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LGHL What Ohio State needs to do on both sides of the ball to beat Tennessee
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What Ohio State needs to do on both sides of the ball to beat Tennessee
Matt Tamanini 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
It all starts with whether or not Ryan Day plans to be stupid on Saturday or not.
Football is considered by many to be the epitome of a thinking man’s game. It is as strategic as any of the major American sports and requires nearly a dozen men to work in concert simply to execute a single play. With all of the film study and game plans and technique work that are part of the daily lives of football players and coaches, I often feel like there is a distinct paralysis by analysis that happens amongst the biggest brains in the sport, especially when it comes to the man in charge of our favorite program.
But, let’s be honest, football is simple. The team with the biggest, strongest, fastest, most talented players has a distinct advantage in nearly every matchup, especially at the collegiate level. Obviously that’s not the only thing that matters, but far too often coaches, analysts, and #ballknowers try to make it far more complicated than it needs to be.
So, as the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes prepare to take on the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. ET, I wanted to strip away all of the jargon (not that I understand it anyway) and get to two obvious, but in some cases under-the-radar, things that Ryan Day and his staff and squad need to do in order to set up a quarterfinal rematch with the No. 1 Oregon Ducks.
When Ohio State has the ball, this is the part of the game where I am most unsure of heading into Saturday night; not necesarily because I’m unsure of what OSU is capable of doing, but that I’m unsure of what OSU will actually attempt to do.
Tennessee’s defense has been excellent all season. They come into the playoffs fourth in total defense allowing only 278.3 yards per game, fourth in scoring defense (13.9 points per game), eighth in rush defense (99.58 ypg), and 17th against the pass (178.7 ypg). So even if the Buckeye offense was operating at peak potential, they would be in for a tough battle.
But, friend, I’m not sure if you know this or not, but the Buckeye offense is not operating anywhere near its peak potential. In fact, you might say that the Ohio State offense is operating at “Eek! potential” following the demoralizing and exasperating loss to Michigan.
The obvious major issue for the Buckeyes is the beaten-up, continually reshuffled offensive line. Following in-season injuries to Josh Simmons and Rimington Award winner Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State is now without its two best players up front. Since those injuries occured, there have been further twists, turns, and surprises for the unit at nearly every opportunity, and that has not stopped heading into the postseason.
Ryan Day has essentially said during media availabilities this week that there will be different personnel moving in and out of the offensive line against Tennessee. What exactly that means, we don’t yet know. However, it did appear that at Tuesday’s practice, Luke Montgomery was at left tackle with the starting group, replacing Austin Siereveld who started against Indiana and Michigan.
Apparently, the collected media only saw one play, so it might have just been part of a rotation, or it could have been a smoke screen to confuse onlookers, who knows? However, I would imagine that Montgomery at LT seems set, but whether Siereveld kicks over to right tackle or Tegra Tshabola sticks in the spot — despite his disappointing play in the second half of the season — remains to be seen. Day has referenced a rotation, potentially involving all three. Seems like a horrible way to head into an elimination game, but I don’t get paid millions of dollars to coach the team.
Of course, all of these machinations matter in the micro sense as line play is integral to any offense’s success, but from a macro point of view, I’m just not sure that all of this isn’t a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
In the full games since Simmons suffered his season-ending injury against Oregon, the Ohio State running game has put up decent numbers against bad teams and bad numbers against good teams — with the exception of having a moderately good ground game performance against Penn State.
Looking at these stats, the final two weeks of Ohio State’s regular season should be the most concerning. Against Indiana and Michigan — FBS’s No. 1 and No. 3 rush defenses — Day and Chip Kelly continually tried to force the square peg that is Ohio State’s offense into the round hole that is a misguided attempt to prove that the team is tough and they were unable to really generate anything worth crowing about; fortunately, that only cost them one game, instead of two.
When factoring in strength of schedule, I think the Vols’ No. 8 rushing defense probably stacks up fairly well to the two Big Ten teams that Ohio State faced to wrap up the regular season. Tennessee is No. 1 nationally in defensive rush success rate; only 31.4% of their opponents’ runs end up having a positive EPA (expected points added). If Day and Kelly continue to try and force-feed the OSU offense in between the tackles, it should be a fairly easy — albeit cold — evening for the folks from Rocky Top.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that Ohio State should abandon the run altogether, only that they need to better take advantage of the talent at their disposal. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins are two of the most dynamic backs in college football, so get them in space and let them make plays. If you are going to rely on the interior offensive line to make holes for them, you are going to continue to get the 2.96-ypc average that you did against Michigan.
Admittedly, two of Tennessee’s best run stoppers are its defensive ends Joshua Josephs and James Pearce Jr., so going outside isn’t going to be a picnic either. The former grades out at a team-high 91.6 in run defense according to Pro Football Focus and the latter is second at 83.8. While the interior of the d-line doesn’t grade out nearly as well, I still find it hard to believe that it wouldn’t have the advantage over its Buckeye counterparts. So, creating space for Henderson and Judkins seems like a much better proposition to me.
Obviously, Ohio State isn’t going to go from running the ball 54% of the time during the regular season to 24% in the playoffs (even though I think they should), but if they at least flipped their run and pass percentages, I think that would be a step in the right direction. If that new 46% percent of plays that are runs involved some of the creativity, movement, misdirection, and outside runs that Kelly employed early in the season, then I think it could be advantageous for the Buckeyes.
But Day cannot fall victim to his self-imposed traps that have undermined each of the last three seasons. Yes, I know that all coaches want a balanced offense, but, sir, your team — especially with these offensive line injuries — is not built to be a ground-and-pound unit. Your team has the best conglomeration of wide receiver talent in the country with a quarterback who has proven to be incredibly accurate for the majority of the season. Use it.
If Day, Kelly, and the Buckeyes are able to best utilize the offensive talent on hand by throwing to set up the run, upping the tempo, and getting creative when they run, I don’t see the Vols having a shot to win. The problem is that Day, Kelly, and the Buckeyes have been unexplainably hesitant to do that this season, so I’m afraid that it could be the Scarlet and Gray behind the 8-ball on Saturday night.
Despite Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s reputation as an air-raid guru, this year’s version of his Volunteers is decidedly run-first. Tennessee has run the ball 61.4% of the time this year as redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has had considerable ups and downs.
The beating heart of the Vols’ offense is junior running back Dylan Sampson who led the SEC in yards (1,485), attempts (256), and touchdowns (22). There is no doubt that Ohio State has to keep him in check, as I wrote about earlier in the week.
In both of their losses this season, Ohio State has allowed running backs to go over 100 yards on the ground, but neither did so in especially dominating fashion. Oregon’s Jordan James had 115 yards on 23 carries for a solid 5 ypc, but Michigan’s Kalel Mullings bested James by one yard to finish The Game with 116 yards on 32 carries, on a less impressive 3.63 ypc. So, given the fact that Ohio State has the nation’s No. 5 rush defense in terms of yards per carry at 2.85, I feel fairly comfortable in saying that while Sampson will assuredly get his fair share of yards, and will likely even have a few long runs, the OSU defensive front will pose a formidable challenge.
However, the part of Ohio State’s defense that has become increasingly concerning is the play of the starting cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igninosun. Burke is CB1 and he comes into his fourth season as a Buckeye starter having already had a career filled with ups and downs. He showed tremendous promise in his first year in Columbus, earning Freshman All-American honors in 2021. However, his sophomore season cratered as he seemed overwhelmed at times being the No. 1 guy in the room. His junior year was a return to form, earning second-team All-American honors.
Now in 2024, he has been solid.. not great, but solid; earning a third-team All-Big Ten recognition. On the year, receivers that he has covered have been targeted 36 times, leading to 30 receptions and 370 yards. While an 83.3% completion percentage is not what you would hope for from your top corner, the fact that he is only being thrown at three times per game, certainly compensates for that a bit. Those types of numbers would indicate that when opposing QBs do throw Burke’s way, it is often when he is not in press coverage, instead giving a cushion for a receiver to make a catch in front of him.
However, in four of the last seven games, Burke has allowed at least one catch of 20 yards or more, including a not-so-nice 69-yard reception to Oregon’s Evan Stewart. Not only did the Duck WR create ample separation from Burke, but then he was able to pick up an extra 24 yards after the reception, because either the OSU CB couldn’t tackle him or was more interested in trying to punch the ball out while being drug along.
These are the types of plays that the Buckeyes cannot afford to give up if they want to contain the Volunteer offense. We know that Sampson is going to eat, so if the secondary allows Iamaleava and receivers Dont’e Thornton, Bru McCoy, Squirrel White, and others to establish a passing attack as well, then it could become pretty difficult to get the Vols off the field.
On the season, Tennessee has only accounted for 33 pass plays of 20+ yards, ranking it 92nd nationally. Conversely, Ohio State is sixth nationally in the corresponding category having given up only 23. Jim Knowles’ defense has been a bend-but-don’t-break unit this season, forcing offenses to grind out drives before bowing up in the red zone if not earlier. If Burke — and other DBs for that matter — are taken advantage of regularly via the passing game, then that flips the entire script in Tennessee’s direction.
However, long receptions are not the only way that cornerbacks can give up big, back-breaking plays. OSU’s other starting cornerback Davison Igbinosun has developed a nasty habit of committing pass interference penalties in nearly every high-leverage situation possible.
On the whole, Ohio State has been incredibly disciplined when it comes to penalties, having only committed 52 in the regular season (good for seventh nationally). However, Igbinosn has been flagged 13 times, representing one quarter (25%) of the team's entire penalty output all season. Igbinosun has been targeted 42 times and has given up completions on half of those. However, when you factor in the 13 penalties, opponents are having successful plays 80.9% of the time that he is thrown at
The frustrating thing about Iggy’s penalties — and many of the completions that he allows — is that more often than not, he is in good position. So, I am not sure if that speaks to a lack of catch-point fundamentals, a lack of confidence in his process, a lack of awareness in the last moments of the catch, or maybe all of the above. But, for the same reasons that the Ohio State defense cannot afford to give up big plays through the air, it cannot afford to give up 15-yard penalties on passing downs, which fairly regularly extend drives that otherwise would lead to punts.
When it comes down to it, the same is true on both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes. They need to play into what it is that they do best, and avoid unforced errors, either from the players or coaching staff. Ohio State enters this first-round game as a 7.5-point favorite according to FanDuel, but many of the experts and analysts around the country will tell you to take Tennessee and the points.
If Ryan Day and Chip Kelly continue to insist on making the OSU offense something that even the most casual of viewer knows that it’s not, then I would agree with them.
If Denzel Burke is routinely burnt and Davison Igbinosun is regularly flagged as well, then I would likely recommend betting the Vols’ moneyline.
Hopefully the players and coaches come to the playoffs with clear heads and solid plans, because this team clearly has the potential to win the national title, but they also have the potential to be embarrassed in yet another big spot during Ryan Day’s coaching tenure.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini 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
It all starts with whether or not Ryan Day plans to be stupid on Saturday or not.
Football is considered by many to be the epitome of a thinking man’s game. It is as strategic as any of the major American sports and requires nearly a dozen men to work in concert simply to execute a single play. With all of the film study and game plans and technique work that are part of the daily lives of football players and coaches, I often feel like there is a distinct paralysis by analysis that happens amongst the biggest brains in the sport, especially when it comes to the man in charge of our favorite program.
But, let’s be honest, football is simple. The team with the biggest, strongest, fastest, most talented players has a distinct advantage in nearly every matchup, especially at the collegiate level. Obviously that’s not the only thing that matters, but far too often coaches, analysts, and #ballknowers try to make it far more complicated than it needs to be.
So, as the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes prepare to take on the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. ET, I wanted to strip away all of the jargon (not that I understand it anyway) and get to two obvious, but in some cases under-the-radar, things that Ryan Day and his staff and squad need to do in order to set up a quarterfinal rematch with the No. 1 Oregon Ducks.
When Ohio State has the ball: Don’t try to prove you are tough by running Woody Hayes’ offense
When Ohio State has the ball, this is the part of the game where I am most unsure of heading into Saturday night; not necesarily because I’m unsure of what OSU is capable of doing, but that I’m unsure of what OSU will actually attempt to do.
Tennessee’s defense has been excellent all season. They come into the playoffs fourth in total defense allowing only 278.3 yards per game, fourth in scoring defense (13.9 points per game), eighth in rush defense (99.58 ypg), and 17th against the pass (178.7 ypg). So even if the Buckeye offense was operating at peak potential, they would be in for a tough battle.
But, friend, I’m not sure if you know this or not, but the Buckeye offense is not operating anywhere near its peak potential. In fact, you might say that the Ohio State offense is operating at “Eek! potential” following the demoralizing and exasperating loss to Michigan.
The obvious major issue for the Buckeyes is the beaten-up, continually reshuffled offensive line. Following in-season injuries to Josh Simmons and Rimington Award winner Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State is now without its two best players up front. Since those injuries occured, there have been further twists, turns, and surprises for the unit at nearly every opportunity, and that has not stopped heading into the postseason.
Ryan Day has essentially said during media availabilities this week that there will be different personnel moving in and out of the offensive line against Tennessee. What exactly that means, we don’t yet know. However, it did appear that at Tuesday’s practice, Luke Montgomery was at left tackle with the starting group, replacing Austin Siereveld who started against Indiana and Michigan.
Apparently, the collected media only saw one play, so it might have just been part of a rotation, or it could have been a smoke screen to confuse onlookers, who knows? However, I would imagine that Montgomery at LT seems set, but whether Siereveld kicks over to right tackle or Tegra Tshabola sticks in the spot — despite his disappointing play in the second half of the season — remains to be seen. Day has referenced a rotation, potentially involving all three. Seems like a horrible way to head into an elimination game, but I don’t get paid millions of dollars to coach the team.
Of course, all of these machinations matter in the micro sense as line play is integral to any offense’s success, but from a macro point of view, I’m just not sure that all of this isn’t a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
In the full games since Simmons suffered his season-ending injury against Oregon, the Ohio State running game has put up decent numbers against bad teams and bad numbers against good teams — with the exception of having a moderately good ground game performance against Penn State.
Looking at these stats, the final two weeks of Ohio State’s regular season should be the most concerning. Against Indiana and Michigan — FBS’s No. 1 and No. 3 rush defenses — Day and Chip Kelly continually tried to force the square peg that is Ohio State’s offense into the round hole that is a misguided attempt to prove that the team is tough and they were unable to really generate anything worth crowing about; fortunately, that only cost them one game, instead of two.
When factoring in strength of schedule, I think the Vols’ No. 8 rushing defense probably stacks up fairly well to the two Big Ten teams that Ohio State faced to wrap up the regular season. Tennessee is No. 1 nationally in defensive rush success rate; only 31.4% of their opponents’ runs end up having a positive EPA (expected points added). If Day and Kelly continue to try and force-feed the OSU offense in between the tackles, it should be a fairly easy — albeit cold — evening for the folks from Rocky Top.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that Ohio State should abandon the run altogether, only that they need to better take advantage of the talent at their disposal. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins are two of the most dynamic backs in college football, so get them in space and let them make plays. If you are going to rely on the interior offensive line to make holes for them, you are going to continue to get the 2.96-ypc average that you did against Michigan.
Admittedly, two of Tennessee’s best run stoppers are its defensive ends Joshua Josephs and James Pearce Jr., so going outside isn’t going to be a picnic either. The former grades out at a team-high 91.6 in run defense according to Pro Football Focus and the latter is second at 83.8. While the interior of the d-line doesn’t grade out nearly as well, I still find it hard to believe that it wouldn’t have the advantage over its Buckeye counterparts. So, creating space for Henderson and Judkins seems like a much better proposition to me.
Obviously, Ohio State isn’t going to go from running the ball 54% of the time during the regular season to 24% in the playoffs (even though I think they should), but if they at least flipped their run and pass percentages, I think that would be a step in the right direction. If that new 46% percent of plays that are runs involved some of the creativity, movement, misdirection, and outside runs that Kelly employed early in the season, then I think it could be advantageous for the Buckeyes.
But Day cannot fall victim to his self-imposed traps that have undermined each of the last three seasons. Yes, I know that all coaches want a balanced offense, but, sir, your team — especially with these offensive line injuries — is not built to be a ground-and-pound unit. Your team has the best conglomeration of wide receiver talent in the country with a quarterback who has proven to be incredibly accurate for the majority of the season. Use it.
If Day, Kelly, and the Buckeyes are able to best utilize the offensive talent on hand by throwing to set up the run, upping the tempo, and getting creative when they run, I don’t see the Vols having a shot to win. The problem is that Day, Kelly, and the Buckeyes have been unexplainably hesitant to do that this season, so I’m afraid that it could be the Scarlet and Gray behind the 8-ball on Saturday night.
When Tennessee has the ball: Cornerbacks can’t allow big plays by catch or penalty
Despite Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s reputation as an air-raid guru, this year’s version of his Volunteers is decidedly run-first. Tennessee has run the ball 61.4% of the time this year as redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has had considerable ups and downs.
The beating heart of the Vols’ offense is junior running back Dylan Sampson who led the SEC in yards (1,485), attempts (256), and touchdowns (22). There is no doubt that Ohio State has to keep him in check, as I wrote about earlier in the week.
In both of their losses this season, Ohio State has allowed running backs to go over 100 yards on the ground, but neither did so in especially dominating fashion. Oregon’s Jordan James had 115 yards on 23 carries for a solid 5 ypc, but Michigan’s Kalel Mullings bested James by one yard to finish The Game with 116 yards on 32 carries, on a less impressive 3.63 ypc. So, given the fact that Ohio State has the nation’s No. 5 rush defense in terms of yards per carry at 2.85, I feel fairly comfortable in saying that while Sampson will assuredly get his fair share of yards, and will likely even have a few long runs, the OSU defensive front will pose a formidable challenge.
However, the part of Ohio State’s defense that has become increasingly concerning is the play of the starting cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igninosun. Burke is CB1 and he comes into his fourth season as a Buckeye starter having already had a career filled with ups and downs. He showed tremendous promise in his first year in Columbus, earning Freshman All-American honors in 2021. However, his sophomore season cratered as he seemed overwhelmed at times being the No. 1 guy in the room. His junior year was a return to form, earning second-team All-American honors.
Now in 2024, he has been solid.. not great, but solid; earning a third-team All-Big Ten recognition. On the year, receivers that he has covered have been targeted 36 times, leading to 30 receptions and 370 yards. While an 83.3% completion percentage is not what you would hope for from your top corner, the fact that he is only being thrown at three times per game, certainly compensates for that a bit. Those types of numbers would indicate that when opposing QBs do throw Burke’s way, it is often when he is not in press coverage, instead giving a cushion for a receiver to make a catch in front of him.
However, in four of the last seven games, Burke has allowed at least one catch of 20 yards or more, including a not-so-nice 69-yard reception to Oregon’s Evan Stewart. Not only did the Duck WR create ample separation from Burke, but then he was able to pick up an extra 24 yards after the reception, because either the OSU CB couldn’t tackle him or was more interested in trying to punch the ball out while being drug along.
These are the types of plays that the Buckeyes cannot afford to give up if they want to contain the Volunteer offense. We know that Sampson is going to eat, so if the secondary allows Iamaleava and receivers Dont’e Thornton, Bru McCoy, Squirrel White, and others to establish a passing attack as well, then it could become pretty difficult to get the Vols off the field.
On the season, Tennessee has only accounted for 33 pass plays of 20+ yards, ranking it 92nd nationally. Conversely, Ohio State is sixth nationally in the corresponding category having given up only 23. Jim Knowles’ defense has been a bend-but-don’t-break unit this season, forcing offenses to grind out drives before bowing up in the red zone if not earlier. If Burke — and other DBs for that matter — are taken advantage of regularly via the passing game, then that flips the entire script in Tennessee’s direction.
However, long receptions are not the only way that cornerbacks can give up big, back-breaking plays. OSU’s other starting cornerback Davison Igbinosun has developed a nasty habit of committing pass interference penalties in nearly every high-leverage situation possible.
On the whole, Ohio State has been incredibly disciplined when it comes to penalties, having only committed 52 in the regular season (good for seventh nationally). However, Igbinosn has been flagged 13 times, representing one quarter (25%) of the team's entire penalty output all season. Igbinosun has been targeted 42 times and has given up completions on half of those. However, when you factor in the 13 penalties, opponents are having successful plays 80.9% of the time that he is thrown at
The frustrating thing about Iggy’s penalties — and many of the completions that he allows — is that more often than not, he is in good position. So, I am not sure if that speaks to a lack of catch-point fundamentals, a lack of confidence in his process, a lack of awareness in the last moments of the catch, or maybe all of the above. But, for the same reasons that the Ohio State defense cannot afford to give up big plays through the air, it cannot afford to give up 15-yard penalties on passing downs, which fairly regularly extend drives that otherwise would lead to punts.
When it comes down to it, the same is true on both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes. They need to play into what it is that they do best, and avoid unforced errors, either from the players or coaching staff. Ohio State enters this first-round game as a 7.5-point favorite according to FanDuel, but many of the experts and analysts around the country will tell you to take Tennessee and the points.
If Ryan Day and Chip Kelly continue to insist on making the OSU offense something that even the most casual of viewer knows that it’s not, then I would agree with them.
If Denzel Burke is routinely burnt and Davison Igbinosun is regularly flagged as well, then I would likely recommend betting the Vols’ moneyline.
Hopefully the players and coaches come to the playoffs with clear heads and solid plans, because this team clearly has the potential to win the national title, but they also have the potential to be embarrassed in yet another big spot during Ryan Day’s coaching tenure.
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LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land: We finally get to play some football again
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Hangout in the Holy Land: We finally get to play some football again
justingolba 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
After almost a month off, the Tennessee game and the first round of the CFP are here, and we have a full preview and prediction for you.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL personalities as they discuss Ohio State football, basketball, recruiting, and much more! Come for the hot takes. Stay for the warm ones.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
On this brand new episode of Hangout in the Holy Land, Justin is joined by Land-Grant Holy Land’s managing editor Gene Ross for a full Tennessee game preview.
For the first time in almost a month, we finally have an Ohio State football game, and it is the biggest one of the year.
Simply put, what does Ohio State have to do to win this game? We break down Tennessee's offense and defense, talk about some narratives coming into the game, X-factors, our confidence in Ryan Day, and making our official predictions.
Make sure to like and subscribe to the podcast. As always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Justin Golba:
Twitter: @justin_golba
Connect with Gene Ross:
Twitter: @Gene_Ross23
Continue reading...
justingolba 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
After almost a month off, the Tennessee game and the first round of the CFP are here, and we have a full preview and prediction for you.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL personalities as they discuss Ohio State football, basketball, recruiting, and much more! Come for the hot takes. Stay for the warm ones.
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
On this brand new episode of Hangout in the Holy Land, Justin is joined by Land-Grant Holy Land’s managing editor Gene Ross for a full Tennessee game preview.
For the first time in almost a month, we finally have an Ohio State football game, and it is the biggest one of the year.
Simply put, what does Ohio State have to do to win this game? We break down Tennessee's offense and defense, talk about some narratives coming into the game, X-factors, our confidence in Ryan Day, and making our official predictions.
Make sure to like and subscribe to the podcast. As always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod:
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Justin Golba:
Twitter: @justin_golba
Connect with Gene Ross:
Twitter: @Gene_Ross23
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State takes care of business at home, beating Valpo 95-73
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Ohio State takes care of business at home, beating Valpo 95-73
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
Devin Royal was otherworldly in the win, scoring a career-high 31 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
With another game against a top-five opponent looming, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (7-4, 1-1) needed to take care of business at home Tuesday night against Valparaiso despite being down 25% of the active roster.
They did that, beating Jake Diebler’s scrappy alma mater at the Schottenstein Center, 95-73. Devin Royal was a man on a mission, finishing with career-highs in points (31) and rebounds (15).
In addition to Ques Glover and Colin White, who are both nursing ankle injuries, Aaron Bradshaw missed his seventh consecutive game, and second since the team announced he’d rejoined team activities. Head coach Jake Diebler said on Monday afternoon that Bradshaw was still in a “return to play” progression and that he physically had not gotten to a level that warranted his return. There are now serious doubts that the sophomore center will be available on Saturday against No. 5 Kentucky, which also happens to be his former team.
On top of those three absences, it was announced on Tuesday night that senior guard Meechie Johnson has decided to take a personal leave of absence from the program. There is no timeline for his return, but Ohio State resumes classes on January 6, so Johnson would likely need to be back on campus by then to retain his eligibility.
With all of those absences in mind, Diebler went with a starting lineup of Bruce Thornton, Micah Parrish, Sean Stewart, Devin Royal, and John Mobley. It was Mobley’s first collegiate start.
Valparaiso head coach Roger Powell went with a starting five of Tyler Schmidt, All Wright (yup, that’s his name), Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro, Kaspar Sepp, and Cooper Schwieger. Wright is coming off a career-high 26-point game against Central Michigan on Saturday.
Whether it was the off-the-court stuff or the after-effects of having been thoroughly pantsed by Auburn three days earlier, the Buckeyes came out flat defensively against Valpo. The Beacons knocked down a trio of three-pointers before the first media timeout, not even five minutes into the game. Diebler’s alma mater held a 12-8 lead after four minutes inside a sleepy late-night Schottenstein Center crowd of just over 8,000 people.
Valpo wasn’t able to extend that four-point lead, and it wasn’t nearly enough to hold off Ohio State once the offense got going. Eight minutes into the game Ohio State started what would eventually turn into a 12-0 run, pulling ahead by double-digits momentarily before Valpo cut the lead back to six.
The Beacons got to the free throw line four times in the final 5:06 of the first half and went 6-for-8 from the stripe, cutting Ohio State’s 10-point lead to four momentarily before Royal and Parrish closed the half with a combined five points in the final 17 seconds of the half. The Buckeyes went to the locker room up 41-30, with Royal scoring 18 of the Buckeyes’ 41. He also had nine of Ohio State’s 21 rebounds in the first half.
By the 11-minute mark of the second half Ohio State had extended its lead to 19 over Valpo. The Beacons didn’t have the muscle or motor to hang with Royal or his accomplices on Tuesday night, letting a close game dissolve into an easy win with more than 10 minutes remaining.
Basketball was played over the final few minutes, but little of it was of consequence with Ohio State up 20 points for the final quarter of the game. After sitting most of the first half, Stewart scored on three consecutive possessions late in the game to extend the lead, including two big dunks. Royal scored just before the final media timeout to notch his first career 30-point game.
If you weren’t among the dozens of people in attendance Tuesday night or forgot to renew your Peacock subscription to watch, here were a few key moments and plays that were pivotal — or at least noteworthy — during Ohio State’s win:
The sophomore forward had picked up at least three fouls in each of his last five games and was off to a really fast start Tuesday night if he wanted to extend that streak. The 6-foot-9 forward picked up his second foul of the game 3:46 into the contest and was quickly replaced by Austin Parks. Not too long later, Parks was pulled for Evan Mahaffey, who scored moments later off a smooth feed from Thornton to cut Valpo’s lead to 12-10.
Up 19-16 with 9:40 remaining in the first half, Bruce Thornton powered his way to the baseline and tried to drop in a jumper off the glass from about six feet up the line. It was long and rolled off the front of the basket, but Thornton moved and was able to collect his own miss and kick it out to Parrish.
Parrish’s three-point try was no good, but Royal snagged another offensive rebound and got the ball to Mobley, who took Schwieger for a little dance on the perimeter before stepping back and knocking down his second three-pointer of the game. It made the score 22-16, and the possession was only possible because Thornton chased down his own miss.
With Bradshaw out, Stewart in early foul trouble, and Parks not playing particularly well the last two games, Ohio State resorted to using Royal and Mahaffey at center for much of this game. The Beacons didn’t throw their weight around below the basket, but they were able to draw a handful of fouls at the end of the first half and get to the line four times over the final five minutes, hitting six of their eight free throws. This stopped Ohio State’s 12-0 run.
Royal finished the first half with 18 points and nine rebounds, finishing just one rebound short of a double-double in the first half alone. He also came four points and three rebounds short of tying his career highs, just in the first half.
With Bruce Thornton in foul trouble, Royal turned into Ohio State’s go-to option, and Valpo had no clear way to stop him.
Royal was able to quickly register that double-double in the second half, grabbing his 10th rebound 2:15 into the second half to give him 22 points and 10 boards, at that point.
Ohio State hoisted five three-point tries in the first 2:13 of Tuesday night’s game, hitting one of them and falling behind early to a team they needed to take care of. After that, the Buckeyes were more selective with their triples and even then were still not hitting them at a high clip.
Ohio State finished the first half 4-for-13 from beyond the arc and missed the first three in the second half as well to start 4-for-16 from long range.
But Ohio State — mostly Royal, but also Mahaffey and at times Parrish — did their best work right around the basket. The Buckeyes scored 34 paint points against Valpo Tuesday night.
Prior to Tuesday night’s game Ohio State was the third-worst free throw shooting team in the Big Ten, hitting 66.7% of their tries from the charity stripe. They also shot the fourth-fewest free throws per game in the conference, averaging 19.2 attempts per game. Royal (70%) and Parrish (65.2%) were two regulars who are struggling at the line this year, but find themselves at the stripe fairly often.
It was a complete 180 Tuesday night for Ohio State, as Diebler’s Buckeyes were 23-for-27 from the free throw line. The aforementioned strugglers Royal and Parrish combined to go 16-for-17 at the line.
In three days Ohio State will travel to the Big Apple to take on No. 5 Kentucky (10-1) in the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes are 4-1 over the last five seasons in the event but will be up against a Goliath of a team in the Wildcats.
Mark Pope’s first Kentucky team is No. 11 in KenPom, No. 7 in the NET rankings, and has ranked wins over Duke and Gonzaga on its resume already.
Ohio State’s game against Kentucky will tip off at 5:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
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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
Devin Royal was otherworldly in the win, scoring a career-high 31 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
With another game against a top-five opponent looming, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (7-4, 1-1) needed to take care of business at home Tuesday night against Valparaiso despite being down 25% of the active roster.
They did that, beating Jake Diebler’s scrappy alma mater at the Schottenstein Center, 95-73. Devin Royal was a man on a mission, finishing with career-highs in points (31) and rebounds (15).
In addition to Ques Glover and Colin White, who are both nursing ankle injuries, Aaron Bradshaw missed his seventh consecutive game, and second since the team announced he’d rejoined team activities. Head coach Jake Diebler said on Monday afternoon that Bradshaw was still in a “return to play” progression and that he physically had not gotten to a level that warranted his return. There are now serious doubts that the sophomore center will be available on Saturday against No. 5 Kentucky, which also happens to be his former team.
On top of those three absences, it was announced on Tuesday night that senior guard Meechie Johnson has decided to take a personal leave of absence from the program. There is no timeline for his return, but Ohio State resumes classes on January 6, so Johnson would likely need to be back on campus by then to retain his eligibility.
With all of those absences in mind, Diebler went with a starting lineup of Bruce Thornton, Micah Parrish, Sean Stewart, Devin Royal, and John Mobley. It was Mobley’s first collegiate start.
Valparaiso head coach Roger Powell went with a starting five of Tyler Schmidt, All Wright (yup, that’s his name), Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro, Kaspar Sepp, and Cooper Schwieger. Wright is coming off a career-high 26-point game against Central Michigan on Saturday.
Whether it was the off-the-court stuff or the after-effects of having been thoroughly pantsed by Auburn three days earlier, the Buckeyes came out flat defensively against Valpo. The Beacons knocked down a trio of three-pointers before the first media timeout, not even five minutes into the game. Diebler’s alma mater held a 12-8 lead after four minutes inside a sleepy late-night Schottenstein Center crowd of just over 8,000 people.
Valpo wasn’t able to extend that four-point lead, and it wasn’t nearly enough to hold off Ohio State once the offense got going. Eight minutes into the game Ohio State started what would eventually turn into a 12-0 run, pulling ahead by double-digits momentarily before Valpo cut the lead back to six.
The Beacons got to the free throw line four times in the final 5:06 of the first half and went 6-for-8 from the stripe, cutting Ohio State’s 10-point lead to four momentarily before Royal and Parrish closed the half with a combined five points in the final 17 seconds of the half. The Buckeyes went to the locker room up 41-30, with Royal scoring 18 of the Buckeyes’ 41. He also had nine of Ohio State’s 21 rebounds in the first half.
By the 11-minute mark of the second half Ohio State had extended its lead to 19 over Valpo. The Beacons didn’t have the muscle or motor to hang with Royal or his accomplices on Tuesday night, letting a close game dissolve into an easy win with more than 10 minutes remaining.
Basketball was played over the final few minutes, but little of it was of consequence with Ohio State up 20 points for the final quarter of the game. After sitting most of the first half, Stewart scored on three consecutive possessions late in the game to extend the lead, including two big dunks. Royal scored just before the final media timeout to notch his first career 30-point game.
If you weren’t among the dozens of people in attendance Tuesday night or forgot to renew your Peacock subscription to watch, here were a few key moments and plays that were pivotal — or at least noteworthy — during Ohio State’s win:
Stewart picks up two quick fouls and promptly takes a seat
The sophomore forward had picked up at least three fouls in each of his last five games and was off to a really fast start Tuesday night if he wanted to extend that streak. The 6-foot-9 forward picked up his second foul of the game 3:46 into the contest and was quickly replaced by Austin Parks. Not too long later, Parks was pulled for Evan Mahaffey, who scored moments later off a smooth feed from Thornton to cut Valpo’s lead to 12-10.
Thornton grabs his own miss, keeps possession alive for a Buckeye bucket
Up 19-16 with 9:40 remaining in the first half, Bruce Thornton powered his way to the baseline and tried to drop in a jumper off the glass from about six feet up the line. It was long and rolled off the front of the basket, but Thornton moved and was able to collect his own miss and kick it out to Parrish.
Parrish’s three-point try was no good, but Royal snagged another offensive rebound and got the ball to Mobley, who took Schwieger for a little dance on the perimeter before stepping back and knocking down his second three-pointer of the game. It made the score 22-16, and the possession was only possible because Thornton chased down his own miss.
With nobody down low, Valpo getting to the line
With Bradshaw out, Stewart in early foul trouble, and Parks not playing particularly well the last two games, Ohio State resorted to using Royal and Mahaffey at center for much of this game. The Beacons didn’t throw their weight around below the basket, but they were able to draw a handful of fouls at the end of the first half and get to the line four times over the final five minutes, hitting six of their eight free throws. This stopped Ohio State’s 12-0 run.
Devin Royal nearly had a first-half double-double
Royal flush
Devin’s got 18 points at the halfpic.twitter.com/ZZQpOcKE4a
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) December 18, 2024
Royal finished the first half with 18 points and nine rebounds, finishing just one rebound short of a double-double in the first half alone. He also came four points and three rebounds short of tying his career highs, just in the first half.
With Bruce Thornton in foul trouble, Royal turned into Ohio State’s go-to option, and Valpo had no clear way to stop him.
Royal was able to quickly register that double-double in the second half, grabbing his 10th rebound 2:15 into the second half to give him 22 points and 10 boards, at that point.
Buckeyes lean on muscle, not threes, to pull away
Ohio State hoisted five three-point tries in the first 2:13 of Tuesday night’s game, hitting one of them and falling behind early to a team they needed to take care of. After that, the Buckeyes were more selective with their triples and even then were still not hitting them at a high clip.
Ohio State finished the first half 4-for-13 from beyond the arc and missed the first three in the second half as well to start 4-for-16 from long range.
But Ohio State — mostly Royal, but also Mahaffey and at times Parrish — did their best work right around the basket. The Buckeyes scored 34 paint points against Valpo Tuesday night.
Money at the stripe?
Prior to Tuesday night’s game Ohio State was the third-worst free throw shooting team in the Big Ten, hitting 66.7% of their tries from the charity stripe. They also shot the fourth-fewest free throws per game in the conference, averaging 19.2 attempts per game. Royal (70%) and Parrish (65.2%) were two regulars who are struggling at the line this year, but find themselves at the stripe fairly often.
It was a complete 180 Tuesday night for Ohio State, as Diebler’s Buckeyes were 23-for-27 from the free throw line. The aforementioned strugglers Royal and Parrish combined to go 16-for-17 at the line.
What’s next?
In three days Ohio State will travel to the Big Apple to take on No. 5 Kentucky (10-1) in the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes are 4-1 over the last five seasons in the event but will be up against a Goliath of a team in the Wildcats.
Mark Pope’s first Kentucky team is No. 11 in KenPom, No. 7 in the NET rankings, and has ranked wins over Duke and Gonzaga on its resume already.
Ohio State’s game against Kentucky will tip off at 5:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
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LGHL No. 11 Ohio State women’s basketball ends home non-conference play, defeats Grand Valley State 82-57
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No. 11 Ohio State women’s basketball ends home non-conference play, defeats Grand Valley State 82-57
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State University Athletic Department
Ohio State struggled in moments but played a strong first half to come away with the win
No. 11 Ohio State women’s basketball finished up their home non-conference schedule Tuesday afternoon, defeating Grand Valley State 82-57 behind the junior duo of Cotie McMahon and Chance Gray scoring a combined 44 points.
Without point guard Jaloni Cambridge for the second game in a row, the Buckeyes had a nine-player rotation with older sister Kennedy Cambridge returning from two games away, and early on they showed their class over the Lakers.
In the first quarter, Ohio State scored 17 of the first 19 points behind blistering interior play from forward Cotie McMahon. The junior went to the basket three times in the first 10 minutes, each time hitting a layup and adding a free throw in the process. Combine that with 12 forced turnovers and it looked like the rout was on.
Everything seemed to go right for the Scarlet and Gray, even when things got ugly. Halfway through the first quarter, McMahon stood at the top of the key and fell over. It wasn’t due to contact, but the forward tripped over herself. It gave Grand Valley State a fast break, but guard Ava Watson stopped it at the basket to give Ohio State another turnover. Watson sent the ball down the court to a smiling McMahon, still laughing off the tumble, to put the home side up 18 points.
After defeating the Youngstown State Penguins Saturday, Ohio State lamented not playing with intensity for the full 40 minutes, and the start of the second quarter Tuesday followed that same trend.
Ohio State started the second quarter going 2-of-7 from the floor. It prompted McMahon to yell to her teammates, “Come on, let’s go!” It was in hopes of waking up her fellow Buckeyes on the court, and it worked. Grand Valley State scored three points in the final six minutes and finished going 4-of-8 offensively to end the final 4:21 of the half and entered halftime up 44-18.
Grand Valley came back for the third quarter and played more composed than the first half. In the quarter, the Lakers matched their point total from the entire first 20 minutes of the game, scoring 20 points, including runs of seven and five points. Aiding the visitors was doing a better job of holding onto the ball.
Following the 19-turnover first half, Grand Valley gave the ball away once in the third quarter, limiting Ohio State’s ability to run. The Scarlet and Gray also struggled to hit shots in the second half of the quarter, going 1-of-7 and getting outscored 10-2.
Even so, the Buckeyes still had a 21-point lead with 20 minutes left in the game.
Head coach Kevin McGuff didn’t appear satisfied with the Buckeyes, opting to bring his starters into the game to start the final 10 minutes. With the primary group on the court, Ohio State scored the first five points of the quarter, but three came from the free throw line. Cold shooting continued to plague the Scarlet and Gray, hitting one of their first five shots in the first 3:18 of the quarter.
The defense picked up for the offense, and three early turnovers in the period kept the Lakers from getting much down on offense to make it more of a contest.
With three minutes remaining, McGuff had a mostly back-up group on the court and the game crawled to a finish. In front of a lower capacity game than most, the byproduct of playing at noon on a weekday, Ohio State held onto the lead, beating the Lakers for a second consecutive season.
Ohio State women’s basketball faces their toughest, and last, game of the non-conference schedule Friday when the Buckeyes face the Stanford Cardinal in San Fransisco, CA. Part of the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic.
It’s the lone game of the non-conference regular season schedule against a power conference school, although the Cardinal are in a moment of transition. Beginning the year unranked, Stanford started strong to get back in the top 25 but losses to Indiana and LSU have the now-ACC team regrouping.
The Buckeyes are 1-2 all-time against Stanford in the official record book but do have two wins in 2017 that were vacated due to Ohio State recruiting violations.
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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
Ohio State University Athletic Department
Ohio State struggled in moments but played a strong first half to come away with the win
No. 11 Ohio State women’s basketball finished up their home non-conference schedule Tuesday afternoon, defeating Grand Valley State 82-57 behind the junior duo of Cotie McMahon and Chance Gray scoring a combined 44 points.
Without point guard Jaloni Cambridge for the second game in a row, the Buckeyes had a nine-player rotation with older sister Kennedy Cambridge returning from two games away, and early on they showed their class over the Lakers.
In the first quarter, Ohio State scored 17 of the first 19 points behind blistering interior play from forward Cotie McMahon. The junior went to the basket three times in the first 10 minutes, each time hitting a layup and adding a free throw in the process. Combine that with 12 forced turnovers and it looked like the rout was on.
Everything seemed to go right for the Scarlet and Gray, even when things got ugly. Halfway through the first quarter, McMahon stood at the top of the key and fell over. It wasn’t due to contact, but the forward tripped over herself. It gave Grand Valley State a fast break, but guard Ava Watson stopped it at the basket to give Ohio State another turnover. Watson sent the ball down the court to a smiling McMahon, still laughing off the tumble, to put the home side up 18 points.
After defeating the Youngstown State Penguins Saturday, Ohio State lamented not playing with intensity for the full 40 minutes, and the start of the second quarter Tuesday followed that same trend.
Ohio State started the second quarter going 2-of-7 from the floor. It prompted McMahon to yell to her teammates, “Come on, let’s go!” It was in hopes of waking up her fellow Buckeyes on the court, and it worked. Grand Valley State scored three points in the final six minutes and finished going 4-of-8 offensively to end the final 4:21 of the half and entered halftime up 44-18.
Grand Valley came back for the third quarter and played more composed than the first half. In the quarter, the Lakers matched their point total from the entire first 20 minutes of the game, scoring 20 points, including runs of seven and five points. Aiding the visitors was doing a better job of holding onto the ball.
Following the 19-turnover first half, Grand Valley gave the ball away once in the third quarter, limiting Ohio State’s ability to run. The Scarlet and Gray also struggled to hit shots in the second half of the quarter, going 1-of-7 and getting outscored 10-2.
Even so, the Buckeyes still had a 21-point lead with 20 minutes left in the game.
Head coach Kevin McGuff didn’t appear satisfied with the Buckeyes, opting to bring his starters into the game to start the final 10 minutes. With the primary group on the court, Ohio State scored the first five points of the quarter, but three came from the free throw line. Cold shooting continued to plague the Scarlet and Gray, hitting one of their first five shots in the first 3:18 of the quarter.
The defense picked up for the offense, and three early turnovers in the period kept the Lakers from getting much down on offense to make it more of a contest.
With three minutes remaining, McGuff had a mostly back-up group on the court and the game crawled to a finish. In front of a lower capacity game than most, the byproduct of playing at noon on a weekday, Ohio State held onto the lead, beating the Lakers for a second consecutive season.
What’s Next
Ohio State women’s basketball faces their toughest, and last, game of the non-conference schedule Friday when the Buckeyes face the Stanford Cardinal in San Fransisco, CA. Part of the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic.
It’s the lone game of the non-conference regular season schedule against a power conference school, although the Cardinal are in a moment of transition. Beginning the year unranked, Stanford started strong to get back in the top 25 but losses to Indiana and LSU have the now-ACC team regrouping.
The Buckeyes are 1-2 all-time against Stanford in the official record book but do have two wins in 2017 that were vacated due to Ohio State recruiting violations.
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LGHL Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Valparaiso: Game preview and prediction
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Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Valparaiso: Game preview and prediction
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes look to bounce back from a routing as they welcome Coach Diebler’s alma mater to Columbus.
Ohio State heads home to regroup as they welcome Valparaiso to Value City Arena tonight.
The Buckeyes (6-4 overall, 5-1 at home) return to Columbus on the heels of their 91-53 thumping by Auburn in Atlanta on Saturday, after a slow start against a dominant team proved impossible to recover from.
The matchup with Valparaiso is a matchup of familiar faces, as Ohio State head coach Jake Dieber played his collegiate career with the Beacons (then the Crusaders) before spending four years as a member of their coaching staff. Valparaiso (5-4, 0-1 away), out of the Missouri Valley Conference, are heading to Columbus following a 16-point win over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday.
Tonight’s game marks the first meeting of the two programs since 2011 and the fourth all-time, with the Buckeyes technically going 2-0 against the Beacons (with both wins at home). Diebler was on the team for Valpo’s 2006 loss to OSU. The third meeting—a win for Valpo in 2000—was later vacated by the NCAA.
The Beacons are averaging 78.8 points per game, with a 43.5 percent shooting percentage overall.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25793493/usa_today_24988463.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Holiday Hoopsgiving-Ohio State at Auburn")
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
There’s no way to sugarcoat Saturday’s loss against No. 2 Auburn, which marked OSU’s third loss in four games. The Buckeyes couldn’t afford to take their time against the Tigers in general, so when Auburn star Johni Broome started the game on fire (good for 11 points and six rebounds in the opening seven minutes), the slow start was an insurmountable hurdle.
Even after a seven scoreless minutes for the Tigers, the Buckeyes couldn’t get the offense going enough to overcome the deficit they’d accrued, with Auburn heading into halftime comfortably leading, 49-21. Broome alone accounted for 17 of those first half points, along with 12 rebounds.
Turnovers and poor shooting plagued Ohio State through much of the first half. The Buckeyes lost possession five times, accounting for eight points for the Tigers, and shot just 6-of-24 from the field. They made just one shot from three-point range of five attempts, and shot only 57.1 percent from the free throw line. Even into the second half, the Buckeyes never found offensive rhythm—the team’s scoring leader Bruce Thornton didn’t even record points until the final five minutes of the game.
The Tigers, on the other hand, proved why their offense is so dominant, shooting 19-for-39 from the field and 9-for-16 from long range for the first half, and finished the game 33-of-72 and 13-of-30 from three-point range. Broome totaled 21 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and six assists in the game.
The lone positive note for OSU was double-digit scoring from both sophomore forward Devin Royal (14 points, five rebounds) and senior guard Micah Parrish (10 points, two assists and a block). Sophomore forward Sean Stewart led with six rebounds.
Both Royal and Parrish have scoring averages in double-digits, at 14.1 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Royal also leads the team in rebounds, with an average of 7.2 per game.
Though Thornton was good for just three points against Auburn, he is currently averaging 14.9 points (the team high), 2.7 rebounds and five assists per game. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr., who is averaging 12.4 points per game, still sits second in the country in three-point shooting with a 54 percent average from long range.
The Beacons spent their Saturday very differently than the Buckeyes, securing a solid win over Central Michigan to snap a two-game skid, thanks in large part to a 26-point performance from freshman guard All Wright. A whopping 57 of their 93 points came in the second half.
Wright, who is averaging 9.9 points per game this season, shot 50 percent from three-point range and 100 percent from the charity stripe in the outing.
Senior guard Tyler Schmidt sits atop the leaderboard in scoring for the Beacons, averaging 12.9 points per game. He is also good for 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Also averaging in double digits for Valpo are junior guard Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (11.6 ppg) and sophomore forward Cooper Schwieger (11.1 ppg), who also leads the team in rebounds with 7.1 per game.
De La Cruz Monegro also faced the Buckeyes last season as a member of the Western Michigan Broncos. The junior guard scored seven points in 30 minutes as Ohio State downed WMU last November, 73-56.
PREDICTION
Tuesday is a much-needed reset opportunity for an Ohio State team that got downright dominated this weekend but should be the dominant ones on the court tonight.
The Buckeyes should be angry, which will hopefully fuel them offensively, especially against a Valpo defense that has struggled to build any sort of momentum this season. It’s an opportunity for OSU to use the three-point differential between these two teams to their advantage: OSU is shooting 41.3 percent from three-point range, compared to the Beacons’ 33.2 percent.
Thornton, who has been hit-or-miss this season, needs to take advantage of this opportunity to find his confidence, and the team must execute better. They’ll also need to keep their eye on Wright, as another lights-out performance from him could crack the door for an upset.
But ultimately, while this game should be a fun one given Diebler’s ties to Valparaiso, it should not be a close one. The Buckeyes are heavily favored—by a 20.5-point margin—so if there were ever a time for them to snap out of their slump, this is it.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 95.8%
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Peacock
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Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes look to bounce back from a routing as they welcome Coach Diebler’s alma mater to Columbus.
Ohio State heads home to regroup as they welcome Valparaiso to Value City Arena tonight.
The Buckeyes (6-4 overall, 5-1 at home) return to Columbus on the heels of their 91-53 thumping by Auburn in Atlanta on Saturday, after a slow start against a dominant team proved impossible to recover from.
The matchup with Valparaiso is a matchup of familiar faces, as Ohio State head coach Jake Dieber played his collegiate career with the Beacons (then the Crusaders) before spending four years as a member of their coaching staff. Valparaiso (5-4, 0-1 away), out of the Missouri Valley Conference, are heading to Columbus following a 16-point win over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday.
Tonight’s game marks the first meeting of the two programs since 2011 and the fourth all-time, with the Buckeyes technically going 2-0 against the Beacons (with both wins at home). Diebler was on the team for Valpo’s 2006 loss to OSU. The third meeting—a win for Valpo in 2000—was later vacated by the NCAA.
The Beacons are averaging 78.8 points per game, with a 43.5 percent shooting percentage overall.
PREVIEW
There’s no way to sugarcoat Saturday’s loss against No. 2 Auburn, which marked OSU’s third loss in four games. The Buckeyes couldn’t afford to take their time against the Tigers in general, so when Auburn star Johni Broome started the game on fire (good for 11 points and six rebounds in the opening seven minutes), the slow start was an insurmountable hurdle.
Even after a seven scoreless minutes for the Tigers, the Buckeyes couldn’t get the offense going enough to overcome the deficit they’d accrued, with Auburn heading into halftime comfortably leading, 49-21. Broome alone accounted for 17 of those first half points, along with 12 rebounds.
Turnovers and poor shooting plagued Ohio State through much of the first half. The Buckeyes lost possession five times, accounting for eight points for the Tigers, and shot just 6-of-24 from the field. They made just one shot from three-point range of five attempts, and shot only 57.1 percent from the free throw line. Even into the second half, the Buckeyes never found offensive rhythm—the team’s scoring leader Bruce Thornton didn’t even record points until the final five minutes of the game.
The Tigers, on the other hand, proved why their offense is so dominant, shooting 19-for-39 from the field and 9-for-16 from long range for the first half, and finished the game 33-of-72 and 13-of-30 from three-point range. Broome totaled 21 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and six assists in the game.
The lone positive note for OSU was double-digit scoring from both sophomore forward Devin Royal (14 points, five rebounds) and senior guard Micah Parrish (10 points, two assists and a block). Sophomore forward Sean Stewart led with six rebounds.
Both Royal and Parrish have scoring averages in double-digits, at 14.1 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Royal also leads the team in rebounds, with an average of 7.2 per game.
Though Thornton was good for just three points against Auburn, he is currently averaging 14.9 points (the team high), 2.7 rebounds and five assists per game. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr., who is averaging 12.4 points per game, still sits second in the country in three-point shooting with a 54 percent average from long range.
The Beacons spent their Saturday very differently than the Buckeyes, securing a solid win over Central Michigan to snap a two-game skid, thanks in large part to a 26-point performance from freshman guard All Wright. A whopping 57 of their 93 points came in the second half.
Wright, who is averaging 9.9 points per game this season, shot 50 percent from three-point range and 100 percent from the charity stripe in the outing.
Senior guard Tyler Schmidt sits atop the leaderboard in scoring for the Beacons, averaging 12.9 points per game. He is also good for 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Also averaging in double digits for Valpo are junior guard Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (11.6 ppg) and sophomore forward Cooper Schwieger (11.1 ppg), who also leads the team in rebounds with 7.1 per game.
De La Cruz Monegro also faced the Buckeyes last season as a member of the Western Michigan Broncos. The junior guard scored seven points in 30 minutes as Ohio State downed WMU last November, 73-56.
PREDICTION
MONEGROOOO ️@M0negro delivers with the wide openoff the pass from @Tyler_schmidt23 #GoValpo pic.twitter.com/aRKOPoLjab
— Valpo Basketball (@ValpoBasketball) December 14, 2024
Tuesday is a much-needed reset opportunity for an Ohio State team that got downright dominated this weekend but should be the dominant ones on the court tonight.
The Buckeyes should be angry, which will hopefully fuel them offensively, especially against a Valpo defense that has struggled to build any sort of momentum this season. It’s an opportunity for OSU to use the three-point differential between these two teams to their advantage: OSU is shooting 41.3 percent from three-point range, compared to the Beacons’ 33.2 percent.
Thornton, who has been hit-or-miss this season, needs to take advantage of this opportunity to find his confidence, and the team must execute better. They’ll also need to keep their eye on Wright, as another lights-out performance from him could crack the door for an upset.
But ultimately, while this game should be a fun one given Diebler’s ties to Valparaiso, it should not be a close one. The Buckeyes are heavily favored—by a 20.5-point margin—so if there were ever a time for them to snap out of their slump, this is it.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 95.8%
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Peacock
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 76, Valparaiso 53
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