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LGHL Ohio State men’s golf wins the season-opening Southwestern Collegiate Invitational
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Ohio State men’s golf wins the season-opening Southwestern Collegiate Invitational
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images
Neal Shipley won the individual event at 12-under by one shot.
The Ohio State Buckeyes men’s golf team recorded an impressive season-opening win at the loaded Southwestern Invitational Collegiate at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California.
Graduate senior Neal Shipley shot 12-under for the tournament to win by one shot over Taehoon Song of Washington, who finished at 11-under. Song shot a final round 7-under 64 to propel up the leaderboard. Shipley shot a final round 6-under 65 to hold off Song.
Shipley started the day at 6-under and four shots back of the lead, and was 1-under on the day as he made the turn to the final nine, but a flurry of birdies on the final nine, including a birdie streak on Holes No. 13 through 16 gave him the individual win. He made two pars on Holes No. 17 and 18 with the slim one-shot lead to secure the victory.
Shipley shot rounds of 69-67-65.
Also for the Buckeyes, freshman Jack Votjko impressed in his first collegiate start, finishing T17 at 2-under, and Maxwell Moldovan finished in 22nd place at 1-under. Adam Wallin finished in T32 at 3-over, and Jackson Chandler finished T38 at 4-over.
The Buckeyes finished at 13-under and won the team title by just one shot over UNLV, who finished at 12-under. UCLA and San Diego State finished T3 at 9-under, Washington finished in solo fifth place at 8-under, and Texas Tech and Colorado finished T6 at 7-under.
Both Shipley and Moldovan were alternates on the 2023 Walker Cup team, and Shipley was the runner-up at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, losing to Nick Dunlap, who recently turned pro, in the final match.
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
Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images
Neal Shipley won the individual event at 12-under by one shot.
The Ohio State Buckeyes men’s golf team recorded an impressive season-opening win at the loaded Southwestern Invitational Collegiate at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California.
Graduate senior Neal Shipley shot 12-under for the tournament to win by one shot over Taehoon Song of Washington, who finished at 11-under. Song shot a final round 7-under 64 to propel up the leaderboard. Shipley shot a final round 6-under 65 to hold off Song.
Shipley started the day at 6-under and four shots back of the lead, and was 1-under on the day as he made the turn to the final nine, but a flurry of birdies on the final nine, including a birdie streak on Holes No. 13 through 16 gave him the individual win. He made two pars on Holes No. 17 and 18 with the slim one-shot lead to secure the victory.
Shipley shot rounds of 69-67-65.
Also for the Buckeyes, freshman Jack Votjko impressed in his first collegiate start, finishing T17 at 2-under, and Maxwell Moldovan finished in 22nd place at 1-under. Adam Wallin finished in T32 at 3-over, and Jackson Chandler finished T38 at 4-over.
The Buckeyes finished at 13-under and won the team title by just one shot over UNLV, who finished at 12-under. UCLA and San Diego State finished T3 at 9-under, Washington finished in solo fifth place at 8-under, and Texas Tech and Colorado finished T6 at 7-under.
Both Shipley and Moldovan were alternates on the 2023 Walker Cup team, and Shipley was the runner-up at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, losing to Nick Dunlap, who recently turned pro, in the final match.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State men fall on the road again, lose to Iowa 79-77
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Ohio State men fall on the road again, lose to Iowa 79-77
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Four Buckeyes finished the game in double-figures.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (13-9, 3-8) fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes (13-9, 5-6) 79-77 on Friday night.
The Buckeyes entered the game looking to break a 15-game road losing streak. They finished 2-6 in January and have not won a road game since Jan. 1, 2023, which was at Northwestern. Iowa also came into this one looking to get right, as they have lost three of its last four games after winning three in a row to start conference play.
Like most Iowa teams, the Hawkeyes came into this matchup ranked No. 18 on KenPom in offensive efficiency and No. 117 in defense efficiency. The Hawkeyes are second in the conference in scoring at 84.4 points per game, only trailing Purdue and one of three conference teams to average over 80 points per game (Purdue, Illinois).
The series history of the two teams was 84-84 entering this game.
Iowa came into this game led by a three-headed scoring monster, all scoring 15 points per game or more. Tony Perkins averages 15.5 points per game, and Ben Krikke and Peyton Sandfort average 15.0 points per game.
Owen Freeman averages 10.9 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Perkins averages 4.0 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game. Krikke and Sandfort average 5.0 and 6.9 rebounds per game, respectively.
For Ohio State, sophomore guard Bruce Thornton leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 1.4 steals per game. Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle averages 14.1 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Battle shoots 44 percent from the three-point line this season, which is the best in the Big Ten. Roddy Gayle is averaging 14.1 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assists per game.
Freshman forward Scotty Middleton missed this contest with a lower leg injury and was wearing a boot during the warmups and game. Middleton averages 4.3 points per game and 1.5 rebounds per game on 16.6 minutes per game in 19 games played this season.
As usual, the Hawkeyes started this game on fire, knocking down seven of their first nine shots and taking an early lead. Both teams went back and forth on offense due to a mix of both good offense and bad defense.
The Buckeyes got a boost off the bench in the opening half, with Devin Royal and Bowen Hardman playing key minutes off the bench. Ohio State led 38-36 at the half. The Buckeyes are 11-2 this season when leading at the half.
Felix Okpara had one of the best halves of his Buckeye career, recording 10 points and three rebounds. Roddy Gayle and Devin Royal added eight points.
Payton Sandfort led Iowa with nine points, and Tony Perkins added eight points.
Ohio State shot 16-for-32 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range in the first half, while Iowa shot 15-for-28 from the field and 2-for-6 from three-point range.
To open the second half, both teams continued the back and forth on offense, but a quick 5-0 run from Iowa gave the Hawkeyes a 51-48 lead at the under-16 media timeout. Through the first 25 minutes of the game, Iowa outscored Ohio State 15-0 on fastbreak points.
Dale Bonner knocked down a three-pointer, and Devin Royal made one free-throw to give the Buckeyes a 52-51 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Roddy Gayle knocked down two free throws to give the Buckeyes a 54-51 lead, but a 7-0 Iowa run gave the Hawkeyes a 58-54 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes traded baskets for another five minutes, and an offensive rebound and putback from Jamison Battle cut the Iowa lead to just two points at 65-63. Josh Dix gave Iowa the 67-63 lead after a mid-range jumper. Jamison Battle added two more points from the free throw line to cut the deficit back to two points at the under-four-minute timeout.
Two Tony Perkins free-throws for Iowa gave the Hawkeyes a 73-69 lead with two minutes remaining in the game, but Battle answered with a bucket of his own for Ohio State.
With Iowa leading 74-73, Roddy Gayle recorded a tie-up to give Ohio State possession of the ball. With that offensive possession, the Buckeyes had a double dribble and turned the ball over. Patrick McCaffery went to the free-throw line and made both, giving Iowa a 76-73 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
Bruce Thornton went to the free-throw line for the Buckeyes, making both. Ohio State was forced to foul Patrick McCaffery again with 11 seconds left, and he made both. After Dale Bonner split the free throws for Ohio State, the Buckeyes fell 79-77.
For Ohio State, Jamison Battle led the way with 17 points.
Tony Perkins had 20 points for Iowa, while Peyton Sandfort added 15 points.
Here are some takeaways and storylines from the contest:
recorded eight points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first 15 minutes of the game. Royal came into this game averaging 2.9 points per game in 7.4 minutes per game, and his career-high of 11 points came against Central Michigan earlier in the season on 4-for-5 shooting in 11 minutes.
Ohio State shot 16-for-32 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range in the first half, while Iowa shot 15-for-28 from the field and 2-for-6 from three-point range. The Buckeyes did start 3-for-3 from behind the three-point line but missed their final three three-pointers of the half.
Felix Okpara averages 6.2 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game. Okpara recorded 10 points and three rebounds on 4-for-5 shooting and was able to make his presence felt in the paint early on, taking advantage of Iowa’s lack of size.
Everyone contributed for the Buckeyes in this one, with five Buckeyes recording nine or more points, including four of the five starters and Devin Royal off the bench. Evan Mahaffey also added six points.
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
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Four Buckeyes finished the game in double-figures.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team (13-9, 3-8) fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes (13-9, 5-6) 79-77 on Friday night.
The Buckeyes entered the game looking to break a 15-game road losing streak. They finished 2-6 in January and have not won a road game since Jan. 1, 2023, which was at Northwestern. Iowa also came into this one looking to get right, as they have lost three of its last four games after winning three in a row to start conference play.
Like most Iowa teams, the Hawkeyes came into this matchup ranked No. 18 on KenPom in offensive efficiency and No. 117 in defense efficiency. The Hawkeyes are second in the conference in scoring at 84.4 points per game, only trailing Purdue and one of three conference teams to average over 80 points per game (Purdue, Illinois).
The series history of the two teams was 84-84 entering this game.
Iowa came into this game led by a three-headed scoring monster, all scoring 15 points per game or more. Tony Perkins averages 15.5 points per game, and Ben Krikke and Peyton Sandfort average 15.0 points per game.
Owen Freeman averages 10.9 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Perkins averages 4.0 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game. Krikke and Sandfort average 5.0 and 6.9 rebounds per game, respectively.
For Ohio State, sophomore guard Bruce Thornton leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 1.4 steals per game. Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle averages 14.1 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Battle shoots 44 percent from the three-point line this season, which is the best in the Big Ten. Roddy Gayle is averaging 14.1 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assists per game.
Freshman forward Scotty Middleton missed this contest with a lower leg injury and was wearing a boot during the warmups and game. Middleton averages 4.3 points per game and 1.5 rebounds per game on 16.6 minutes per game in 19 games played this season.
As usual, the Hawkeyes started this game on fire, knocking down seven of their first nine shots and taking an early lead. Both teams went back and forth on offense due to a mix of both good offense and bad defense.
The Buckeyes got a boost off the bench in the opening half, with Devin Royal and Bowen Hardman playing key minutes off the bench. Ohio State led 38-36 at the half. The Buckeyes are 11-2 this season when leading at the half.
Felix Okpara had one of the best halves of his Buckeye career, recording 10 points and three rebounds. Roddy Gayle and Devin Royal added eight points.
Payton Sandfort led Iowa with nine points, and Tony Perkins added eight points.
Ohio State shot 16-for-32 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range in the first half, while Iowa shot 15-for-28 from the field and 2-for-6 from three-point range.
To open the second half, both teams continued the back and forth on offense, but a quick 5-0 run from Iowa gave the Hawkeyes a 51-48 lead at the under-16 media timeout. Through the first 25 minutes of the game, Iowa outscored Ohio State 15-0 on fastbreak points.
Dale Bonner knocked down a three-pointer, and Devin Royal made one free-throw to give the Buckeyes a 52-51 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Roddy Gayle knocked down two free throws to give the Buckeyes a 54-51 lead, but a 7-0 Iowa run gave the Hawkeyes a 58-54 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes traded baskets for another five minutes, and an offensive rebound and putback from Jamison Battle cut the Iowa lead to just two points at 65-63. Josh Dix gave Iowa the 67-63 lead after a mid-range jumper. Jamison Battle added two more points from the free throw line to cut the deficit back to two points at the under-four-minute timeout.
Two Tony Perkins free-throws for Iowa gave the Hawkeyes a 73-69 lead with two minutes remaining in the game, but Battle answered with a bucket of his own for Ohio State.
With Iowa leading 74-73, Roddy Gayle recorded a tie-up to give Ohio State possession of the ball. With that offensive possession, the Buckeyes had a double dribble and turned the ball over. Patrick McCaffery went to the free-throw line and made both, giving Iowa a 76-73 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
Bruce Thornton went to the free-throw line for the Buckeyes, making both. Ohio State was forced to foul Patrick McCaffery again with 11 seconds left, and he made both. After Dale Bonner split the free throws for Ohio State, the Buckeyes fell 79-77.
For Ohio State, Jamison Battle led the way with 17 points.
Tony Perkins had 20 points for Iowa, while Peyton Sandfort added 15 points.
Here are some takeaways and storylines from the contest:
A “Royal” start
recorded eight points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first 15 minutes of the game. Royal came into this game averaging 2.9 points per game in 7.4 minutes per game, and his career-high of 11 points came against Central Michigan earlier in the season on 4-for-5 shooting in 11 minutes.
Hot shooting in the opening half
Ohio State shot 16-for-32 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range in the first half, while Iowa shot 15-for-28 from the field and 2-for-6 from three-point range. The Buckeyes did start 3-for-3 from behind the three-point line but missed their final three three-pointers of the half.
Okpara provides a boost
Felix Okpara averages 6.2 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game. Okpara recorded 10 points and three rebounds on 4-for-5 shooting and was able to make his presence felt in the paint early on, taking advantage of Iowa’s lack of size.
It takes a village
Everyone contributed for the Buckeyes in this one, with five Buckeyes recording nine or more points, including four of the five starters and Devin Royal off the bench. Evan Mahaffey also added six points.
Continue reading...
Peter Thiel’s Steroid Olympics (Official Thread)
- Other OSU and Professional Sports
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Billionaire Peter Thiel bankrolling ‘Olympics on steroids’ event that allows athletes to dope
Dr. Aron D’Souza told The Post that the idea behind Enhanced Games is to allow athletes to use whatever substances they wish “out in the open.”
nypost.com
2025 CA LB Abduall Sanders Jr. (Alabama Signee)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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247
Rivals
Twitter
HudL
Class: 2025
Position: LB
School: Santa Ana(CA) Mater Dei
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 215lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2025
Position: LB
School: Santa Ana(CA) Mater Dei
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 215lbs
Login to view embedded media
LGHL Uncut: ‘Spirited’ conversation leads to historic Ohio State women’s basketball victory
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Uncut: ‘Spirited’ conversation leads to historic Ohio State women’s basketball victory
ThomasCostello 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
Head coach Kevin McGuff, Eboni Walker and Madison Greene discuss the 38-point win over the Wisconsin Badgers.
Throughout the year, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
Thursday night against the 10-9 Wisconsin Badgers had an air of a potential trap game, with the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers heading to Columbus three days later. For the first half, it looked like it could be one too.
However, the Ohio State women’s basketball team had spirited conversation at halftime that turned into a historic 39-point third quarter, ending with an 87-49 Buckeye win over the Badgers.
Following the game, head coach Kevin McGuff, forward Eboni Walker and guard Madison Greene all spoke with the media.
Up first is Coach McGuff, who talks about playing Wisconsin forward Serah Williams, and adjustments made. Also, opening up the arena for Sunday’s game against Indiana and the scarlet and gray’s second half response.
Walker and Greene speak together, talking about the hard work going into the victory, looking ahead to Indiana and what they see from forward Cotie McMahon in practice that’s lending to the recent surge for the sophomore.
That and more on the latest Land-Grant Uncut.
Connect with Thomas:
Twitter: @1ThomasCostello
Threads: @1ThomasCostello
Bluesky: @thomascostello.bsky.social
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello 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
Head coach Kevin McGuff, Eboni Walker and Madison Greene discuss the 38-point win over the Wisconsin Badgers.
Throughout the year, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
Thursday night against the 10-9 Wisconsin Badgers had an air of a potential trap game, with the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers heading to Columbus three days later. For the first half, it looked like it could be one too.
However, the Ohio State women’s basketball team had spirited conversation at halftime that turned into a historic 39-point third quarter, ending with an 87-49 Buckeye win over the Badgers.
Following the game, head coach Kevin McGuff, forward Eboni Walker and guard Madison Greene all spoke with the media.
Up first is Coach McGuff, who talks about playing Wisconsin forward Serah Williams, and adjustments made. Also, opening up the arena for Sunday’s game against Indiana and the scarlet and gray’s second half response.
Walker and Greene speak together, talking about the hard work going into the victory, looking ahead to Indiana and what they see from forward Cotie McMahon in practice that’s lending to the recent surge for the sophomore.
That and more on the latest Land-Grant Uncut.
Connect with Thomas:
Twitter: @1ThomasCostello
Threads: @1ThomasCostello
Bluesky: @thomascostello.bsky.social
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
Continue reading...
LGHL You’re Nuts: Is there any reason to think the Ohio State men’s basketball team could still make the tournament?
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You’re Nuts: Is there any reason to think the Ohio State men’s basketball team could still make the tournament?
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
There have been teams in this same position make the tournament before. But is this particular team capable of such a run?
For the second straight season, the Ohio State men’s basketball team appears to be finished playing for anything meaningful — and the team hasn't even plated a game in February yet. The Buckeyes still have at least 11 games left on the schedule, but with a Big Ten record of 3-7 thus far, all signs point to continued frustration and losses over these final six weeks.
More on that mess shortly.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether Bowen Hardman, Ohio State’s rarely-used sophomore shooting guard — the “other” guy in that 2022 recruiting class — should get some more run down the stretch. His peers credit him with being the best shooter on the team, and he put up a quick 11 points in eight minutes of mop-up duty against Nebraska last week.
65% of the readers sided with Connor — not a full-throated agreement but a “sure, why the hell not at this point?” The remaining 35% sided with Justin, saying they’d prefer to see former four-star recruit Taison Chatman get more opportunities.
Connor- 65
With at least 11 games left, mathematically Ohio State controls its own destiny if it wants to make it to the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, 11 wins would get you in! Realistically, seven might do the trick. Anything less than that... tough luck.
Have there been teams sitting in this same position win enough games down the stretch to make the NCAA Tournament? Yes, multiple Big Ten teams have done it. But the way this team is playing at the moment, do we think this particular group of players and coaches has what it takes to finish the season on a high note?
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25262559/usa_today_22407575.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Illinois at Ohio State")
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The future of the Ohio State men’s basketball program is pretty murky at the moment. I’m not sure which members of this program — which includes players, coaches, and other staff members — will still be here when the dust settles in April. In order to avoid that worst-case scenario, the Buckeyes would need to win at least seven more games down the stretch.
Based on what my eyes have seen the last few weeks, I don’t think they’re going to come close to getting that.
The toughest thing to swallow in this whole mess is that the pieces of the puzzle should fit. Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, and Felix Okpara playing through horrendous struggles last year was supposed to pay huge dividends this year. Allowing those freshmen to really grind it out and cut their teeth playing against bigger, older, stronger players last year was supposed to sharpen their game, especially on the defensive end.
A full off-season simmering in the reflection of the worst Ohio State basketball season in the last 25 years was hopefully going to help these guys right the ship. None of that has happened.
This team’s biggest problem is the fact that it once again can’t defend. Last year’s team struggled because it couldn’t get enough consecutive stops to either build a lead or cut into a deficit. I thought that this year’s team had enough defense on the roster to get better in that area. Bruce, Roddy and Felix all would be a year older, plus the additions of Evan Mahaffey and Scotty Middleton.
After about six weeks, it looked like that was the case. For the first time in four years, Ohio State was in the top-50 in the country in defensive efficiency, and looked like a much more well-rounded team. But since then, teams have been lighting it up from beyond the arc against the Buckeyes, and just generally running up the score. Ohio State has fallen all the way down to No. 120 in defensive efficiency — even worse than last season.
The individual pieces look nice on paper. Thornton, Gayle, and Okpara are all pretty solid defenders. But collectively, this team doesn’t know what’s up and what’s down on that end of the floor. They’re once again incapable of getting two or three stops in a row. It’s really hard to see this team winning several games down the stretch when that’s once again the case.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25262583/1966061882.jpg "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JAN 30 Illinois at Ohio State")
Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Is the season cooked? Probably. But I have one more optimistic fight in me.
This comes out on Friday, Feb. 2, and the entire season will come down to whether or not they win tonight’s game. If they lose at Iowa, you can start thinking about the fall football season and watching the women’s team hopefully make a run in March.
However, if, against all odds, they actually win a road game at Iowa and break the 14-game road losing streak, the next two games are against Indiana and Maryland at home. Both of those teams are outside of the NCAA Tournament as of right now and struggle on the road, so the chance for a three-game winning streak is not out of the question.
The Buckeyes have 10 regular season games left, and seven of them are against Quad one or two teams. The three Quad three games are all at home, where the Buckeyes have, in general, been pretty good.
Also, the last two games are against Michigan and Rutgers, and they are both bad. So, they have a chance to end the season strong with those games.
At this rate, who knows what will happen. But if they can somehow beat Iowa tonight (I know, I know), they will have a chance to go on a run with how the schedule shapes out (Insert shoulder shrug emoji).
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
There have been teams in this same position make the tournament before. But is this particular team capable of such a run?
For the second straight season, the Ohio State men’s basketball team appears to be finished playing for anything meaningful — and the team hasn't even plated a game in February yet. The Buckeyes still have at least 11 games left on the schedule, but with a Big Ten record of 3-7 thus far, all signs point to continued frustration and losses over these final six weeks.
More on that mess shortly.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether Bowen Hardman, Ohio State’s rarely-used sophomore shooting guard — the “other” guy in that 2022 recruiting class — should get some more run down the stretch. His peers credit him with being the best shooter on the team, and he put up a quick 11 points in eight minutes of mop-up duty against Nebraska last week.
65% of the readers sided with Connor — not a full-throated agreement but a “sure, why the hell not at this point?” The remaining 35% sided with Justin, saying they’d prefer to see former four-star recruit Taison Chatman get more opportunities.
After 137 weeks:
Connor- 65
Justin- 53
Other- 15
(There have been four ties)
With at least 11 games left, mathematically Ohio State controls its own destiny if it wants to make it to the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, 11 wins would get you in! Realistically, seven might do the trick. Anything less than that... tough luck.
Have there been teams sitting in this same position win enough games down the stretch to make the NCAA Tournament? Yes, multiple Big Ten teams have done it. But the way this team is playing at the moment, do we think this particular group of players and coaches has what it takes to finish the season on a high note?
Today’s Question: Is there any reason to think Ohio State could still make the tournament?
Connor: No
The future of the Ohio State men’s basketball program is pretty murky at the moment. I’m not sure which members of this program — which includes players, coaches, and other staff members — will still be here when the dust settles in April. In order to avoid that worst-case scenario, the Buckeyes would need to win at least seven more games down the stretch.
Based on what my eyes have seen the last few weeks, I don’t think they’re going to come close to getting that.
The toughest thing to swallow in this whole mess is that the pieces of the puzzle should fit. Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, and Felix Okpara playing through horrendous struggles last year was supposed to pay huge dividends this year. Allowing those freshmen to really grind it out and cut their teeth playing against bigger, older, stronger players last year was supposed to sharpen their game, especially on the defensive end.
A full off-season simmering in the reflection of the worst Ohio State basketball season in the last 25 years was hopefully going to help these guys right the ship. None of that has happened.
This team’s biggest problem is the fact that it once again can’t defend. Last year’s team struggled because it couldn’t get enough consecutive stops to either build a lead or cut into a deficit. I thought that this year’s team had enough defense on the roster to get better in that area. Bruce, Roddy and Felix all would be a year older, plus the additions of Evan Mahaffey and Scotty Middleton.
After about six weeks, it looked like that was the case. For the first time in four years, Ohio State was in the top-50 in the country in defensive efficiency, and looked like a much more well-rounded team. But since then, teams have been lighting it up from beyond the arc against the Buckeyes, and just generally running up the score. Ohio State has fallen all the way down to No. 120 in defensive efficiency — even worse than last season.
The individual pieces look nice on paper. Thornton, Gayle, and Okpara are all pretty solid defenders. But collectively, this team doesn’t know what’s up and what’s down on that end of the floor. They’re once again incapable of getting two or three stops in a row. It’s really hard to see this team winning several games down the stretch when that’s once again the case.
Justin: Yes
Is the season cooked? Probably. But I have one more optimistic fight in me.
This comes out on Friday, Feb. 2, and the entire season will come down to whether or not they win tonight’s game. If they lose at Iowa, you can start thinking about the fall football season and watching the women’s team hopefully make a run in March.
However, if, against all odds, they actually win a road game at Iowa and break the 14-game road losing streak, the next two games are against Indiana and Maryland at home. Both of those teams are outside of the NCAA Tournament as of right now and struggle on the road, so the chance for a three-game winning streak is not out of the question.
The Buckeyes have 10 regular season games left, and seven of them are against Quad one or two teams. The three Quad three games are all at home, where the Buckeyes have, in general, been pretty good.
Also, the last two games are against Michigan and Rutgers, and they are both bad. So, they have a chance to end the season strong with those games.
At this rate, who knows what will happen. But if they can somehow beat Iowa tonight (I know, I know), they will have a chance to go on a run with how the schedule shapes out (Insert shoulder shrug emoji).
Continue reading...
LGHL With Hoosiers looming, Ohio State women’s basketball benefit from facing Serah Williams
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With Hoosiers looming, Ohio State women’s basketball benefit from facing Serah Williams
ThomasCostello 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
How the 6-foot-4 forward gives insight into how the Buckeyes will fair Sunday against Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes.
Against the Wisconsin Badgers, it looked the Ohio State women’s basketball team was in for a tough night in the paint.
The reason is twofold. First, Badgers forward Serah Williams entered Thursday averaging a double-double. The other reason? Ohio State isn’t known as a good team against dominant post presence, to which Williams more than fits the description.
The Buckeyes eventual 87-49 victory showed two different scarlet and gray sides, especially on defense in the paint. It also previewed how things can go Sunday for Ohio State when it faces a similar, but more dangerous, threat in Indiana Hoosiers forward Mackenzie Holmes.
In the first quarter, the 6-foot-4 Williams was the Wisconsin Badgers. The sophomore scored six of Wisconsin’s 16 points and added six rebounds. When Williams wasn’t scoring the ball, it was because the Ohio State defense gave outside shooters time to shoot due to missing assignments and lacking the energy needed to get the Buckeyes’ defense off the ground.
When Williams did get the ball, which was often, there was nobody on head coach Kevin McGuff’s roster who could take on the task of facing the forward one-on-one.
Williams entered halftime with 12 points and eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes of the game. Even so, Ohio State still had a five-point lead. For the No. 8 team in the country, it wasn’t enough, and what was specifically said is likely to stay in the Buckeyes locker room.
“Probably shouldn’t say that here,” said McGuff. “But we had a spirited conversation at halftime. Just about our, really it was our mental energy. I thought our physical energy was fine, but we weren’t really locked in mentally.”
Queue the second half.
The third quarter was what the Buckeyes needed, and will have to replicate to compete with Indiana. Ohio State’s 39 points, featuring 29 points off turnovers, left Wisconsin reeling, with the Badgers scoring 11 points and giving the ball away 12 times in the quarter.
While Williams secured her seventh double-double in a row, the sophomore had four points and three rebounds in the second half — a vastly different defensive performance against the post star. Instead of going at Williams in solo matchups, the Buckeyes began crowding the forward so she couldn’t receive passes comfortably.
Now, there are differences between Williams and Holmes.
The Indiana star leads the Big Ten in shooting efficiency, hitting 66.8% of her shots. Holmes does this by going through and around defenders. Also, the All-American isn’t a sophomore. The graduate senior Holmes has played her fair share of difficult defenders in her years in Bloomington, Indiana.
Those are all solo attributes. The support cast for Indiana is better than those playing around Williams at Wisconsin. Senior guards Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia aren’t only more experienced, with accolades to back up their play, than the freshman and sophomore heavy Badgers but part of one of the strongest overall groups of guards in the conference.
Even so, the defensive work rate alone, with a taller and more physical Williams, could pay dividends.
“It was good that we had to play a great post player tonight because we’re going to play obviously against Mackenzie on Sunday,” said McGuff. “Who’s one of the best in the country.”
Another aspect of Holmes’ game is great rebounding ability. The Buckeyes have a new rebounding force of their own in forward Cotie McMahon.
The shorter McMahon went up against Williams many times on Thursday, grabbing 10 rebounds to Williams’ 11. While the big out rebounded her, a few of those had McMahon directly in the thick of it with the four inches taller Williams. The improved rebounding is the continuation of the growth of McMahon, looking prepared as ever for a matchup with the Hoosiers.
Guard Madison Greene, who’s a leader of the team and has seen McMahon since the sophomore enrolled early at Ohio State in the spring of 2022, has noticed the change in McMahon at practice.
“She’s really doing a really good job at rebounding. I think that’s a big thing for her right now,” said Greene. “I think it's really starting to translate what she’s doing in practice in the game.”
McMahon’s 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assist performance double-double is the fourth in a row, after entering this season with three total in her freshman campaign. Indiana was on the other end of one of those double-doubles too, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal.
In that historic victory, the Buckeyes came back from 25 points down to shock the Hoosiers behind McMahon’s 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The Centerville, Ohio native is a star who’s growing brighter game-by-game in 2024, but Thursday showed that she can’t do it alone if the Buckeyes hope to lock in on Holmes like it did against Williams in the second half.
With the Schottenstein Center opening the upper bowl of seats again, like it did against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 21, the Buckeyes will need a performance like it had against superstar guard Caitlin Clark and the then No. 2 ranked Hawkeyes. That and the added defensive work in the paint from Thursday.
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Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
How the 6-foot-4 forward gives insight into how the Buckeyes will fair Sunday against Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes.
Against the Wisconsin Badgers, it looked the Ohio State women’s basketball team was in for a tough night in the paint.
The reason is twofold. First, Badgers forward Serah Williams entered Thursday averaging a double-double. The other reason? Ohio State isn’t known as a good team against dominant post presence, to which Williams more than fits the description.
The Buckeyes eventual 87-49 victory showed two different scarlet and gray sides, especially on defense in the paint. It also previewed how things can go Sunday for Ohio State when it faces a similar, but more dangerous, threat in Indiana Hoosiers forward Mackenzie Holmes.
In the first quarter, the 6-foot-4 Williams was the Wisconsin Badgers. The sophomore scored six of Wisconsin’s 16 points and added six rebounds. When Williams wasn’t scoring the ball, it was because the Ohio State defense gave outside shooters time to shoot due to missing assignments and lacking the energy needed to get the Buckeyes’ defense off the ground.
When Williams did get the ball, which was often, there was nobody on head coach Kevin McGuff’s roster who could take on the task of facing the forward one-on-one.
Williams entered halftime with 12 points and eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes of the game. Even so, Ohio State still had a five-point lead. For the No. 8 team in the country, it wasn’t enough, and what was specifically said is likely to stay in the Buckeyes locker room.
“Probably shouldn’t say that here,” said McGuff. “But we had a spirited conversation at halftime. Just about our, really it was our mental energy. I thought our physical energy was fine, but we weren’t really locked in mentally.”
Queue the second half.
The third quarter was what the Buckeyes needed, and will have to replicate to compete with Indiana. Ohio State’s 39 points, featuring 29 points off turnovers, left Wisconsin reeling, with the Badgers scoring 11 points and giving the ball away 12 times in the quarter.
While Williams secured her seventh double-double in a row, the sophomore had four points and three rebounds in the second half — a vastly different defensive performance against the post star. Instead of going at Williams in solo matchups, the Buckeyes began crowding the forward so she couldn’t receive passes comfortably.
Now, there are differences between Williams and Holmes.
The Indiana star leads the Big Ten in shooting efficiency, hitting 66.8% of her shots. Holmes does this by going through and around defenders. Also, the All-American isn’t a sophomore. The graduate senior Holmes has played her fair share of difficult defenders in her years in Bloomington, Indiana.
Those are all solo attributes. The support cast for Indiana is better than those playing around Williams at Wisconsin. Senior guards Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia aren’t only more experienced, with accolades to back up their play, than the freshman and sophomore heavy Badgers but part of one of the strongest overall groups of guards in the conference.
Even so, the defensive work rate alone, with a taller and more physical Williams, could pay dividends.
“It was good that we had to play a great post player tonight because we’re going to play obviously against Mackenzie on Sunday,” said McGuff. “Who’s one of the best in the country.”
Another aspect of Holmes’ game is great rebounding ability. The Buckeyes have a new rebounding force of their own in forward Cotie McMahon.
The shorter McMahon went up against Williams many times on Thursday, grabbing 10 rebounds to Williams’ 11. While the big out rebounded her, a few of those had McMahon directly in the thick of it with the four inches taller Williams. The improved rebounding is the continuation of the growth of McMahon, looking prepared as ever for a matchup with the Hoosiers.
Guard Madison Greene, who’s a leader of the team and has seen McMahon since the sophomore enrolled early at Ohio State in the spring of 2022, has noticed the change in McMahon at practice.
“She’s really doing a really good job at rebounding. I think that’s a big thing for her right now,” said Greene. “I think it's really starting to translate what she’s doing in practice in the game.”
McMahon’s 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assist performance double-double is the fourth in a row, after entering this season with three total in her freshman campaign. Indiana was on the other end of one of those double-doubles too, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal.
In that historic victory, the Buckeyes came back from 25 points down to shock the Hoosiers behind McMahon’s 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The Centerville, Ohio native is a star who’s growing brighter game-by-game in 2024, but Thursday showed that she can’t do it alone if the Buckeyes hope to lock in on Holmes like it did against Williams in the second half.
With the Schottenstein Center opening the upper bowl of seats again, like it did against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 21, the Buckeyes will need a performance like it had against superstar guard Caitlin Clark and the then No. 2 ranked Hawkeyes. That and the added defensive work in the paint from Thursday.
Continue reading...
