning to see Ohio State
So far, Ohio State has yet to land a defensive line commit for their 2026 class, but that’s not going to be the case for too long. Offering well over 30 players at the position to this point, the Buckeyes are still fully in evaluation mode, and new names are sure to pop up here and there even with a priority list of targets already created.
A position of importance in every recruiting cycle, Larry Johnson and Ohio State are coming off an incredible four-game run, and should have more momentum now than possibly ever when it comes to recruiting. With a high level of production both from the edge rusher spot and the interior during the postseason, this program could very well cash in big time in the 2026 class once the ball really gets rolling.
Getting these highly touted targets on campus is always the goal for the coaching staff, and while most of the time that means the player is still deciding, Ohio State got word on Thursday that they would be hosting a five-star edge rusher currently committed elsewhere.
The No. 4 player nationally and top edge rusher per the 247Sports Composite, Maryland commit Zion Elee has only been off the market for two months now, but still has his mind open to taking official visits. As of now, he has five stops planned besides Maryland.
Planning to see Auburn, Penn State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Ohio State, the Buckeyes are one of the few remaining schools he’s at least keeping an open mind toward, and that bodes well for LJ, who has always recruited well when it comes to DMV natives. Plenty of work to be done, at least Ohio State will have a shot to host him on campus and prove why Columbus is the best place to be for development.
NEWS: Five-Star Maryland EDGE commit Zion Elee plans to take OVs to theseSchools:
•Maryland
•Auburn
•Ohio State
•Penn State
•Texas A&M
•South Carolina
He is ranked as the No. 1 Recruit in ‘26 (per On3)https://t.co/Wn83TAvgpB pic.twitter.com/tBmgvSBFV5
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 6, 2025
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LGHL I-80 Football Show: Penn State is all in for 2025, Ohio State has a new OC
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I-80 Football Show: Penn State is all in for 2025, Ohio State has a new OC
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In this episode, the guys discuss Penn State’s national championship expectations and Ryan Day’s new offensive staff.
Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Podcast Network’s I-80 Football Show. On this show, we travel down I-80 to talk all things Big Ten Football. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to for the next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.
For years Penn State was predicted as the biggest beneficiary if the Big Ten got rid of divisions and the sport went to a 12-team College Football Playoff. In their first season under this new format, they made the Big Ten Championship Game and made the semi-finals of the CFP.
After the success of their 2024 season, the decision of star players to come back for their senior year and the hiring of Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator, just being good isn’t good enough. If Penn State is ever going to join the upper echelon of the sport instead of being a step behind Ohio State, Georgia, and Alabama, they must deal with the expectations the other programs handle yearly.
It was natty or bust for Ohio State in 2024, and its natty or bust for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions in 2025. If they can’t at least make it to a national championship next season, when will they?
After winning his first national championship, Ryan Day’s Ohio State coaching staff was raided, losing both coordinators, his offensive line coach, as well as some low-level staffers, analysts, and recruiting staff. Day rebuilt his offensive staff by promoting Brian Hartline, who already held the offensive coordinator title, to offensive play-caller. He also promoted analyst and former Akron and UCLA offensive coordinator Billy Fessler to quarterbacks coach. In his final move, he stole Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen to serve as his offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Day has earned respect and the ability to build his staff, but there will be questions about promoting internally and having a first-time play caller in 2025. There are still decisions to make on the defensive side of the ball, but the offensive staff is now complete.
In other news, Dante talks about the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to his Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. We also give our predictions on the Super Bowl. In their weekly pitstop, Jordan talks about the impending fight between the NFL and the NFLPA over Roger Goddell’s desire to move to an 18-game regular season, while Dante recaps the WWE’s Royal Rumble.
If you like the show, please share it with friends and family and leave a five-star review. To keep up with the show, you can subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network Feed, where new episodes drop every Thursday.
You can also find Jordan’s article ‘B1G Thoughts’ on Land-Grant Holy Land.
Follow the show on YouTube: @GetDefensiveSportsNetwork
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @GetDefensiveSportsNetwork
Connect with us on Twitter: Jordan: @JordanW330 and Dante: @DanteM10216
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JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In this episode, the guys discuss Penn State’s national championship expectations and Ryan Day’s new offensive staff.
Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Podcast Network’s I-80 Football Show. On this show, we travel down I-80 to talk all things Big Ten Football. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to for the next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.
For years Penn State was predicted as the biggest beneficiary if the Big Ten got rid of divisions and the sport went to a 12-team College Football Playoff. In their first season under this new format, they made the Big Ten Championship Game and made the semi-finals of the CFP.
After the success of their 2024 season, the decision of star players to come back for their senior year and the hiring of Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator, just being good isn’t good enough. If Penn State is ever going to join the upper echelon of the sport instead of being a step behind Ohio State, Georgia, and Alabama, they must deal with the expectations the other programs handle yearly.
It was natty or bust for Ohio State in 2024, and its natty or bust for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions in 2025. If they can’t at least make it to a national championship next season, when will they?
After winning his first national championship, Ryan Day’s Ohio State coaching staff was raided, losing both coordinators, his offensive line coach, as well as some low-level staffers, analysts, and recruiting staff. Day rebuilt his offensive staff by promoting Brian Hartline, who already held the offensive coordinator title, to offensive play-caller. He also promoted analyst and former Akron and UCLA offensive coordinator Billy Fessler to quarterbacks coach. In his final move, he stole Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen to serve as his offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Day has earned respect and the ability to build his staff, but there will be questions about promoting internally and having a first-time play caller in 2025. There are still decisions to make on the defensive side of the ball, but the offensive staff is now complete.
In other news, Dante talks about the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Doncic to his Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. We also give our predictions on the Super Bowl. In their weekly pitstop, Jordan talks about the impending fight between the NFL and the NFLPA over Roger Goddell’s desire to move to an 18-game regular season, while Dante recaps the WWE’s Royal Rumble.
If you like the show, please share it with friends and family and leave a five-star review. To keep up with the show, you can subscribe to the Land-Grant Podcast Network Feed, where new episodes drop every Thursday.
You can also find Jordan’s article ‘B1G Thoughts’ on Land-Grant Holy Land.
Follow the show on YouTube: @GetDefensiveSportsNetwork
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @GetDefensiveSportsNetwork
Connect with us on Twitter: Jordan: @JordanW330 and Dante: @DanteM10216
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State comes back from down 17 to beat No. 18 Maryland, 73-70
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Ohio State comes back from down 17 to beat No. 18 Maryland, 73-70
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes and Terrapins battled in Columbus, with the home team coming out on top after trailing by a ton.
They weren’t focused on getting revenge Thursday night, but the Ohio State men’s basketball team (14-9, 6-6) has not forgotten how they were treated in College Park back in December. Maryland (17-5, 7-4) demoralized Ohio State at the Xfinity Center during their first meeting, taking a 50-17 lead into the halftime break and eventually winning by 24.
While Jake Diebler said that the team was not focused on what happened last time they played Maryland, the result was, “definitely still in the back of his mind.”
The Terrapins, on the other hand, were ascending coming into Thursday night’s game, having won six of their last seven games and breaking into the AP Poll this week at No. 18.
It was not easy, but Ohio State was able to get payback for the embarrassing December loss on Thursday night, surviving at home against the 18th-ranked Turtles, 73-70.
The game couldn’t start out any worse for Ohio State, as Maryland scored on four of its first five possessions and were fouled on the fifth. The Terrapins went ahead 8-0 on a Julian Reese layup just over three minutes into the game, and Diebler called timeout to talk to his bland, stagnant team.
Devin Royal finally found Ivan Njegovan for an easy layup 3:29 into the game to get on the board, but Maryland’s Rodney Rice answered with a midrange jumper to make it 10-2 Maryland. By the time the first media timeout came around, Maryland still had not missed a shot.
Micah Parrish dropped in a straightaway three and hit a pair of free throws less than a minute later to create his own mini 5-0 run, cutting Maryland’s lead to 17-12 at the under-12 timeout. The Buckeyes adjusted and were over-committing to the paint, forcing guys like Selton Miguel and Ja’Kobi Gillespie to take jumpers rather than Maryland’s post players getting layups. The Terrapins were hitting some of them still, but the Buckeyes did mix in a few defensive stops.
Maryland responded with a 12-3 run, half of which was from free throws, to pull back ahead 29-15 with eight minutes remaining until halftime.
It looked like Maryland had this game wrapped up in the first half, but like they’ve done several times already this season, Ohio State ended the first half on modest run to give them momentum and the slightest glimmer of hope heading into the second half. Thornton knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled by Rice, then scored on a fast break to cut the deficit to 11. A Selton Miguel turnover led to another fast break, and this time it was Mobley who laid it in off the glass to make it 41-32 at the half.
Maryland shot 59.3% in the first half, while the Buckeyes hit at just a 36% clip. Ohio State’s saving grace in the first half was the charity stripe, where they were 12-for-14 over the first 20 minutes.
Ohio State wasn’t able to cut into Maryland’s lead over the first few minutes of the second half, going into the first media timeout still trailing by nine, 45-36. Thornton sprinted down the floor to prevent a fast break layup by Tafara Gapare, pinning it against the glass and wedging it into the corner of the iron for a jump ball. The basket would’ve put Maryland up 11.
A bad pass by Gillespie turned into a Sean Stewart steal, and the hulking sophomore forward took it all the way down the court and scored to cut Maryland’s lead to 47-42 with 12:26 left in the game. Ohio State was starting to get some stops, but still wasn’t making enough shots to come all the way back early in the second half.
Ohio State had multiple opportunities to make it a one-possession game during the second half, but went cold for several minutes and watched Maryland extend their lead back to 11 points with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. The Buckeyes were getting stops, but those stops weren’t turning into any type of offensive production at the other end. Maryland hung tough and held a 59-50 lead by the under-eight timeout.
Led by Bruce Thornton, Ohio State went on an 8-0 run in 89 seconds, cutting the deficit down to 61-58 with 5:30 remaining in the game. The Buckeyes were rotating well and forcing Maryland to take tough shots late in the clock, but it became clear as time went on that the clock was just as big a challenge for Ohio State as the Terrapins. The Buckeyes entered the second half down nine, and it took them 15 minutes to cut that deficit by six.
It got sweaty in the final three minutes. Thornton decided to take the game over with two minutes remaining, scoring on back-to-back possessions to put give Ohio State its first lead of the game, 67-66.
Queen drove to the basket and drew Stewart’s fifth foul of the game, and then hit both free throws to put Maryland back up, 68-67. On the very next possession, Thornton drove to the basket and was fouled by Maryland sophomore Deshawn Harris-Smith, and a goaltend was called as well. The basket counted, the free throw was good, and the Buckeyes took a 70-68 lead with 48 seconds remaining.
Rodney Rice drove on Mobley and scored over the top of him to tie things back up, 70-70, with 36 seconds left on the clock. After Ohio State used its final timeout, Bruce Thornton dribbled around for 15 seconds and then hoisted up a contested three, glassing it in to give Ohio State a 73-70 lead with seven seconds left.
The Terrapins got a good, clean look from three at the buzzer from Miguel, but it was no good.
Buckeyes win, 73-70. It gave Thornton 31 points to go along with six assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
If you weren’t able to catch Ohio State’s fourth ranked win of the season Thursday night, here are a few key moments and stats from the Buckeyes’ get-even win over the Terrapins:
Thursday night was the worst start for Ohio State since, well, probably the last Maryland game. The Terrapins scored on seven of their first eight possessions, and on the eighth Queen was fouled and sent to the free throw line, where he happened to miss both shots. Maryland was up 15-2 not even five minutes into the game.
If this was a boxing match, the referee would’ve been asking if the bloodied Buckeyes could go on with 15 minutes still left in the first half. Maryland went ahead 15-2 to start the game, setting up yet another laugher over Ohio State.
However, the Buckeyes got a few defensive stops and went on a 10-2 run, with Parrish chipping in half of those 10 points. That cut it to 17-12 Maryland with still 12 minutes to go until halftime.
With Maryland up 25-15 and just over eight minutes left in the first half, Bruce Thornton brought the ball up while guarded by Maryland’s Jay Young. Young reached up and swatted the ball out of Thornton’s hands into the air. Both guards went for it, but Thornton extended his arm and pushed Young in the face.
After initially getting whistled for a standard foul, it was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul. Young hit both free throws to make it 27-15 Maryland, and the Turtles got the ball as well due to the flagrant.
Queen was fouled on a drive, and hit both free throws to make it a four-point possession for Maryland, putting them up 29-15.
After Mobley hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 21-15 with 11:05 to go until halftime, Ohio State would go the next 7:55 without scoring a basket, getting seven points off of free throws and nothing more until Thornton scored on a layup with 3:10 to go until the break.
During that time, Maryland was able to increase their lead from six points to 15.
Down 45-36 with 16:11 left in the game, a missed three-pointer by Parrish turned into a long rebound for Tafara Gapare and a run out, with nobody in front of him. The 6-foot-9 junior from New Zealand raced down the floor but was met by Thornton, who is listed at 6-foot-2, at the rim.
Thornton leapt up and pinned the ball against the glass in the corner of the rim, causing a wedgie and a jump ball. Ohio State had the arrow, so the ball went back to Ohio State, and the deficit stayed where it was at nine points.
After Ques Glover cut the deficit to 52-46 with 9:28 remaining, Rodney Rice found Reese for a layup to push it back to 54-46. Mobley Jr. had a pretty open look from three but it was short and pushed off the front iron quickly, into the arms of Gillespie.
Maryland’s point guard ran up the court in a flash and found Miguel in the corner pocket for a three, and he buried it. Maryland went back up by 11, its largest lead of the second half, with 8:48 left in the game.
After Bruce Thornton missed a free throw that would’ve made it 61-57, Royal was able to grab the offensive rebound off the miss and slam it home to get Ohio State back within three, 61-58.
Down 66-64, Mobley dribbled around for far too long but eventually flipped the ball to Thornton, who sprayed a three from the left wing with Reese in his face. It dropped and gave Ohio State its first lead of the game, 67-66.
With 2:02 remaining, Kevin Willard called timeout to draw up Maryland’s next possession with the crowd roaring. That possession turned into a shot clock violation, sending the crowd into even more of a frenzy.
After using his last timeout, Diebler clearly said “give the ball to Bruce and let’s win the game.”
The captain dribbled around for 15 seconds. Nothing opened up, so with two seconds left on the shot clock, he lifted up and glassed home a three-pointer from just in front of the Buckeyes’ bench, nailing it.
73-70.
Ohio State travels to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon. Nebraska has won their last three games, including wins over two ranked teams in Illinois and Oregon. Nebraska is currently No. 48 in the NET, which means it will be a Quad-1 opportunity for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes’ game against Nebraska is set to tip off at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes and Terrapins battled in Columbus, with the home team coming out on top after trailing by a ton.
They weren’t focused on getting revenge Thursday night, but the Ohio State men’s basketball team (14-9, 6-6) has not forgotten how they were treated in College Park back in December. Maryland (17-5, 7-4) demoralized Ohio State at the Xfinity Center during their first meeting, taking a 50-17 lead into the halftime break and eventually winning by 24.
While Jake Diebler said that the team was not focused on what happened last time they played Maryland, the result was, “definitely still in the back of his mind.”
The Terrapins, on the other hand, were ascending coming into Thursday night’s game, having won six of their last seven games and breaking into the AP Poll this week at No. 18.
It was not easy, but Ohio State was able to get payback for the embarrassing December loss on Thursday night, surviving at home against the 18th-ranked Turtles, 73-70.
The game couldn’t start out any worse for Ohio State, as Maryland scored on four of its first five possessions and were fouled on the fifth. The Terrapins went ahead 8-0 on a Julian Reese layup just over three minutes into the game, and Diebler called timeout to talk to his bland, stagnant team.
Devin Royal finally found Ivan Njegovan for an easy layup 3:29 into the game to get on the board, but Maryland’s Rodney Rice answered with a midrange jumper to make it 10-2 Maryland. By the time the first media timeout came around, Maryland still had not missed a shot.
Micah Parrish dropped in a straightaway three and hit a pair of free throws less than a minute later to create his own mini 5-0 run, cutting Maryland’s lead to 17-12 at the under-12 timeout. The Buckeyes adjusted and were over-committing to the paint, forcing guys like Selton Miguel and Ja’Kobi Gillespie to take jumpers rather than Maryland’s post players getting layups. The Terrapins were hitting some of them still, but the Buckeyes did mix in a few defensive stops.
Maryland responded with a 12-3 run, half of which was from free throws, to pull back ahead 29-15 with eight minutes remaining until halftime.
It looked like Maryland had this game wrapped up in the first half, but like they’ve done several times already this season, Ohio State ended the first half on modest run to give them momentum and the slightest glimmer of hope heading into the second half. Thornton knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled by Rice, then scored on a fast break to cut the deficit to 11. A Selton Miguel turnover led to another fast break, and this time it was Mobley who laid it in off the glass to make it 41-32 at the half.
Maryland shot 59.3% in the first half, while the Buckeyes hit at just a 36% clip. Ohio State’s saving grace in the first half was the charity stripe, where they were 12-for-14 over the first 20 minutes.
Ohio State wasn’t able to cut into Maryland’s lead over the first few minutes of the second half, going into the first media timeout still trailing by nine, 45-36. Thornton sprinted down the floor to prevent a fast break layup by Tafara Gapare, pinning it against the glass and wedging it into the corner of the iron for a jump ball. The basket would’ve put Maryland up 11.
A bad pass by Gillespie turned into a Sean Stewart steal, and the hulking sophomore forward took it all the way down the court and scored to cut Maryland’s lead to 47-42 with 12:26 left in the game. Ohio State was starting to get some stops, but still wasn’t making enough shots to come all the way back early in the second half.
Ohio State had multiple opportunities to make it a one-possession game during the second half, but went cold for several minutes and watched Maryland extend their lead back to 11 points with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. The Buckeyes were getting stops, but those stops weren’t turning into any type of offensive production at the other end. Maryland hung tough and held a 59-50 lead by the under-eight timeout.
Led by Bruce Thornton, Ohio State went on an 8-0 run in 89 seconds, cutting the deficit down to 61-58 with 5:30 remaining in the game. The Buckeyes were rotating well and forcing Maryland to take tough shots late in the clock, but it became clear as time went on that the clock was just as big a challenge for Ohio State as the Terrapins. The Buckeyes entered the second half down nine, and it took them 15 minutes to cut that deficit by six.
It got sweaty in the final three minutes. Thornton decided to take the game over with two minutes remaining, scoring on back-to-back possessions to put give Ohio State its first lead of the game, 67-66.
Queen drove to the basket and drew Stewart’s fifth foul of the game, and then hit both free throws to put Maryland back up, 68-67. On the very next possession, Thornton drove to the basket and was fouled by Maryland sophomore Deshawn Harris-Smith, and a goaltend was called as well. The basket counted, the free throw was good, and the Buckeyes took a 70-68 lead with 48 seconds remaining.
Rodney Rice drove on Mobley and scored over the top of him to tie things back up, 70-70, with 36 seconds left on the clock. After Ohio State used its final timeout, Bruce Thornton dribbled around for 15 seconds and then hoisted up a contested three, glassing it in to give Ohio State a 73-70 lead with seven seconds left.
The Terrapins got a good, clean look from three at the buzzer from Miguel, but it was no good.
Buckeyes win, 73-70. It gave Thornton 31 points to go along with six assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
If you weren’t able to catch Ohio State’s fourth ranked win of the season Thursday night, here are a few key moments and stats from the Buckeyes’ get-even win over the Terrapins:
Maryland hits its first seven shots
Thursday night was the worst start for Ohio State since, well, probably the last Maryland game. The Terrapins scored on seven of their first eight possessions, and on the eighth Queen was fouled and sent to the free throw line, where he happened to miss both shots. Maryland was up 15-2 not even five minutes into the game.
Ohio State’s 10-2 run stops the ref from calling the fight
If this was a boxing match, the referee would’ve been asking if the bloodied Buckeyes could go on with 15 minutes still left in the first half. Maryland went ahead 15-2 to start the game, setting up yet another laugher over Ohio State.
However, the Buckeyes got a few defensive stops and went on a 10-2 run, with Parrish chipping in half of those 10 points. That cut it to 17-12 Maryland with still 12 minutes to go until halftime.
Thornton called for a flagrant foul, Maryland spaces out lead
With Maryland up 25-15 and just over eight minutes left in the first half, Bruce Thornton brought the ball up while guarded by Maryland’s Jay Young. Young reached up and swatted the ball out of Thornton’s hands into the air. Both guards went for it, but Thornton extended his arm and pushed Young in the face.
After initially getting whistled for a standard foul, it was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul. Young hit both free throws to make it 27-15 Maryland, and the Turtles got the ball as well due to the flagrant.
Queen was fouled on a drive, and hit both free throws to make it a four-point possession for Maryland, putting them up 29-15.
Ohio State goes nearly eight minutes without a basket
After Mobley hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 21-15 with 11:05 to go until halftime, Ohio State would go the next 7:55 without scoring a basket, getting seven points off of free throws and nothing more until Thornton scored on a layup with 3:10 to go until the break.
During that time, Maryland was able to increase their lead from six points to 15.
Thornton chases down and pins Gapare’s layup on the glass
Down 45-36 with 16:11 left in the game, a missed three-pointer by Parrish turned into a long rebound for Tafara Gapare and a run out, with nobody in front of him. The 6-foot-9 junior from New Zealand raced down the floor but was met by Thornton, who is listed at 6-foot-2, at the rim.
Thornton leapt up and pinned the ball against the glass in the corner of the rim, causing a wedgie and a jump ball. Ohio State had the arrow, so the ball went back to Ohio State, and the deficit stayed where it was at nine points.
Miguel’s triple puts Maryland up 11 with eight minutes to go
After Ques Glover cut the deficit to 52-46 with 9:28 remaining, Rodney Rice found Reese for a layup to push it back to 54-46. Mobley Jr. had a pretty open look from three but it was short and pushed off the front iron quickly, into the arms of Gillespie.
Maryland’s point guard ran up the court in a flash and found Miguel in the corner pocket for a three, and he buried it. Maryland went back up by 11, its largest lead of the second half, with 8:48 left in the game.
Royal’s dunk cuts the deficit to three points with 5:30 to go
After Bruce Thornton missed a free throw that would’ve made it 61-57, Royal was able to grab the offensive rebound off the miss and slam it home to get Ohio State back within three, 61-58.
Thornton’s three gives Ohio State its first lead of the night
Down 66-64, Mobley dribbled around for far too long but eventually flipped the ball to Thornton, who sprayed a three from the left wing with Reese in his face. It dropped and gave Ohio State its first lead of the game, 67-66.
With 2:02 remaining, Kevin Willard called timeout to draw up Maryland’s next possession with the crowd roaring. That possession turned into a shot clock violation, sending the crowd into even more of a frenzy.
Thornton’s three with seven seconds left wins the game
After using his last timeout, Diebler clearly said “give the ball to Bruce and let’s win the game.”
The captain dribbled around for 15 seconds. Nothing opened up, so with two seconds left on the shot clock, he lifted up and glassed home a three-pointer from just in front of the Buckeyes’ bench, nailing it.
73-70.
What’s next?
Ohio State travels to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon. Nebraska has won their last three games, including wins over two ranked teams in Illinois and Oregon. Nebraska is currently No. 48 in the NET, which means it will be a Quad-1 opportunity for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes’ game against Nebraska is set to tip off at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
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LGHL Ohio State announces coaching changes, sends out new offer on recruiting trail
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Ohio State announces coaching changes, sends out new offer on recruiting trail
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes dished out their latest offer to a New Jersey defensive line target.
Ohio State’s offseason has seen no shortage of changes in just two weeks time. With coaching moves on both sides of the ball, there has been virtually zero downtime to enjoy the national championship win, but that’s life in the big city. Ohio State’s staff has been poached by programs both at the NFL and the college level, and that typically means things have gone well.
With Wednesday providing major updates to the offensive coaching staff, the Buckeyes have promoted Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator, hired Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen to coach the offensive line, and also promoted Billy Fessler to the full-time quarterback coach role.
Defensive coordinator being the last vacancy still to be determined, Ryan Day has been busy, and these latest hires are not only impressive, but deserved for the two in-house candidates. The work now really starts for these three in their new roles.
Coaching hires taking majority of the attention and priority this week, Ohio State is still finding time to evaluate players from all over the country. On Wednesday, the Buckeyes sent out their latest offer in the 2026 class by way of New Jersey native, Damari Simeon.
Taking to his social media to share the latest update in his recruitment, Ohio State joins a lengthy list of programs who have already offered the 6-foot-3, 275 pound defensive line prospect. Schools such as Auburn, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, USC, and a host of others ranks as some of the bigger names to enter the mix, but Ohio State now in the fold furthers his case of being a top target.
Unranked currently via his 247Sports profile, the offer list alone goes to prove the caliber of player Simeon is. The goal now will be to have him on campus in the coming months when spring ball gets underway. A visit to come would mean the Buckeyes are very much in the picture, and Larry Johnson tends to do well on the East Coast when he goes after his guys.
It would be an understatement to say Hartline is Ohio State’s top recruiter on the coaching staff. Winning at an all-time rate each and every cycle, it’s his receivers that many times are the top-ranked players in the recruiting class and much of the reason why this offense continues to click at the successful pace seen each season.
Hartline’s deserved promotion to offensive coordinator might be somewhat worrisome for some of the fanbase who wanted a top national hire, but combined with the new addition of Bowen who can help in the run game, the Buckeyes are going to be just fine. That said, while the on-field product is the most important aspect to this promotion, the recruiting wins should only continue as many top targets already gave their support of Hartline getting the nod.
One of the more important recruits of the future, the top player in Ohio State’s 2026 class gave a glowing review of his position coach now having coordinator responsibilities. The No. 5 player nationally and top receiver per the 247Sports Composite grades, Chris Henry Jr. has all of the outlets watching his every move — many times just for clicks — as the Buckeyes are always in the fight of their life to keep their top commits.
Following his recent visit to Oregon, there’s always some sort of talk that Ohio State could be losing their prized recruit to the Ducks or even Michigan by their homer-analysts. This latest news regarding Hartline, however, further helps Ohio State’s chances of hanging on to Henry Jr., as he himself has made it clear that he will be a Buckeye if Hartline will be in Columbus because the chance to be at Ohio State is, “too good to pass up”.
This promotion should further ease much of the worry of Henry Jr. ending up anywhere other than Ohio State.
Continue reading...
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes dished out their latest offer to a New Jersey defensive line target.
Ohio State’s offseason has seen no shortage of changes in just two weeks time. With coaching moves on both sides of the ball, there has been virtually zero downtime to enjoy the national championship win, but that’s life in the big city. Ohio State’s staff has been poached by programs both at the NFL and the college level, and that typically means things have gone well.
With Wednesday providing major updates to the offensive coaching staff, the Buckeyes have promoted Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator, hired Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen to coach the offensive line, and also promoted Billy Fessler to the full-time quarterback coach role.
Defensive coordinator being the last vacancy still to be determined, Ryan Day has been busy, and these latest hires are not only impressive, but deserved for the two in-house candidates. The work now really starts for these three in their new roles.
Buckeyes dish out offer to New Jersey native
Coaching hires taking majority of the attention and priority this week, Ohio State is still finding time to evaluate players from all over the country. On Wednesday, the Buckeyes sent out their latest offer in the 2026 class by way of New Jersey native, Damari Simeon.
Taking to his social media to share the latest update in his recruitment, Ohio State joins a lengthy list of programs who have already offered the 6-foot-3, 275 pound defensive line prospect. Schools such as Auburn, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, USC, and a host of others ranks as some of the bigger names to enter the mix, but Ohio State now in the fold furthers his case of being a top target.
Unranked currently via his 247Sports profile, the offer list alone goes to prove the caliber of player Simeon is. The goal now will be to have him on campus in the coming months when spring ball gets underway. A visit to come would mean the Buckeyes are very much in the picture, and Larry Johnson tends to do well on the East Coast when he goes after his guys.
Hartline’s promotion further helping the recruiting efforts
It would be an understatement to say Hartline is Ohio State’s top recruiter on the coaching staff. Winning at an all-time rate each and every cycle, it’s his receivers that many times are the top-ranked players in the recruiting class and much of the reason why this offense continues to click at the successful pace seen each season.
Hartline’s deserved promotion to offensive coordinator might be somewhat worrisome for some of the fanbase who wanted a top national hire, but combined with the new addition of Bowen who can help in the run game, the Buckeyes are going to be just fine. That said, while the on-field product is the most important aspect to this promotion, the recruiting wins should only continue as many top targets already gave their support of Hartline getting the nod.
One of the more important recruits of the future, the top player in Ohio State’s 2026 class gave a glowing review of his position coach now having coordinator responsibilities. The No. 5 player nationally and top receiver per the 247Sports Composite grades, Chris Henry Jr. has all of the outlets watching his every move — many times just for clicks — as the Buckeyes are always in the fight of their life to keep their top commits.
Following his recent visit to Oregon, there’s always some sort of talk that Ohio State could be losing their prized recruit to the Ducks or even Michigan by their homer-analysts. This latest news regarding Hartline, however, further helps Ohio State’s chances of hanging on to Henry Jr., as he himself has made it clear that he will be a Buckeye if Hartline will be in Columbus because the chance to be at Ohio State is, “too good to pass up”.
This promotion should further ease much of the worry of Henry Jr. ending up anywhere other than Ohio State.
Quick Hits
- Per On3, Ohio State will welcome four-star edge rusher Cam Brooks to campus later this summer when he makes an official visit in Columbus in late June. The No. 89 player nationally and 10th best edge rusher in the 2026 class per the 247Sports Composite, any visit is a big one, but seeing Brooks cancel a trip to Miami in favor of spending time with Ohio State makes this recruitment update that much sweeter.
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LGHL Bucketheads Podcast: Joe Gemma joins to talk Maryland, John Mobley Jr., and his brand new office
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Bucketheads Podcast: Joe Gemma joins to talk Maryland, John Mobley Jr., and his brand new office
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Friend of the show Joe Gemma joins us to break down all things Ohio State men’s basketball as we head into the final month of the regular season.
“Bucketheads” is LGHL’s men’s basketball podcast, hosted by Connor Lemons and Justin Golba. In every episode, they give you the latest scoop on the Ohio State Buckeyes and everything else happening in college hoops.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
We are back for episode 148 of the Bucketheads Podcast, and our good friend Joe Gemma is in as the third chair. Joe is the lead designer for Ohio State Athletics, and we talk about his new job, uniforms, and how much say he has in what the teams wear.
After that, we do a State of the Union of the Ohio State men’s basketball team. What does the team need to fix in the final month of the season? How can we assess Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart? What should we grade John Mobley, and what does the coaching staff need to do in the offseason?
At the end, Justin has some quick-hitting questions for Connor and Joe.
Remember to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, leave a comment, and review!
Connect with the Podcast:
Twitter: @BucketheadsLGPN
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Connect with Justin:
Twitter: @justin_golba
Connect with Joe:
Twitter: JoeDGemma
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justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Friend of the show Joe Gemma joins us to break down all things Ohio State men’s basketball as we head into the final month of the regular season.
“Bucketheads” is LGHL’s men’s basketball podcast, hosted by Connor Lemons and Justin Golba. In every episode, they give you the latest scoop on the Ohio State Buckeyes and everything else happening in college hoops.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
We are back for episode 148 of the Bucketheads Podcast, and our good friend Joe Gemma is in as the third chair. Joe is the lead designer for Ohio State Athletics, and we talk about his new job, uniforms, and how much say he has in what the teams wear.
After that, we do a State of the Union of the Ohio State men’s basketball team. What does the team need to fix in the final month of the season? How can we assess Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart? What should we grade John Mobley, and what does the coaching staff need to do in the offseason?
At the end, Justin has some quick-hitting questions for Connor and Joe.
Remember to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen, leave a comment, and review!
Connect with the Podcast:
Twitter: @BucketheadsLGPN
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Connect with Justin:
Twitter: @justin_golba
Connect with Joe:
Twitter: JoeDGemma
Continue reading...
LGHL What went wrong for Ohio State women’s basketball vs. UCLA
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What went wrong for Ohio State women’s basketball vs. UCLA
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes had chances to upset the No. 1 team in the nation, but fell short in key, preventable areas.
No. 8 Ohio State women’s basketball entered the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s game against the No. 1 UCLA Bruins down two points. Soon it was tied, and all appearances showed that the final quarter would be a closely contested matchup between two of the top three teams in the Big Ten.
Then the bottom fell out.
“We had turnovers and we didn’t rebound,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “We had done a great job with both of those for the most part throughout the game and UCLA really made us pay down the stretch there.”
UCLA guard Kiki Rice scored four quick points with the game tied, and the Buckeyes were finished. The Bruins scored 15 of the next 16 points and ran away to a 13-point victory. A far cry from last season’s seven-point defeat that featured a 15-point comeback from the Buckeyes in the final quarter.
On Wednesday, Ohio State barely hit double digit scoring in the fourth quarter, with a last second three-point shot that made no difference in the final outcome to reach 10 for the frame.
What led to that anticlimactic ending was preventable for the Buckeyes on a night where the formula to beat the Bruins was clear, but lacked the 40 minutes of execution needed to end the winning streak of the nation’s only undefeated remaining Division I program.
In the first quarter, McGuff’s plan for 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts was working. Forward Ajae Petty and center Elsa Lemmilä took turns guarding the big, and instead of trying to defend her one-on-one and keep her from attacking the basket, the Buckeyes’ plan was to stop the ball from getting to Betts in the first place.
Ohio State bigs saw passes building and jumped in front of the UCLA center, leaping to intercept or smacking the ball away to limit possessions. In the first quarter, the Buckeyes held Betts to three points and only two shots.
At the same time, on the offensive side of the court, Ohio State built up a seven-point lead despite going 4-of-13 from the floor to start the game. That was possible because there wasn’t a double or triple team on Betts, meaning outlets were cut off and the Buckeyes contested UCLA shots.
Then in the second quarter, pass anticipation against Betts stopped. Petty played more traditional defense on the center and Betts responded with eight points in the first six minutes, outscoring the Buckeyes by six points all by herself.
The Buckeyes went 1-of-7 from the floor in that span, but Lemmilä entered the game and the freshman settled things down on both sides of the court. Lemmilä and the Ohio State defense limited Betts to two shots in the final four minutes, with fewer passes making their way into the center’s hands. The Finnish center also scored two baskets in the paint, one contested by two Bruins but Lemmilä fought through contact.
For the second half, down six points, UCLA went back to the paint, scoring their first eight points in the post. McGuff put his starting five onto the court, which is the usual rotation employed by the coach, but Lemmilä didn’t enter the game until seven minutes came off the game clock.
“I thought Petty was really fighting hard with Betts around the basket,” said McGuff. We were trying to keep both of them sort of fresh so they could both have the energy to compete with her around the basket.”
When Lemmilä came into the game, Betts left the court to rest her only minutes of the second half. Thanks to a 16-point third quarter by forward Cotie McMahon and guard Jaloni Cambridge combined, and the best shooting quarter of the game for Ohio State at 40 percent, Ohio State entered the final quarter down two points.
Lemmilä entered the game after UCLA scored four of their first six points in the paint, and Betts didn’t score again for UCLA, despite playing all 10 minutes of the final quarter. Even so, at that point the Bruins run was up to six points, and their lead up to nine, and no shooting came to Ohio State’s rescue.
The theme throughout most of the night was poor shooting, and most of it was not shot selection issues. Throughout the night, Ohio State just missed open chances, no other way to put it.
Cambridge went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, while the rest of the team went 0-for-13. Shooting guard Chance Gray had six points, and missed all four attempts from deep, now on a run of shooting 1-of-16 from long distance in the last four games.
Outside of McMahon and Cambridge who scored 14 and 21 points respectively, the other three Buckeye starters accounted for nine points, with guard/forward Taylor Thierry accounting for the other three. Petty had zero points, mainly due to the presence of Betts in the interior. Petty also left four points at the free throw line.
Petty is the third Ohio State starter to score zero points in a game in the last four games, joining Gray scoring nothing against the Maryland Terrapins and Cambridge’s foul trouble holding her off the stat sheet against Nebraska.
After the game, McMahon was asked what the defense did to make shooting so difficult on Ohio State.
“I don’t think their defense was anything that stopped us, honestly,” said McMahon. “I think we just, we got great shots, we got to the basket, we just weren’t finishing.”
It’s hard to argue against McMahon’s claim with the open looks missed, or possessions rushed. Ohio State also missed seven free throws, gave UCLA eight points off turnovers and had less second chance points than UCLA (8-3) despite the Buckeyes grabbing four more offensive rebounds than the home side.
Regardless, the Buckeyes weren’t too low following the game, and the moments when defense was working, and the team got off to a rare hot start, were good reasons to take some positives into Saturday’s game at No. 7 USC.
“Cotie [McMahon] came in the locker room, she just told us not to hold our head down,” said Cambridge. “We had a good fight, just didn’t come out on top. But at the end of the day, if we want to be a successful team, we can’t look back and be like, we should have done this, just move on to the next game.”
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ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes had chances to upset the No. 1 team in the nation, but fell short in key, preventable areas.
No. 8 Ohio State women’s basketball entered the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s game against the No. 1 UCLA Bruins down two points. Soon it was tied, and all appearances showed that the final quarter would be a closely contested matchup between two of the top three teams in the Big Ten.
Then the bottom fell out.
“We had turnovers and we didn’t rebound,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “We had done a great job with both of those for the most part throughout the game and UCLA really made us pay down the stretch there.”
UCLA guard Kiki Rice scored four quick points with the game tied, and the Buckeyes were finished. The Bruins scored 15 of the next 16 points and ran away to a 13-point victory. A far cry from last season’s seven-point defeat that featured a 15-point comeback from the Buckeyes in the final quarter.
On Wednesday, Ohio State barely hit double digit scoring in the fourth quarter, with a last second three-point shot that made no difference in the final outcome to reach 10 for the frame.
What led to that anticlimactic ending was preventable for the Buckeyes on a night where the formula to beat the Bruins was clear, but lacked the 40 minutes of execution needed to end the winning streak of the nation’s only undefeated remaining Division I program.
Defensive Strategy
In the first quarter, McGuff’s plan for 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts was working. Forward Ajae Petty and center Elsa Lemmilä took turns guarding the big, and instead of trying to defend her one-on-one and keep her from attacking the basket, the Buckeyes’ plan was to stop the ball from getting to Betts in the first place.
Ohio State bigs saw passes building and jumped in front of the UCLA center, leaping to intercept or smacking the ball away to limit possessions. In the first quarter, the Buckeyes held Betts to three points and only two shots.
At the same time, on the offensive side of the court, Ohio State built up a seven-point lead despite going 4-of-13 from the floor to start the game. That was possible because there wasn’t a double or triple team on Betts, meaning outlets were cut off and the Buckeyes contested UCLA shots.
Then in the second quarter, pass anticipation against Betts stopped. Petty played more traditional defense on the center and Betts responded with eight points in the first six minutes, outscoring the Buckeyes by six points all by herself.
The Buckeyes went 1-of-7 from the floor in that span, but Lemmilä entered the game and the freshman settled things down on both sides of the court. Lemmilä and the Ohio State defense limited Betts to two shots in the final four minutes, with fewer passes making their way into the center’s hands. The Finnish center also scored two baskets in the paint, one contested by two Bruins but Lemmilä fought through contact.
For the second half, down six points, UCLA went back to the paint, scoring their first eight points in the post. McGuff put his starting five onto the court, which is the usual rotation employed by the coach, but Lemmilä didn’t enter the game until seven minutes came off the game clock.
“I thought Petty was really fighting hard with Betts around the basket,” said McGuff. We were trying to keep both of them sort of fresh so they could both have the energy to compete with her around the basket.”
When Lemmilä came into the game, Betts left the court to rest her only minutes of the second half. Thanks to a 16-point third quarter by forward Cotie McMahon and guard Jaloni Cambridge combined, and the best shooting quarter of the game for Ohio State at 40 percent, Ohio State entered the final quarter down two points.
Lemmilä entered the game after UCLA scored four of their first six points in the paint, and Betts didn’t score again for UCLA, despite playing all 10 minutes of the final quarter. Even so, at that point the Bruins run was up to six points, and their lead up to nine, and no shooting came to Ohio State’s rescue.
Shooting
The theme throughout most of the night was poor shooting, and most of it was not shot selection issues. Throughout the night, Ohio State just missed open chances, no other way to put it.
Cambridge went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, while the rest of the team went 0-for-13. Shooting guard Chance Gray had six points, and missed all four attempts from deep, now on a run of shooting 1-of-16 from long distance in the last four games.
Outside of McMahon and Cambridge who scored 14 and 21 points respectively, the other three Buckeye starters accounted for nine points, with guard/forward Taylor Thierry accounting for the other three. Petty had zero points, mainly due to the presence of Betts in the interior. Petty also left four points at the free throw line.
Petty is the third Ohio State starter to score zero points in a game in the last four games, joining Gray scoring nothing against the Maryland Terrapins and Cambridge’s foul trouble holding her off the stat sheet against Nebraska.
After the game, McMahon was asked what the defense did to make shooting so difficult on Ohio State.
“I don’t think their defense was anything that stopped us, honestly,” said McMahon. “I think we just, we got great shots, we got to the basket, we just weren’t finishing.”
It’s hard to argue against McMahon’s claim with the open looks missed, or possessions rushed. Ohio State also missed seven free throws, gave UCLA eight points off turnovers and had less second chance points than UCLA (8-3) despite the Buckeyes grabbing four more offensive rebounds than the home side.
Regardless, the Buckeyes weren’t too low following the game, and the moments when defense was working, and the team got off to a rare hot start, were good reasons to take some positives into Saturday’s game at No. 7 USC.
“Cotie [McMahon] came in the locker room, she just told us not to hold our head down,” said Cambridge. “We had a good fight, just didn’t come out on top. But at the end of the day, if we want to be a successful team, we can’t look back and be like, we should have done this, just move on to the next game.”
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LGHL Ohio State men’s basketball vs. No. 18 Maryland: Game preview and prediction
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Ohio State men’s basketball vs. No. 18 Maryland: Game preview and prediction
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes will look to avenge its worst loss of the season as the ranked Terrapins come to Columbus.
The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-9 overall, 5-6 conference) will host the No. 18 Maryland Terrapins (17-5 overall, 7-4 conference) on Thursday night at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes are looking for redemption after falling to Maryland 83-59 on Dec. 4 in College Park.
Ohio State played its worst half of the season in the first half against Maryland back in December, falling down 50-17 and getting run off the floor in the opening 20 minutes. In that matchup, five Terrapins finished in double-digits, with Ja’Kobi Gillespie recording 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting and 4-for-8 from three-point range. Derik Queen recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Tafara Gapare recorded 12 points off the bench, which to this point has been his only time scoring in double-digits in Big Ten play.
For Ohio State, Devin Royal recorded 18 points and nine rebounds. John Mobley Jr. finished with 15 points off the bench. The Buckeyes shot 4-for-19 from three-point range, 11-for-18 from the free-throw line, and had 16 turnovers. Aaron Bradshaw, Colin White, and Ques Glover did not play in that game.
Meechie Johnson did play in the first Maryland, but he won’t be playing in this game after leaving the team in December due to personal matters. He has yet to return, and Mobley has started in his place since then.
Since falling to Maryland two months ago, the Buckeyes have wins over Purdue and Kentucky and are playing better basketball as of late. Now they get a chance to record a ranked win, with Maryland being a top-20 team in the country as of Monday.
Maryland is also No. 18 in KenPom, while Ohio State is No. 25. The Terrapins are No. 18 in offensive efficiency and No. 23 in defensive efficiency, while Ohio State is No. 32 in offensive efficiency and No. 27 in defensive efficiency.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25861483/usa_today_25296391.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Wisconsin at Maryland")
Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Maryland is balanced with two great big men and solid guard play all around. They are third in the Big Ten in scoring offense with 83 points per game, and second In the Big Ten in scoring defense, only allowing 65.5 points per game — second only to UCLA
Derik Queen leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game. He is second on the team in rebounds as well, with 8.3 per game. Julian Reese is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points, and leads the ‘Terps in rebounding at 9.1 per contest.
Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is second on the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game. He also averages 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds. Sophomore guard Rodney Rice and senior guard Selton Miguel average 12.7 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.
Ohio State is led by junior Point Guard Bruce Thornton, who is averaging 17.1 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range.
Sophomore forward Devin Royal is second on the team in scoring and first on the team in rebounding. He averages 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, which more than triples his averages in both stats from his freshman year.
Freshman guard John Mobley is averaging 13.0 points per game, and senior forward Micah Parrish is averaging 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Both Ohio State and Maryland are in the top-five in the conference in three-point percentage, with both teams shooting over 37 percent. They trail only Iowa and Purdue in that category.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25861484/usa_today_25307207.jpg "Syndication: Pocono Record")
Taj Falconer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
This would be a huge win for Ohio State, but it will not come without its challenges. Ohio State’s advantage is that they are at home, but Maryland is deep, athletic, and well-put together after losing so much last season.
After winning at Purdue, the Buckeyes strung together double-digit wins against Iowa and Penn State to get back to .500 in the conference, but a loss to No. 23 Illinois on Sunday saw them fall to under .500.
Ohio State has to do the exact opposite of what they did in the first meeting: Make their open shots, make their free throws, take care of the ball, and challenge Maryland to contested shots.
Maryland has played great this season, but road losses to Washington and Northwestern have shown that they can struggle away from the friendly confines of the Xfinity Center. The Buckeyes have a lot to play for, so I think they come out hot and never let go of an early lead.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 56.4%
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
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justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes will look to avenge its worst loss of the season as the ranked Terrapins come to Columbus.
The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-9 overall, 5-6 conference) will host the No. 18 Maryland Terrapins (17-5 overall, 7-4 conference) on Thursday night at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes are looking for redemption after falling to Maryland 83-59 on Dec. 4 in College Park.
Ohio State played its worst half of the season in the first half against Maryland back in December, falling down 50-17 and getting run off the floor in the opening 20 minutes. In that matchup, five Terrapins finished in double-digits, with Ja’Kobi Gillespie recording 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting and 4-for-8 from three-point range. Derik Queen recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Tafara Gapare recorded 12 points off the bench, which to this point has been his only time scoring in double-digits in Big Ten play.
For Ohio State, Devin Royal recorded 18 points and nine rebounds. John Mobley Jr. finished with 15 points off the bench. The Buckeyes shot 4-for-19 from three-point range, 11-for-18 from the free-throw line, and had 16 turnovers. Aaron Bradshaw, Colin White, and Ques Glover did not play in that game.
Meechie Johnson did play in the first Maryland, but he won’t be playing in this game after leaving the team in December due to personal matters. He has yet to return, and Mobley has started in his place since then.
Since falling to Maryland two months ago, the Buckeyes have wins over Purdue and Kentucky and are playing better basketball as of late. Now they get a chance to record a ranked win, with Maryland being a top-20 team in the country as of Monday.
Maryland is also No. 18 in KenPom, while Ohio State is No. 25. The Terrapins are No. 18 in offensive efficiency and No. 23 in defensive efficiency, while Ohio State is No. 32 in offensive efficiency and No. 27 in defensive efficiency.
Preview
Maryland is balanced with two great big men and solid guard play all around. They are third in the Big Ten in scoring offense with 83 points per game, and second In the Big Ten in scoring defense, only allowing 65.5 points per game — second only to UCLA
Derik Queen leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game. He is second on the team in rebounds as well, with 8.3 per game. Julian Reese is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points, and leads the ‘Terps in rebounding at 9.1 per contest.
Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is second on the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game. He also averages 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds. Sophomore guard Rodney Rice and senior guard Selton Miguel average 12.7 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.
Ohio State is led by junior Point Guard Bruce Thornton, who is averaging 17.1 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range.
Sophomore forward Devin Royal is second on the team in scoring and first on the team in rebounding. He averages 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, which more than triples his averages in both stats from his freshman year.
Freshman guard John Mobley is averaging 13.0 points per game, and senior forward Micah Parrish is averaging 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Both Ohio State and Maryland are in the top-five in the conference in three-point percentage, with both teams shooting over 37 percent. They trail only Iowa and Purdue in that category.
Prediction
This would be a huge win for Ohio State, but it will not come without its challenges. Ohio State’s advantage is that they are at home, but Maryland is deep, athletic, and well-put together after losing so much last season.
After winning at Purdue, the Buckeyes strung together double-digit wins against Iowa and Penn State to get back to .500 in the conference, but a loss to No. 23 Illinois on Sunday saw them fall to under .500.
Ohio State has to do the exact opposite of what they did in the first meeting: Make their open shots, make their free throws, take care of the ball, and challenge Maryland to contested shots.
Maryland has played great this season, but road losses to Washington and Northwestern have shown that they can struggle away from the friendly confines of the Xfinity Center. The Buckeyes have a lot to play for, so I think they come out hot and never let go of an early lead.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 56.4%
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 76, Maryland 70
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2026 NJ DL Damari Simeon (Verbal Offer)
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Class: 2026
School: Richland(NJ) St. Augustine Prep
Position: DT
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 275lbs
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LGHL Would Ohio State men’s basketball crowds fill other, not-so-massive Big Ten arenas?
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Would Ohio State men’s basketball crowds fill other, not-so-massive Big Ten arenas?
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Not every team in the Big Ten plays in a 19,000-seat concrete beast parading around as a basketball arena.
It’s a Friday night at the Schottenstein Center, and the Ohio State athletic band is playing “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen as the Buckeyes run through layup lines. On the other end, the Indiana Hoosiers, clad in their cream and crimson candy-striped warm ups, are shooting three-pointers from three different lines from three different spots on the floor.
The game is nationally televised on FOX with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson on the call. Throngs of Indiana fans hover near the opposing team’s tunnel, trying to get the Hoosiers’ attention despite the shrinking game clock indicating that they will not, in fact, be signing any more autographs before the game starts.
It feels like Big Ten basketball — the way God intended.
The only thing missing was the fans.
Over 13,000 people showed up for Ohio State’s one-point loss to Indiana on Jan. 17 — 13,124 to be exact — but that still left roughly 5,000 empty seats in the cavernous arena that will celebrate its 30th birthday next year.
A quick glance up to the rafters shows entire sections of seats in the upper level completely devoid of human beings, mostly in the sections behind the baskets. If people purchased tickets up there, they opted to sit on the sides, where they would get a better panoramic view of the floor.
The point I’m making here is this — maybe Ohio State doesn’t have a low attendance problem. Maybe Ohio State just has an “our arena always looks empty” problem.
The average attendance of 11,327 this season is slightly down from last season, when Ohio State men’s basketball averaged 11,708 per game. The combination of not making the NCAA Tournament for two consecutive years, only having three weekend home games this season, and other factors contributed to the small drop so far (there’s five home games remaining, including the Roddy Gayle Bowl).
But not every school in the Big Ten plays in an 18,800-seat arena. Ohio State has the largest arena in the conference by a large margin, and it made me wonder — how well would Ohio State’s crowds fill out all of the other Big Ten venues? Would we sit back and see thousands of empty seats in every other arena if we picked up Ohio State’s crowd and plopped it into say, Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena?
The results:
Capacity: 7,039
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out all 12 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Capacity: 8,000
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out all 12 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Capacity: 10,000
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out 10 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Alaska Airlines Arena.
Capacity: 10,258
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out 9 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as the Galen Center.
Capacity: 12,364
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 91.6%.
Ohio State would have sold out 5 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Knight Arena.
Capacity: 13,609
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 83.2%.
Ohio State would have sold out 1 home game so far if the Schott was the same size as the Crisler Center.
Capacity: 13,800
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 82%.
Ohio State would have sold out 1 home game so far if the Schott was the same size as Pauley Pavilion.
Capacity: 14,240
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 79.5%.
Ohio State would have sold out 1 home game so far if the Schott was the same size as Mackey Arena.
Capacity: 14,625
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 77.4%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Williams Arena.
Capacity: 15,000
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 75.5%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Breslin Center.
Capacity: 15,201
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 74.5%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Bryce Jordan Center.
Capacity: 15,550
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 72.8%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Capacity: 15,550
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 72.8%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Capacity: 15,550
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 72.8%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the State Farm Center.
Capacity: 17,220
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 65.7%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Assembly Hall.
Capacity: 17,287
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 65.5%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Kohl Center.
Capacity: 17,950
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 63.1%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Xfinity Center.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Not every team in the Big Ten plays in a 19,000-seat concrete beast parading around as a basketball arena.
It’s a Friday night at the Schottenstein Center, and the Ohio State athletic band is playing “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen as the Buckeyes run through layup lines. On the other end, the Indiana Hoosiers, clad in their cream and crimson candy-striped warm ups, are shooting three-pointers from three different lines from three different spots on the floor.
The game is nationally televised on FOX with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson on the call. Throngs of Indiana fans hover near the opposing team’s tunnel, trying to get the Hoosiers’ attention despite the shrinking game clock indicating that they will not, in fact, be signing any more autographs before the game starts.
It feels like Big Ten basketball — the way God intended.
The only thing missing was the fans.
Over 13,000 people showed up for Ohio State’s one-point loss to Indiana on Jan. 17 — 13,124 to be exact — but that still left roughly 5,000 empty seats in the cavernous arena that will celebrate its 30th birthday next year.
A quick glance up to the rafters shows entire sections of seats in the upper level completely devoid of human beings, mostly in the sections behind the baskets. If people purchased tickets up there, they opted to sit on the sides, where they would get a better panoramic view of the floor.
The point I’m making here is this — maybe Ohio State doesn’t have a low attendance problem. Maybe Ohio State just has an “our arena always looks empty” problem.
The average attendance of 11,327 this season is slightly down from last season, when Ohio State men’s basketball averaged 11,708 per game. The combination of not making the NCAA Tournament for two consecutive years, only having three weekend home games this season, and other factors contributed to the small drop so far (there’s five home games remaining, including the Roddy Gayle Bowl).
But not every school in the Big Ten plays in an 18,800-seat arena. Ohio State has the largest arena in the conference by a large margin, and it made me wonder — how well would Ohio State’s crowds fill out all of the other Big Ten venues? Would we sit back and see thousands of empty seats in every other arena if we picked up Ohio State’s crowd and plopped it into say, Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena?
The results:
Welsh-Ryan Arena (Northwestern)
Capacity: 7,039
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out all 12 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Jersey Mike’s Arena aka “The RAC” (Rutgers)
Capacity: 8,000
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out all 12 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Alaska Airlines Arena (Washington)
Capacity: 10,000
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out 10 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Alaska Airlines Arena.
Galen Center (USC)
Capacity: 10,258
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 100%.
Ohio State would have sold out 9 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as the Galen Center.
Knight Arena (Oregon)
Capacity: 12,364
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 91.6%.
Ohio State would have sold out 5 home games so far if the Schott was the same size as Knight Arena.
Crisler Arena (Michigan)
Capacity: 13,609
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 83.2%.
Ohio State would have sold out 1 home game so far if the Schott was the same size as the Crisler Center.
Pauley Pavilion (UCLA)
Capacity: 13,800
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 82%.
Ohio State would have sold out 1 home game so far if the Schott was the same size as Pauley Pavilion.
Mackey Arena (Purdue)
Capacity: 14,240
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 79.5%.
Ohio State would have sold out 1 home game so far if the Schott was the same size as Mackey Arena.
Williams Arena, aka “The Barn” (Minnesota)
Capacity: 14,625
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 77.4%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Williams Arena.
Breslin Center (Michigan State)
Capacity: 15,000
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 75.5%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Breslin Center.
Bryce Jordan Center (Penn State)
Capacity: 15,201
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 74.5%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Bryce Jordan Center.
Pinnacle Bank Arena, aka “The Vault” (Nebraska)
Capacity: 15,550
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 72.8%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa)
Capacity: 15,550
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 72.8%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
State Farm Center (Illinois)
Capacity: 15,550
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 72.8%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the State Farm Center.
Assembly Hall (Indiana)
Capacity: 17,220
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 65.7%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as Assembly Hall.
Kohl Center (Wisconsin)
Capacity: 17,287
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 65.5%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Kohl Center.
Xfinity Center (Maryland)
Capacity: 17,950
Ohio State’s average crowd of 11,327 would fill the arena to 63.1%.
Ohio State would not have sold out any games yet this season if the Schott was the same size as the Xfinity Center.
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