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LGHL Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Northwestern: Game preview and prediction
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Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Northwestern: Game preview and prediction
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes will look to put Tuesday’s loss to Nebraska behind them when take on Northwestern tonight.
Following Tuesday night’s 83-69 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln, Ohio State will be on the road again tonight, battling Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston. The Buckeyes desperately need a win against the Wildcats to try and give them a shot at finishing January with a 4-4 record. Not only does Ohio State have to beat Northwestern tonight to make that happen, they’ll also have to defeat Illinois on Tuesday night in Columbus.
The loss to Nebraska on Tuesday was Ohio State’s fourth loss in the last five games. The Buckeyes went into the halftime break trailing the Cornhuskers 43-35, and things didn’t get better in the second half as Fred Hoiberg’s team led by double-digits for the majority of the 20 minutes after halftime. Ohio State had no answer for Rienk Mast, who not only scored a career-high 34 points in the win, the Bradley transfer also grabbed 10 rebounds.
As ugly as the final score was for the Buckeyes, there were a few positives to come out of the loss. Roddy Gayle Jr. struggled shooting the basketball, finishing with just six points in the game, but the guard from Niagara Falls set a career-high by dishing out eight assists. While Ohio State did a good job at distributing the basketball and not committing too many turnovers, the Buckeyes just couldn’t find an answer to slow down Mast and the Nebraska offense.
Another positive in the loss was the introduction of Bowen Hardman in the game. Looking for a spark in the second half, head coach Chris Holtmann turned to Hardman, who many say is the best shooter on the team. Hardman didn’t disappoint, hitting three of the seven three-pointers he attempted, scoring 11 points in just eight minutes of playing time.
While it remains to be seen if Hardman will see an increase in playing time going forward, the sophomore from Cincinnati at least saw some time on the floor in a road Big Ten game and was able to produce when his number was called.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25249200/usa_today_22357250.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Ohio State at Nebraska")
Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
Hardman was one of three Buckeyes to score in double figures in the game. Bruce Thornton hit his average for the season, netting 16 points to lead Ohio State in scoring in the loss. Jamison Battle was the other Buckeye to score at least 10 points in the loss, finishing with 11 points, and adding seven rebounds. With his three triples in the game, Battle now has 56 three-pointers on the season, which is 22 more than Bruce Thornton, who is second on the team from behind the arc.
While Ohio State is licking the wounds after another January loss, Northwestern is riding high heading into this game after a 96-91 overtime win over Illinois on Wednesday. Boo Buie forced overtime when his layup with 23 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 76. The Wildcats just wanted the game a little more than the Fighting Illini on Wednesday, scoring the first nine points of overtime to secure the victory over their in-state foe. Buie scored a team-high 29 points, and Brooks Barnhizer added 23 points.
Entering tonight’s game, Ohio State leads the all-time series 123-49, winning six of the last 10 contests with the Wildcats. The 73-57 win by the Buckeyes over Northwestern on the first day of 2023 in Evanston was actually the last road win by Ohio State. Since then the Buckeyes have lost 13 straight true road games. The Wildcats were able to return the favor a month later by beating Ohio State 69-63 at Value City Arena. The loss to Northwestern was in the middle of a brutal nine-game losing streak for the Buckeyes.
This isn’t the Northwestern team that you have become accustomed to over the years that would play at a slow tempo. With their victory on Wednesday, the Wildcats have now scored at least 88 points in three Big Ten games this year, marking the first time they have accomplished that feat since the 1975-76 season.
Boo Buie is leading Northwestern, averaging 18.5 points per game. Buie is one of four Wildcats averaging at least 10 points per game this year. Guard Brooks Barnhizer is second on the team with a 14.9 points per game average, while Ty Berry and Princeton transfer Ryan Langborg are both averaging over 11 points per contest.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25250750/1950907901.jpg "Northwestern v Nebraska")
Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images
Along with their scoring prowess, Northwestern does a great job when it comes to turnovers. Through 19 games this season, the Wildcats are turning the ball over just 8.9 times per game, which ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth in the country. On the defensive side of the ball, Northwestern forces 13.8 turnovers per game, ranking third in the conference.
After leading the Big Ten with a +4.3 turnover margin last season, the Wildcats have been even better this year, with their turnover margin rising to a +4.8. Barnhizer has been a pest on the defensive end this season, entering tonight’s game averaging 2.0 steals per game.
Right now it is impossible to trust the Ohio State men’s basketball team. The Buckeyes have the talent to contend in the Big Ten, for some reason they just keep faltering in January under Chris Holtmann.
Ohio State is already on the bubble when it comes to earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament in March. With some tough games still on the schedule, the Buckeyes will need to dig deep to win some of those games to stay in contention for a tournament bid. Add in tonight’s game being a road game, which have been impossible for Ohio State to win over the past year, and it feels like the season is about to be over for the Buckeyes before the calendar turns to February.
Despite Ohio State being deeper and more talented than Northwestern, the Wildcats are coached better and just play hungrier basketball. Chris Collins is in his 11th season as head coach in Evanston, and during his time he has taken the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament twice. Their 2017 appearance was their first in school history, while last season Northwestern defeated Boise State in the first round before falling 68-63 to UCLA in the second round. Right now it’s looking a lot more like the Wildcats will make this year’s tournament than the Buckeyes.
Not to say it’s impossible Ohio State wins tonight in Evanston, they’ll just have to play one of their best games of the season to defeat a very tough Northwestern squad. Thornton, Battle, and Gayle are a strong trio when they are playing well and supported by some interior toughness from Felix Okpara and Zed Key. The Buckeyes are going to need the two big men to be at their best tonight, as well as the Ohio State bench to give the team some strong contributions if they want to register their first road win in over a year.
ESPN BPI: Northwestern 64.4%
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes will look to put Tuesday’s loss to Nebraska behind them when take on Northwestern tonight.
Following Tuesday night’s 83-69 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln, Ohio State will be on the road again tonight, battling Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston. The Buckeyes desperately need a win against the Wildcats to try and give them a shot at finishing January with a 4-4 record. Not only does Ohio State have to beat Northwestern tonight to make that happen, they’ll also have to defeat Illinois on Tuesday night in Columbus.
The loss to Nebraska on Tuesday was Ohio State’s fourth loss in the last five games. The Buckeyes went into the halftime break trailing the Cornhuskers 43-35, and things didn’t get better in the second half as Fred Hoiberg’s team led by double-digits for the majority of the 20 minutes after halftime. Ohio State had no answer for Rienk Mast, who not only scored a career-high 34 points in the win, the Bradley transfer also grabbed 10 rebounds.
As ugly as the final score was for the Buckeyes, there were a few positives to come out of the loss. Roddy Gayle Jr. struggled shooting the basketball, finishing with just six points in the game, but the guard from Niagara Falls set a career-high by dishing out eight assists. While Ohio State did a good job at distributing the basketball and not committing too many turnovers, the Buckeyes just couldn’t find an answer to slow down Mast and the Nebraska offense.
Another positive in the loss was the introduction of Bowen Hardman in the game. Looking for a spark in the second half, head coach Chris Holtmann turned to Hardman, who many say is the best shooter on the team. Hardman didn’t disappoint, hitting three of the seven three-pointers he attempted, scoring 11 points in just eight minutes of playing time.
While it remains to be seen if Hardman will see an increase in playing time going forward, the sophomore from Cincinnati at least saw some time on the floor in a road Big Ten game and was able to produce when his number was called.
Hardman was one of three Buckeyes to score in double figures in the game. Bruce Thornton hit his average for the season, netting 16 points to lead Ohio State in scoring in the loss. Jamison Battle was the other Buckeye to score at least 10 points in the loss, finishing with 11 points, and adding seven rebounds. With his three triples in the game, Battle now has 56 three-pointers on the season, which is 22 more than Bruce Thornton, who is second on the team from behind the arc.
Preview
While Ohio State is licking the wounds after another January loss, Northwestern is riding high heading into this game after a 96-91 overtime win over Illinois on Wednesday. Boo Buie forced overtime when his layup with 23 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 76. The Wildcats just wanted the game a little more than the Fighting Illini on Wednesday, scoring the first nine points of overtime to secure the victory over their in-state foe. Buie scored a team-high 29 points, and Brooks Barnhizer added 23 points.
Entering tonight’s game, Ohio State leads the all-time series 123-49, winning six of the last 10 contests with the Wildcats. The 73-57 win by the Buckeyes over Northwestern on the first day of 2023 in Evanston was actually the last road win by Ohio State. Since then the Buckeyes have lost 13 straight true road games. The Wildcats were able to return the favor a month later by beating Ohio State 69-63 at Value City Arena. The loss to Northwestern was in the middle of a brutal nine-game losing streak for the Buckeyes.
This isn’t the Northwestern team that you have become accustomed to over the years that would play at a slow tempo. With their victory on Wednesday, the Wildcats have now scored at least 88 points in three Big Ten games this year, marking the first time they have accomplished that feat since the 1975-76 season.
Boo Buie is leading Northwestern, averaging 18.5 points per game. Buie is one of four Wildcats averaging at least 10 points per game this year. Guard Brooks Barnhizer is second on the team with a 14.9 points per game average, while Ty Berry and Princeton transfer Ryan Langborg are both averaging over 11 points per contest.
Along with their scoring prowess, Northwestern does a great job when it comes to turnovers. Through 19 games this season, the Wildcats are turning the ball over just 8.9 times per game, which ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth in the country. On the defensive side of the ball, Northwestern forces 13.8 turnovers per game, ranking third in the conference.
After leading the Big Ten with a +4.3 turnover margin last season, the Wildcats have been even better this year, with their turnover margin rising to a +4.8. Barnhizer has been a pest on the defensive end this season, entering tonight’s game averaging 2.0 steals per game.
Prediction
Right now it is impossible to trust the Ohio State men’s basketball team. The Buckeyes have the talent to contend in the Big Ten, for some reason they just keep faltering in January under Chris Holtmann.
Ohio State is already on the bubble when it comes to earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament in March. With some tough games still on the schedule, the Buckeyes will need to dig deep to win some of those games to stay in contention for a tournament bid. Add in tonight’s game being a road game, which have been impossible for Ohio State to win over the past year, and it feels like the season is about to be over for the Buckeyes before the calendar turns to February.
Despite Ohio State being deeper and more talented than Northwestern, the Wildcats are coached better and just play hungrier basketball. Chris Collins is in his 11th season as head coach in Evanston, and during his time he has taken the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament twice. Their 2017 appearance was their first in school history, while last season Northwestern defeated Boise State in the first round before falling 68-63 to UCLA in the second round. Right now it’s looking a lot more like the Wildcats will make this year’s tournament than the Buckeyes.
Not to say it’s impossible Ohio State wins tonight in Evanston, they’ll just have to play one of their best games of the season to defeat a very tough Northwestern squad. Thornton, Battle, and Gayle are a strong trio when they are playing well and supported by some interior toughness from Felix Okpara and Zed Key. The Buckeyes are going to need the two big men to be at their best tonight, as well as the Ohio State bench to give the team some strong contributions if they want to register their first road win in over a year.
ESPN BPI: Northwestern 64.4%
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
LGHL score prediction: Northwestern 79, Ohio State 74
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LGHL Visiting Locker Room: Hammer and Rails on if Purdue shocks Ohio State two years in a row
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Visiting Locker Room: Hammer and Rails on if Purdue shocks Ohio State two years in a row
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
LGHL reached out to friends to learn more about the Boilermakers before Sunday’s matchup.
Sunday afternoon, Ohio State women’s basketball ends a stretch of three road games in the last four with a trip to West Lafayette, Indiana. The Purdue Boilermakers sit in similar standing to the Illinois Fighting Illini side the Buckeyes faced Thursday.
Purdue is a team who a year after making a surprise trip to the NCAA Tournament finds itself struggling to find victories or consistency. Why are the 19-10 Boilermakers from a year ago sitting at 9-10 with a little over a month left in the regular season?
To learn more about that, facilitator Jeanae Terry and the up-and-coming Purdue freshman class, Land-Grant Holy Land talked with Gabi Everhard from Hammer and Rails.
Can the Boilermakers repeat a 22-23 win against the Buckeyes?
Land-Grant Holy Land: After making the NCAA Tournament last season, Purdue is having a tough go this season. What’s the team missing with both Lasha Petree and Cassidy Hardin graduating last year? Who is stepping into those roles?
LGHL: Someone who’s crucial to Purdue is graduate forward Jeanae Terry. She’s close to a double-double every night, sometimes without the points. How important is Terry to Purdue and is there any replacing of the guard when NCAA eligibility ends this season?
LGHL: Purdue started the season facing sides like UCLA, Notre Dame and Florida. Now it’s nearing the end of a six-game stretch including Iowa, Indiana, a surprisingly good Penn State team and ending with Ohio State. What has to go right for the Boilermakers to beat the Buckeyes and end the slump of five losses in a row? Is there a chance to repeat the upset Purdue had over OSU in 2023?
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
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
LGHL reached out to friends to learn more about the Boilermakers before Sunday’s matchup.
Sunday afternoon, Ohio State women’s basketball ends a stretch of three road games in the last four with a trip to West Lafayette, Indiana. The Purdue Boilermakers sit in similar standing to the Illinois Fighting Illini side the Buckeyes faced Thursday.
Purdue is a team who a year after making a surprise trip to the NCAA Tournament finds itself struggling to find victories or consistency. Why are the 19-10 Boilermakers from a year ago sitting at 9-10 with a little over a month left in the regular season?
To learn more about that, facilitator Jeanae Terry and the up-and-coming Purdue freshman class, Land-Grant Holy Land talked with Gabi Everhard from Hammer and Rails.
Can the Boilermakers repeat a 22-23 win against the Buckeyes?
Land-Grant Holy Land: After making the NCAA Tournament last season, Purdue is having a tough go this season. What’s the team missing with both Lasha Petree and Cassidy Hardin graduating last year? Who is stepping into those roles?
LGHL: Someone who’s crucial to Purdue is graduate forward Jeanae Terry. She’s close to a double-double every night, sometimes without the points. How important is Terry to Purdue and is there any replacing of the guard when NCAA eligibility ends this season?
LGHL: Purdue started the season facing sides like UCLA, Notre Dame and Florida. Now it’s nearing the end of a six-game stretch including Iowa, Indiana, a surprisingly good Penn State team and ending with Ohio State. What has to go right for the Boilermakers to beat the Buckeyes and end the slump of five losses in a row? Is there a chance to repeat the upset Purdue had over OSU in 2023?
Continue reading...
Ohio State at Northwestern, Saturday, January 27, 2024, 8:30 PM ET, BTN
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- Buckeye Basketball
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Road Swing Continues at Northwestern Saturday Night - Ohio State
Ohio State at Northwestern
Road Swing Continues at Northwestern Saturday Night
Ohio State at NorthwesternDate: January 27, 2024
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Welsh-Ryan Arena – Evanston, Ill.
Watch: BTN
Ohio State heads to Northwestern for a Saturday evening tilt with the Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Dave Revsine and Shon Morris will call the action.
- Ohio State has dominated the all-time series with Northwestern 123-49. The Buckeyes are 51-33 at Northwestern and 38-17 inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
- The Buckeyes have won six of the last 10 meetings with the Wildcats. Prior to that, the Buckeyes won 31 of 33 meetings dating back to 1999.
- Last year, the teams split a pair of meetings with each winning on the other's home floor. The Buckeyes raced out to a 20-2 lead and dominated throughout in a 73-57 victory at Northwestern on Jan. 1, 2023. Brice Sensabaugh scored a team-high 18 points while Sean McNeil made three three-pointers and finished with 15 points. In the meeting in Columbus, the lead went back and forth 10 times with neither team leading by more than nine before Northwestern pulled-out a 69-63 victory. Justice Sueing led the Buckeyes with 19 points.
- The last Buckeye road victory was the win at Northwestern on Jan. 1. That is a span of 13 road games.
- Ohio State is coming off an 83-69 setback at Nebraska on Tuesday night. Bruce Thornton led the Buckeyes with 16 points. He also had six assists and zero turnovers and two steals. Jamison Battle made three three-pointers and finished with 11 points while sophomore Bowen Hardman also made three triples and finished with a career-high 11 points.
- The Buckeyes have taken care of the basketball recently. They had a streak of double-digit turnovers in six consecutive games but his since had single-digit turnovers in four consecutive games. That includes their two lowest turnover games of four (at Michigan) and six (vs. Penn State).
- Roddy Gayle Jr. dished-out a career-high eight assists at Nebraska on Tuesday night. Starting on Jan. 3, he had a three-game stretch with five combined assists and 12 turnovers. In his last three games, he's flipped that with 13 assists and just three turnovers.
- Sophomore guard Bowen Hardman sprung off the bench late in the game vs. Nebraska on Tuesday night and knocked-down 4-of-8 shots, including three three-pointers to finish with a career-high 11 points. He had scored just eight points up until that point this season and just 20 points in his career.
- Northwestern enters the game at 14-5 overall and is coming off a thrilling 96-91 overtime victory over No. 10 Illinois on Wednesday night. Boo Buie leads the team and is fifth in the Big Ten at 18.5 ppg. He also has a team-high 100 assists. Ty Berry has made 44 three-pointers and is shooting better than 42 percent from beyond the arc.
Is Ohio State a must-win game for Northwestern men’s basketball?
The expectations for this ‘Cats team have undoubtedly been raised.
www.insidenu.com
Is Ohio State a must-win game for Northwestern men’s basketball?
The expectations for this ‘Cats team have undoubtedly been raised.The first step in controlling that destiny is to beat Ohio State when it comes to the Welsh on Saturday. Coming off a loss to Nebraska, the Buckeyes will look to return to the win column as they reach a pivotal moment in their season. Yet, Welsh-Ryan Arena has proven to be a fortress for the ‘Cats, especially when the students are present.
So, is this game a must-win for Northwestern? I’ll say yes, simply because every home game should give the ‘Cats an edge at this point. Their sole loss at Welsh-Ryan came against Chicago State in potentially one of the worst losses in program history. However, while inexcusable, there were no students, barely any outside fans, and an utter lack of confidence. Flash forward to the New Year as January nears a close, and that narrative has completely flipped. With six home games remaining on the docket, the ‘Cats have given me no reason to believe they shouldn’t be the team that emerges victorious in every single one of those matchups.
Ohio State vs Northwestern Odds
Ohio State: +1.5, O/U 138.5LGHL The Ohio State women’s basketball press avoids letdown game against Illinois
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The Ohio State women’s basketball press avoids letdown game against Illinois
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
How defense won the day and taught the Buckeyes a valuable lesson
When Ohio State women’s basketball comes up in conversation or game commentary, the full-court press inevitably comes to the forefront. It's a defensive strategy built on speed and chaos that head coach Kevin McGuff employs to disrupt opponents from their offensive plans.
As of late though, it’s been a preseason defensive goal for the Scarlet and Gray’s coming to fruition: An improved half-court defense.
Entering Thursday’s game against the struggling but improving Illinois Fighting Illini, the Buckeyes weren’t winning games with turnovers but with solid defense, once opponents made it over the half-court line.
In the first 15 games of the season, Ohio State had a turnover margin of +8, meaning the Buckeyes averaged eight more forced turnovers than it was giving it away.
On Jan. 14, against the Michigan State Spartans, that changed. Ohio State forced only eight turnovers, a season-low, and instead kept the Michigan State team who averaged 89.9 points per game scoring 65. Thanks to defenders keeping assignments, closing in on shooters, and the Spartans in response missing more than normal.
Rinse and repeat against the Maryland Terrapins and Iowa Hawkeyes. Although the full-court press was used at times, it took a backseat to the more traditional half-court grind.
Thursday night, Ohio State faced a Fighting Illini side that’s second in the conference in protecting the ball, behind the Spartans, averaging 11.4 turnovers per game. That average rose against the Buckeyes, and Ohio State needed that press to bring the team back to Earth following a historically bad second quarter.
That isn’t hyperbole either. the Buckeyes scored four points in the second quarter. Good enough for the lowest point total scored in a quarter by any team in Scarlet and Gray program history.
Defensively, Illinois shot 50% from the floor and from beyond the arc, compared to 22.2% and 0% to the visiting side. In rebounding, after going toe-to-toe with forward Kendall Bostic and the Fighting Illini in the first quarter, Coach McGuff’s side was outrebounded 13 to 4 in the second. Things weren’t going great for the Buckeyes, entering the halftime locker room down 22-33.
“I told them, ‘In this league, you can’t show up and just think you’re going to win. We’re going to take everybody’s best shot,’” said McGuff. “You have to play with the intensity and the focus that we played with in the second half if you want to win.”
The message was received clearly in the third quarter. Ohio State trimmed the 11-point Illinois lead to three in a quarter where the Fighting Illini almost reached its turnovers per game average in 10 minutes, giving the ball away 10 times. Guard Jacy Sheldon led the Buckeyes with two steals in the quarter.
After the game, the graduate senior took responsibility for the press not working initially, as the leader of the first line of defenders in the press. Sheldon also explained how it turned the game around.
“We kind of let them throw it over our heads, which kind of screws with the whole press,” said Sheldon. “So I think just making sure we stay behind them and letting them get it in if that makes sense. Everything else fell into place. Easier to navigate kind of where to go in that press and then Rikki (Harris) made some good plays. Celeste (Taylor) made some really good plays. And we kind of turned our defense into offense there.”
That work continued into the fourth quarter, pushing Illinois to its second-worst turnover performance of the season, giving the ball away 20 times. Outside of a couple of steals and solo fast-break opportunities, the Buckeyes didn’t panic when the ball was turned over. Instead, the team went into another offensive play.
Behind a game-leading 25 points for Sheldon and 14 points for Taylor (all coming in the second half), the Buckeyes held a calm demeanor, despite the deficit. It was a similar response against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Sunday’s 100-92 Ohio State victory. Down 12 points in the fourth quarter, the scarlet and gray had to find another gear to turn things around.
With Thursday’s game coming four days after such a monumental win in a loud home atmosphere for the Buckeyes, the Illini looked like a potential letdown game, and the first half had all the characteristics of one. Ultimately the win in Champaign, Illinois becomes a learning lesson.
“I feel like anybody that they would have put after us would have given us some match-up,” said Taylor. “And, you know, that’s just us trying to handle success, us trying to handle winning a huge game like that and then coming and turning around and not letting that hinder us, rather push us forward to continue to excel and continue on our peak up until March”
On Sunday, Feb. 4, the Buckeyes face its second toughest conference home game of the season, against the Indiana Hoosiers. The crimson, like Iowa, mostly had Ohio State’s number last season, outside of what could be called a miraculous 25-point comeback in the Big Ten tournament semifinal. In the regular season, it was all Indiana.
Between that Sunday noon game and now, the scarlet and gray have two teams on the bottom half of the Big Ten schedule in the Purdue Boilermakers and the Wisconsin Badgers. Each team looking at a game against Ohio State as a means to inject themselves into the conversation.
That Thursday escape act gives the Buckeyes a reminder to focus on the present and ignore everything else.
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
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
How defense won the day and taught the Buckeyes a valuable lesson
When Ohio State women’s basketball comes up in conversation or game commentary, the full-court press inevitably comes to the forefront. It's a defensive strategy built on speed and chaos that head coach Kevin McGuff employs to disrupt opponents from their offensive plans.
As of late though, it’s been a preseason defensive goal for the Scarlet and Gray’s coming to fruition: An improved half-court defense.
Entering Thursday’s game against the struggling but improving Illinois Fighting Illini, the Buckeyes weren’t winning games with turnovers but with solid defense, once opponents made it over the half-court line.
In the first 15 games of the season, Ohio State had a turnover margin of +8, meaning the Buckeyes averaged eight more forced turnovers than it was giving it away.
On Jan. 14, against the Michigan State Spartans, that changed. Ohio State forced only eight turnovers, a season-low, and instead kept the Michigan State team who averaged 89.9 points per game scoring 65. Thanks to defenders keeping assignments, closing in on shooters, and the Spartans in response missing more than normal.
Rinse and repeat against the Maryland Terrapins and Iowa Hawkeyes. Although the full-court press was used at times, it took a backseat to the more traditional half-court grind.
Thursday night, Ohio State faced a Fighting Illini side that’s second in the conference in protecting the ball, behind the Spartans, averaging 11.4 turnovers per game. That average rose against the Buckeyes, and Ohio State needed that press to bring the team back to Earth following a historically bad second quarter.
That isn’t hyperbole either. the Buckeyes scored four points in the second quarter. Good enough for the lowest point total scored in a quarter by any team in Scarlet and Gray program history.
Defensively, Illinois shot 50% from the floor and from beyond the arc, compared to 22.2% and 0% to the visiting side. In rebounding, after going toe-to-toe with forward Kendall Bostic and the Fighting Illini in the first quarter, Coach McGuff’s side was outrebounded 13 to 4 in the second. Things weren’t going great for the Buckeyes, entering the halftime locker room down 22-33.
“I told them, ‘In this league, you can’t show up and just think you’re going to win. We’re going to take everybody’s best shot,’” said McGuff. “You have to play with the intensity and the focus that we played with in the second half if you want to win.”
The message was received clearly in the third quarter. Ohio State trimmed the 11-point Illinois lead to three in a quarter where the Fighting Illini almost reached its turnovers per game average in 10 minutes, giving the ball away 10 times. Guard Jacy Sheldon led the Buckeyes with two steals in the quarter.
After the game, the graduate senior took responsibility for the press not working initially, as the leader of the first line of defenders in the press. Sheldon also explained how it turned the game around.
“We kind of let them throw it over our heads, which kind of screws with the whole press,” said Sheldon. “So I think just making sure we stay behind them and letting them get it in if that makes sense. Everything else fell into place. Easier to navigate kind of where to go in that press and then Rikki (Harris) made some good plays. Celeste (Taylor) made some really good plays. And we kind of turned our defense into offense there.”
Q3 | Bucks double up#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/dgK9KHXMZQ
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) January 26, 2024
That work continued into the fourth quarter, pushing Illinois to its second-worst turnover performance of the season, giving the ball away 20 times. Outside of a couple of steals and solo fast-break opportunities, the Buckeyes didn’t panic when the ball was turned over. Instead, the team went into another offensive play.
Behind a game-leading 25 points for Sheldon and 14 points for Taylor (all coming in the second half), the Buckeyes held a calm demeanor, despite the deficit. It was a similar response against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Sunday’s 100-92 Ohio State victory. Down 12 points in the fourth quarter, the scarlet and gray had to find another gear to turn things around.
With Thursday’s game coming four days after such a monumental win in a loud home atmosphere for the Buckeyes, the Illini looked like a potential letdown game, and the first half had all the characteristics of one. Ultimately the win in Champaign, Illinois becomes a learning lesson.
“I feel like anybody that they would have put after us would have given us some match-up,” said Taylor. “And, you know, that’s just us trying to handle success, us trying to handle winning a huge game like that and then coming and turning around and not letting that hinder us, rather push us forward to continue to excel and continue on our peak up until March”
On Sunday, Feb. 4, the Buckeyes face its second toughest conference home game of the season, against the Indiana Hoosiers. The crimson, like Iowa, mostly had Ohio State’s number last season, outside of what could be called a miraculous 25-point comeback in the Big Ten tournament semifinal. In the regular season, it was all Indiana.
Between that Sunday noon game and now, the scarlet and gray have two teams on the bottom half of the Big Ten schedule in the Purdue Boilermakers and the Wisconsin Badgers. Each team looking at a game against Ohio State as a means to inject themselves into the conversation.
That Thursday escape act gives the Buckeyes a reminder to focus on the present and ignore everything else.
Continue reading...
LGHL Uncut: A tale of two halves with Kevin McGuff, Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor
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Uncut: A tale of two halves with Kevin McGuff, Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes struggled in the second quarter against the Illini, but return from an 11-point deficit
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.
The Ohio State women’s basketball team saw itself in familiar territory Thursday night: Down double digits in the second half of a Big Ten game. Even so, the Buckeyes came away with a 67-59 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini, after going down 11 points at halftime.
Head coach Kevin McGuff and graduate senior guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor spoke with the media after the win. Coach McGuff started things off with his message to the team at halftime, following a program record four points scored in the second quarter, the fewest in any quarter Ohio State’s ever played. Also, the play of Jacy Sheldon and the growing passing game of forward Rebeka Mikulášiková.
Then, Sheldon discusses what the deficit means about the team, the team’s motivation in the second half and the effectiveness of the full court press in the comeback.
Last up is Taylor, who talks more about the passing of Mikulášiková, her own offensive burst in the final 20 minutes and avoiding a letdown game following a season-defining win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday.
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
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes struggled in the second quarter against the Illini, but return from an 11-point deficit
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.
The Ohio State women’s basketball team saw itself in familiar territory Thursday night: Down double digits in the second half of a Big Ten game. Even so, the Buckeyes came away with a 67-59 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini, after going down 11 points at halftime.
Head coach Kevin McGuff and graduate senior guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor spoke with the media after the win. Coach McGuff started things off with his message to the team at halftime, following a program record four points scored in the second quarter, the fewest in any quarter Ohio State’s ever played. Also, the play of Jacy Sheldon and the growing passing game of forward Rebeka Mikulášiková.
Then, Sheldon discusses what the deficit means about the team, the team’s motivation in the second half and the effectiveness of the full court press in the comeback.
Last up is Taylor, who talks more about the passing of Mikulášiková, her own offensive burst in the final 20 minutes and avoiding a letdown game following a season-defining win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday.
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...
2024 College Football Playoffs Discussion (12 Team Format)
- By ScriptOhio
- 2024 Football Season Capsule
- 3103 Replies
College Football Playoff Expands to 12 Teams Beginning in 2024 - College Football Playoff
IRVING, Texas – Members of the College Football Playoff (CFP) Board of Managers have agreed to begin the newly-expanded 12-team playoff during the 2024-2025 season.
collegefootballplayoff.com
Members of the College Football Playoff (CFP) Board of Managers have agreed to begin the newly-expanded 12-team playoff during the 2024-2025 season.
"We're delighted to be moving forward," said Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff. "When the board expanded the playoff beginning in 2026 and asked the CFP Management Committee to examine the feasibility of starting the new format earlier, the Management Committee went right to work. More teams and more access mean more excitement for fans, alumni, students and student-athletes. We appreciate the leaders of the six bowl games and the two future national championship game host cities for their cooperation. Everyone realized that this change is in the best interest of college football and pulled together to make it happen."
The first round of the playoff in 2024 will take place the week ending Saturday, December 21, at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or at another site designated by the higher-seeded institution. (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7, and No. 9 at No. 8.) The specific game dates, likely late in that week, will be announced later.
For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the four quarterfinal games and two Playoff Semifinal games will be played in bowls on a rotating basis. The 2024 quarterfinals will take place in the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. The 2025 quarterfinals will take place in the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. Specific dates for all quarterfinal and semifinal games will be announced at a later time.
The national championship games will be played January 20, 2025, in Atlanta, and January 19, 2026, in Miami.
College Football Playoff officials will introduce a 12-team playoff bracket next season, expanding from the current four-team format.
How the 12-team College Football Playoff will work: Teams, schedule, bids
Here's a breakdown of how the new 12-team College Football Playoff will work, according to CFP officials.
www.ncaa.com
How CFP teams are selected under new format
The new 12-team College Football Playoff field will include the six highest-ranked conference champions, which will receive automatic bids. The top four teams will receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.The six highest-ranked teams remaining will round out the 12-team format.
Bowl games
CFP officials stated that the four quarterfinal games and two Playoff Semifinal games will be played in bowls on a rotating basis.
2024 quarterfinals: Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl
2024 semifinals: Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl
2025 quarterfinals: Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl
2025 semifinals: Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl
The CFP schedule for the 2024 and 2025 seasons:
2024 CFP Schedule| GAME | DATE |
|---|---|
| First round | Dec. 20-21 |
| Fiesta Bowl | Quarterfinals | Dec. 31 |
| Peach, Rose, Sugar Bowl | Quarterfinals | Jan. 1 |
| Orange Bowl | Semifinals | Jan. 9 |
| Cotton Bowl | Semifinals | Jan. 10 |
| Atlanta, GA | National Championship | Jan. 20 |
| GAME | DATE |
|---|---|
| First round | Dec. 19-20 |
| Cotton Bowl | Quarterfinals | Dec. 31 |
| Orange, Rose, Sugar Bowls | Quarterfinals | Jan. 1 |
| Fiesta Bowl | Semifinals | Jan. 8 |
| Peach Bowl | Semifinals | Jan. 9 |
| Miami, FL | National Championship | Jan. 19 |
Ranking the 12 games in 2024 with the biggest implications for a 12-team playoff
From the best nonconference games to the best new conference contests, these are dates to circle on your college football calendar.
Just sayin': Anyway the top 4 teams get a 1st round bye.
Cryin’ Sherrone Moore, Sniffles, HC TCUN (Dead Man Walking)
- By ScriptOhio
- College Football
- 194 Replies
Michigan hires Moore as coach on 5-year deal
Michigan promoted Sherrone Moore to head coach Friday, two days after Jim Harbaugh left to guide the Chargers.
Michigan announces Sherrone Moore as full-time head coach
Michigan has its man.Two days after Jim Harbaugh bolted to the NFL and the Los Angeles Chargers, the national champion Wolverines promoted offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore to head coach, the school announced Friday.
Moore went unbeaten during the four games in which he replaced Harbaugh last season. Now, he replaces him as Michigan's head coach on a full-time basis.
On the same day that Harbaugh bolted for the NFL and the Chargers' head coaching job, Michigan's All-America guard Zak Zinter tweeted: "No interviews needed. It's Papa Moore's time."
And now, officially, it is.
LGHL All 18 projected starting quarterbacks in the new-look Big Ten in 2024
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All 18 projected starting quarterbacks in the new-look Big Ten in 2024
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With four new teams in the conference this season, how does each program stack up at quarterback?
The Big Ten will officially be bigger than ever to start the 2024 college football season, as new members Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington now bring the conference to 18 total teams. While things could still change when the spring transfer portal window opens on April 15, we at least have a pretty good idea — or so we think — of who will be the starting at quarterback for almost every B1G school.
Among those expected to be QB1 in the Big Ten this upcoming season, eight of them have transferred in from other programs this offseason, and seven are returning as starters from a year ago (with four of those seven being former transfers themselves). Below is a quick overview of each school’s expected starting quarterback, listed alphabetically by team.
Luke Altmeyer began his career at Ole Miss, attempting 54 total passes for the Rebels in his first two collegiate seasons over nine games with 317 yards, three touchdowns and three picks. With Jaxson Dart joining the team in 2022, Altmeyer elected to take his talents to Illinois, and where he took over as the Illini’s starting QB last season. The former four-star prospect had an up-and-down year in 2023, throwing for 1,883 yards with 13 TDs and 10 INTs. He also added 282 yards rushing with three scores on the ground.
Spending the first five years of his career at Ohio, Kurtis Rourke had been one of the best quarterbacks in the MAC each of the last two seasons. The 2022 MAC Offensive Player of the Year led the conference in completion percentage in both 2022 and 2023. He suffered an ACL tear at the end of 2022 and missed two games last year with an undisclosed injury, but still started 11 games for the Bobcats in 2023. Across three full seasons as Ohio’s starting quarterback, Rourke threw for 7,265 yards with 47 TDs and 16 INTs. Having started 35 total games for Ohio, Rourke will now play his final year of eligibility at Indiana.
Cade McNamara played his first three collegiate seasons at Michigan, starting for the Wolverines in 2021 before being unseated by J.J. McCarthy in 2022. As a result, McNamara decided to transfer to Iowa prior to the 2023 season, where he started the first five games of the year for the Hawkeyes before suffering a torn ACL against Michigan State on Sept. 30. Deacon Hill was less than stellar — to put it nicely — replacing McNamara the rest of the way, and so the super-senior should retake the starting role as long as he is healthy in 2024.
The Taulia Tagovailoa era at Maryland has finally come to an end, with Tua’s younger brother having started each of the last four seasons for the Terrapins, amassing over 11,000 yards passing with 77 TDs. In his place will be a newcomer to Mike Locksley’s program in NC State transfer MJ Morris. A rising redshirt sophomore, Morris started seven games and played in nine total in his two years with the Wolfpack, totaling 1,367 yards passing with 14 TDs to six INTs. Morris took over as NC State’s starting QB last season following the team’s 3-2 start, and helped lead the Wolfpack to a 3-1 record before stepping down as the starter to preserve his redshirt.
The defending national champions have perhaps the most unsettled quarterback position in the entire conference, and it could get even more murky with Jim Harbaugh leaving to take the Los Angeles Chargers job. While it is expected that Sherrone Moore will take over as Michigan’s new head coach, potentially mitigating an exodus of players via the transfer portal, that has not yet been made official.
Either way, with J.J. McCarthy also gone, the starting job in 2024 likely sits between Jayden Denegal and Jadyn Davis. Denegal, a former three-star prospect in 2022, has attempted just five total passes in his two years with the program. Davis is an incoming high four-star freshman, rated as the No. 7 QB and No. 93 player overall in the 2024 class. Alex Orji saw the field in place of McCarthy in non-garbage time more than anyone last season, but has not attempted a single pass in his two years with the Wolverines while compiling 21 rushing attempts.
Michigan State had a brutal 2023 both on and off the field, but hit a home run in hiring Jonathan Smith away from Oregon State to replace the fired Mel Tucker. In brining in Smith, the Spartans were also able to land former Beaver QB Aidan Chiles — the No. 2 QB in the transfer portal behind only Julian Sayin. Chiles served as the primary backup to DJ Uiagalelei at Oregon State, completing 24-of-35 pass attempts for 309 yards with four TDs and another three scores on the ground. The dual-threat QB was the No. 7 QB and No. 58 overall player in the 2023 class, per 247Sports.
With last year’s starter Athan Kaliakmanis transferring to Rutgers — more on him later — P.J. Fleck had to look to the transfer portal to find his next starting quarterback. The search brought him to the FCS ranks, where the Golden Gophers landed on former New Hampshire Wildcat Max Brosmer. A two-star recruit rated in the low 3,000s as a prospect in 2019, Brosmer spent the last two seasons as the starter at New Hampshire, totaling 6,613 yards with 56 TDs to 14 INTs in that span. His 3,449 passing yards this past season led all of FCS. Brosmer will look to turn around a Minnesota offense that ranked No. 123 nationally in passing yards per game in 2023.
Nebraska whiffed in the transfer portal last season when it brought in Jeff Sims from Georgia Tech. Sims was dismal for the Cornhuskers, throwing six picks and only one touchdown over the team’s first five games before getting benched in favor of Heinrich Haarberg, who performed admirably in his place. While Haarberg was able to lead Nebraska to all five of its wins last year, it would be tough to see Matt Rhule not elect to hand the reins over to five-star incoming freshman Dylan Raiola. The former Ohio State and Georgia commit is the No. 3 QB and No. 10 player overall in the 2024 class on the 247Sports Composite.
Northwestern was supposed to be one of the worst teams in the country in 2024, but instead pulled off a miraculous 8-5 season under now full-time head coach David Braun. With last year’s quarterback in Ben Bryant having exhausted eligibility, the job will now flip over to Brendan Sullivan, who already has experience starting games under Braun. Sullivan started four games for the Wildcats in 2023 when Bryant was banged up, throwing for 653 yards with five TDs and just one INT. Northwestern went 2-2 in those starts, which included a tough 81-yard passing performance for Sullivan against Iowa’s defense in a 10-7 loss. Still, the rising senior has passed for over 1,300 yards over the last two seasons, and has already shown capable of winning games as the starter.
The best quarterback in the Big Ten comes from a Big 12 school and now plays at a program that was formerly in the Pac-12 — you got all that? Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon this offseason after spending three years at UCF and the last two seasons at Oklahoma. Gabriel brings with him five years of experience as a starting QB at the collegiate level, passing for over 3,100 yards in every season outside of 2021, when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after just three games. This past year, Gabriel finished atop the Big 12 in both passing yards (3,660) and passing touchdowns (30) with only six INTs and a career-high 12 rushing TDs.
Speaking of quarterbacks coming over from the Big 12, Ohio State also found its new starting QB from the conference via the transfer portal in Kansas State’s Will Howard. The former three-star recruit was the No. 7 rated QB in the transfer portal, and comes to Columbus having passed for just under 5,800 yards and rushing for over 900 yards in 34 career games with the Wildcats. After helping lead Kansas State to a Big 12 title in 2022, Howard was banged up throughout parts of 2023, but still managed to throw for 2,643 yards with 24 TDs to 10 INTs while also adding another 19 TDs and 351 yards on the ground. With much better weapons around him at Ohio State, there is reason to think he can excel with the Buckeyes.
There was a ton of hype coming into last season surrounding five-star quarterback prospect Drew Allar at Penn State. Having joined the Nittany Lions as the No. 4 QB and the No. 32 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, Allar became the starter for James Franklin last season. While the efficiency stats were certainly there for the Ohio native, throwing 25 TDs to only two picks, Allar struggled pushing the ball down the field, averaging just 6.8 yards per attempt. There is reason to think Allar can improve heading into year two as the starter, including what should be a better receiving core with the addition of Julian Fleming.
Ryan Walters got off to a tough start in his first year at the helm at Purdue in 2023, finishing with just a 4-8 record and a 3-6 mark in the Big Ten. The conference isn’t going to get any easier in 2024, but he will have the benefit of a returning starter at quarterback in Hudson Card. Previously at Texas, where he started five games over two seasons and totaled a little over 1,500 yards total in his three years with the Longhorns, Card transferred to Purdue prior to last season. Card put up good-but-not-great numbers with the Boilermakers in year one, passing for 2,387 yards with 15 TDs to eight INTs.
Rutgers has one of the most intriguing QB rooms in the Big Ten. Heading into the offseason, it seemed all but assured that Gavin Wimsatt would return as the team’s starting quarterback in 2024. Wimsatt’s numbers were not great, throwing for 1,735 yards with nine TDs and eight picks, but he added nearly 500 yards and 11 TDs on the ground as well. The Scarlet Knights then went on to add Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis, who also did not have a good year throwing the ball in 2023 (1,838 yards, 14 TDs, 9 INTs) and does not have the run threat of a guy like Wimsatt. The two will likely battle it out for the starting job this spring, with Kaliakmanis having a potential leg-up given his prior connection to Rutgers OC Kirk Ciarrocca from his time with the Gophers.
After rotating between three quarterbacks during the 2023 season, one of them is now the clear favorite to start this upcoming campaign. With Dante Moore off to Oregon, Ethan Garbers comes into the year as the probable QB1 for UCLA having helped to lead the Bruins to a 35-22 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl. Garbers came into the game in the second half against the Broncos, completing 9-of-12 passes for 152 yards and two TDs en route to being named the game’s offensive MVP. In total, Garbers finished the season with 1,136 yards with 11 TDs and only three picks.
Now that the most overrated quarterback in college football is off to the NFL, Lincoln Riley will have a new man under center in 2024. With Caleb Williams entering the NFL Draft and Malachi Nelson transferring to Boise State, Riley elected not to add a QB through the transfer portal, instead deciding to put his faith in Miller Moss. It is easy to see why that is the case, as Moss put on a show in the Trojans’ Holiday Bowl victory over Louisville with six touchdown passes to go along with 372 yards passing and one pick. Moss spent the last two years sitting behind Williams, and is now the frontrunner to star in Riley’s QB-forward offense.
It was nearly the shortest pitstop ever for Will Rogers as a Husky, transferring to Washington and appearing on the sideline during the College Football Playoff before re-entering the transfer portal following the departure of Kalen DeBoer. However, Rogers made the decision to withdraw from the portal and return to Washington, where he is now the heir apparent to Michael Penix Jr. — albeit on a much different team than the one led by DeBoer and former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Rogers put up gaudy numbers in Mississippi State’s air raid offense, throwing for over 12,000 yards with 94 TD passes and 28 INTs in his four years with the Bulldogs.
Luke Fickell will be hoping this transfer portal QB works out better than the last one. After adding Tanner Mordecai from SMU prior to last season, this time around Wisconsin is bringing in Tyler Van Dyke from Miami. It had been a largely up-and-down career for the former four-star prospect during his time with the Hurricanes, winning ACC Rookie of the Year in 2021 but getting benched this past season for freshman Emory Williams. Van Dyke would regain his role as the starter after an injury to Williams, and overall finished the year with 2,703 yards passing to go along with 19 TDs but with a career-high 12 INTs. If things don't work out with Van Dyke, the Badgers could instead opt to go with Braedyn Locke, who showed flashes when filling in for an injured Mordecai during the 2023 campaign.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With four new teams in the conference this season, how does each program stack up at quarterback?
The Big Ten will officially be bigger than ever to start the 2024 college football season, as new members Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington now bring the conference to 18 total teams. While things could still change when the spring transfer portal window opens on April 15, we at least have a pretty good idea — or so we think — of who will be the starting at quarterback for almost every B1G school.
Among those expected to be QB1 in the Big Ten this upcoming season, eight of them have transferred in from other programs this offseason, and seven are returning as starters from a year ago (with four of those seven being former transfers themselves). Below is a quick overview of each school’s expected starting quarterback, listed alphabetically by team.
Illinois - Luke Altmeyer
Luke Altmeyer began his career at Ole Miss, attempting 54 total passes for the Rebels in his first two collegiate seasons over nine games with 317 yards, three touchdowns and three picks. With Jaxson Dart joining the team in 2022, Altmeyer elected to take his talents to Illinois, and where he took over as the Illini’s starting QB last season. The former four-star prospect had an up-and-down year in 2023, throwing for 1,883 yards with 13 TDs and 10 INTs. He also added 282 yards rushing with three scores on the ground.
Indiana - Kurtis Rourke
Spending the first five years of his career at Ohio, Kurtis Rourke had been one of the best quarterbacks in the MAC each of the last two seasons. The 2022 MAC Offensive Player of the Year led the conference in completion percentage in both 2022 and 2023. He suffered an ACL tear at the end of 2022 and missed two games last year with an undisclosed injury, but still started 11 games for the Bobcats in 2023. Across three full seasons as Ohio’s starting quarterback, Rourke threw for 7,265 yards with 47 TDs and 16 INTs. Having started 35 total games for Ohio, Rourke will now play his final year of eligibility at Indiana.
Iowa - Cade McNamara
Cade McNamara played his first three collegiate seasons at Michigan, starting for the Wolverines in 2021 before being unseated by J.J. McCarthy in 2022. As a result, McNamara decided to transfer to Iowa prior to the 2023 season, where he started the first five games of the year for the Hawkeyes before suffering a torn ACL against Michigan State on Sept. 30. Deacon Hill was less than stellar — to put it nicely — replacing McNamara the rest of the way, and so the super-senior should retake the starting role as long as he is healthy in 2024.
Maryland - MJ Morris
The Taulia Tagovailoa era at Maryland has finally come to an end, with Tua’s younger brother having started each of the last four seasons for the Terrapins, amassing over 11,000 yards passing with 77 TDs. In his place will be a newcomer to Mike Locksley’s program in NC State transfer MJ Morris. A rising redshirt sophomore, Morris started seven games and played in nine total in his two years with the Wolfpack, totaling 1,367 yards passing with 14 TDs to six INTs. Morris took over as NC State’s starting QB last season following the team’s 3-2 start, and helped lead the Wolfpack to a 3-1 record before stepping down as the starter to preserve his redshirt.
Michigan - Jayden Denegal/Jadyn Davis
The defending national champions have perhaps the most unsettled quarterback position in the entire conference, and it could get even more murky with Jim Harbaugh leaving to take the Los Angeles Chargers job. While it is expected that Sherrone Moore will take over as Michigan’s new head coach, potentially mitigating an exodus of players via the transfer portal, that has not yet been made official.
Either way, with J.J. McCarthy also gone, the starting job in 2024 likely sits between Jayden Denegal and Jadyn Davis. Denegal, a former three-star prospect in 2022, has attempted just five total passes in his two years with the program. Davis is an incoming high four-star freshman, rated as the No. 7 QB and No. 93 player overall in the 2024 class. Alex Orji saw the field in place of McCarthy in non-garbage time more than anyone last season, but has not attempted a single pass in his two years with the Wolverines while compiling 21 rushing attempts.
Michigan State - Aidan Chiles
Michigan State had a brutal 2023 both on and off the field, but hit a home run in hiring Jonathan Smith away from Oregon State to replace the fired Mel Tucker. In brining in Smith, the Spartans were also able to land former Beaver QB Aidan Chiles — the No. 2 QB in the transfer portal behind only Julian Sayin. Chiles served as the primary backup to DJ Uiagalelei at Oregon State, completing 24-of-35 pass attempts for 309 yards with four TDs and another three scores on the ground. The dual-threat QB was the No. 7 QB and No. 58 overall player in the 2023 class, per 247Sports.
Minnesota - Max Brosmer
With last year’s starter Athan Kaliakmanis transferring to Rutgers — more on him later — P.J. Fleck had to look to the transfer portal to find his next starting quarterback. The search brought him to the FCS ranks, where the Golden Gophers landed on former New Hampshire Wildcat Max Brosmer. A two-star recruit rated in the low 3,000s as a prospect in 2019, Brosmer spent the last two seasons as the starter at New Hampshire, totaling 6,613 yards with 56 TDs to 14 INTs in that span. His 3,449 passing yards this past season led all of FCS. Brosmer will look to turn around a Minnesota offense that ranked No. 123 nationally in passing yards per game in 2023.
Nebraska - Dylan Raiola
Nebraska whiffed in the transfer portal last season when it brought in Jeff Sims from Georgia Tech. Sims was dismal for the Cornhuskers, throwing six picks and only one touchdown over the team’s first five games before getting benched in favor of Heinrich Haarberg, who performed admirably in his place. While Haarberg was able to lead Nebraska to all five of its wins last year, it would be tough to see Matt Rhule not elect to hand the reins over to five-star incoming freshman Dylan Raiola. The former Ohio State and Georgia commit is the No. 3 QB and No. 10 player overall in the 2024 class on the 247Sports Composite.
Northwestern - Brendan Sullivan
Northwestern was supposed to be one of the worst teams in the country in 2024, but instead pulled off a miraculous 8-5 season under now full-time head coach David Braun. With last year’s quarterback in Ben Bryant having exhausted eligibility, the job will now flip over to Brendan Sullivan, who already has experience starting games under Braun. Sullivan started four games for the Wildcats in 2023 when Bryant was banged up, throwing for 653 yards with five TDs and just one INT. Northwestern went 2-2 in those starts, which included a tough 81-yard passing performance for Sullivan against Iowa’s defense in a 10-7 loss. Still, the rising senior has passed for over 1,300 yards over the last two seasons, and has already shown capable of winning games as the starter.
Oregon - Dillon Gabriel
The best quarterback in the Big Ten comes from a Big 12 school and now plays at a program that was formerly in the Pac-12 — you got all that? Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon this offseason after spending three years at UCF and the last two seasons at Oklahoma. Gabriel brings with him five years of experience as a starting QB at the collegiate level, passing for over 3,100 yards in every season outside of 2021, when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after just three games. This past year, Gabriel finished atop the Big 12 in both passing yards (3,660) and passing touchdowns (30) with only six INTs and a career-high 12 rushing TDs.
Ohio State - Will Howard
Speaking of quarterbacks coming over from the Big 12, Ohio State also found its new starting QB from the conference via the transfer portal in Kansas State’s Will Howard. The former three-star recruit was the No. 7 rated QB in the transfer portal, and comes to Columbus having passed for just under 5,800 yards and rushing for over 900 yards in 34 career games with the Wildcats. After helping lead Kansas State to a Big 12 title in 2022, Howard was banged up throughout parts of 2023, but still managed to throw for 2,643 yards with 24 TDs to 10 INTs while also adding another 19 TDs and 351 yards on the ground. With much better weapons around him at Ohio State, there is reason to think he can excel with the Buckeyes.
Penn State - Drew Allar
There was a ton of hype coming into last season surrounding five-star quarterback prospect Drew Allar at Penn State. Having joined the Nittany Lions as the No. 4 QB and the No. 32 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, Allar became the starter for James Franklin last season. While the efficiency stats were certainly there for the Ohio native, throwing 25 TDs to only two picks, Allar struggled pushing the ball down the field, averaging just 6.8 yards per attempt. There is reason to think Allar can improve heading into year two as the starter, including what should be a better receiving core with the addition of Julian Fleming.
Purdue - Hudson Card
Ryan Walters got off to a tough start in his first year at the helm at Purdue in 2023, finishing with just a 4-8 record and a 3-6 mark in the Big Ten. The conference isn’t going to get any easier in 2024, but he will have the benefit of a returning starter at quarterback in Hudson Card. Previously at Texas, where he started five games over two seasons and totaled a little over 1,500 yards total in his three years with the Longhorns, Card transferred to Purdue prior to last season. Card put up good-but-not-great numbers with the Boilermakers in year one, passing for 2,387 yards with 15 TDs to eight INTs.
Rutgers - Gavin Wimsatt/Athan Kaliakmanis
Rutgers has one of the most intriguing QB rooms in the Big Ten. Heading into the offseason, it seemed all but assured that Gavin Wimsatt would return as the team’s starting quarterback in 2024. Wimsatt’s numbers were not great, throwing for 1,735 yards with nine TDs and eight picks, but he added nearly 500 yards and 11 TDs on the ground as well. The Scarlet Knights then went on to add Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis, who also did not have a good year throwing the ball in 2023 (1,838 yards, 14 TDs, 9 INTs) and does not have the run threat of a guy like Wimsatt. The two will likely battle it out for the starting job this spring, with Kaliakmanis having a potential leg-up given his prior connection to Rutgers OC Kirk Ciarrocca from his time with the Gophers.
UCLA - Ethan Garbers
After rotating between three quarterbacks during the 2023 season, one of them is now the clear favorite to start this upcoming campaign. With Dante Moore off to Oregon, Ethan Garbers comes into the year as the probable QB1 for UCLA having helped to lead the Bruins to a 35-22 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl. Garbers came into the game in the second half against the Broncos, completing 9-of-12 passes for 152 yards and two TDs en route to being named the game’s offensive MVP. In total, Garbers finished the season with 1,136 yards with 11 TDs and only three picks.
USC - Miller Moss
Now that the most overrated quarterback in college football is off to the NFL, Lincoln Riley will have a new man under center in 2024. With Caleb Williams entering the NFL Draft and Malachi Nelson transferring to Boise State, Riley elected not to add a QB through the transfer portal, instead deciding to put his faith in Miller Moss. It is easy to see why that is the case, as Moss put on a show in the Trojans’ Holiday Bowl victory over Louisville with six touchdown passes to go along with 372 yards passing and one pick. Moss spent the last two years sitting behind Williams, and is now the frontrunner to star in Riley’s QB-forward offense.
Washington - Will Rogers
It was nearly the shortest pitstop ever for Will Rogers as a Husky, transferring to Washington and appearing on the sideline during the College Football Playoff before re-entering the transfer portal following the departure of Kalen DeBoer. However, Rogers made the decision to withdraw from the portal and return to Washington, where he is now the heir apparent to Michael Penix Jr. — albeit on a much different team than the one led by DeBoer and former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Rogers put up gaudy numbers in Mississippi State’s air raid offense, throwing for over 12,000 yards with 94 TD passes and 28 INTs in his four years with the Bulldogs.
Wisconsin - Tyler Van Dyke
Luke Fickell will be hoping this transfer portal QB works out better than the last one. After adding Tanner Mordecai from SMU prior to last season, this time around Wisconsin is bringing in Tyler Van Dyke from Miami. It had been a largely up-and-down career for the former four-star prospect during his time with the Hurricanes, winning ACC Rookie of the Year in 2021 but getting benched this past season for freshman Emory Williams. Van Dyke would regain his role as the starter after an injury to Williams, and overall finished the year with 2,703 yards passing to go along with 19 TDs but with a career-high 12 INTs. If things don't work out with Van Dyke, the Badgers could instead opt to go with Braedyn Locke, who showed flashes when filling in for an injured Mordecai during the 2023 campaign.
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LGHL You’re Nuts: Is it time to have the Bowen Hardman conversation?
- News
- 0 Replies
You’re Nuts: Is it time to have the Bowen Hardman conversation?
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
The sophomore guard from Cincinnati scored a career-high 11 points in Ohio State’s loss to Nebraska Tuesday night.
Ah yes, Ohio State men’s basketball. The big beautiful dumpster fire that looks to once again be headed in the wrong direction as we approach the final stretch of the season.
After a loss to Nebraska on Tuesday night, the Buckeyes are now 3-5 in Big Ten play, and have fallen out of everyone’s bracket predictions for the NCAA Tournament. Just a few weeks ago, this team was projected to be a six or seven-seed. Boy, how things can change quickly.
While it wasn’t the headline of Tuesday night’s game, something funny happened with 7:35 remaining — Bowen Hardman checked in. Ohio State was trailing by 16 on the road, and nothing was working. It was clearly a “throw everything at the wall and see if something sticks” move by Chris Holtmann. Hardman responded by scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three. More on him in a bit.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated what Ohio State would need to improve on if they wanted to even the score with Penn State at home (spoiler alert, they did). Connor said the Buckeyes need to guard Ace Baldwin and Kanye Clary better. Justin said the Buckeyes just need to hit more three-pointers. 67% of the people sided with Justin, and Ohio State won, too!
Connor- 64
By most accounts, Bowen Hardman has been Ohio State’s best shooter since he stepped foot on campus. He hasn’t played because pretty much every other aspect of his game lags far behind what is needed to compete at this level. But after his tryout of sorts on Tuesday, should Hardman see the floor more often?
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25249272/usa_today_21686278.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Things are heading south quickly for Ohio State, and unlike past seasons where the Buckeyes’ offense kept chugging along despite a bad defense, right now they’re struggling at both ends of the floor. Ohio State has been held under 70 points six times this season, but four of those games have come in the last few weeks (four of their last five games).
One of those games was Nebraska this past week, when Ohio State struggled offensively and put up 69 points. During the second half, as the Cornhuskers pulled away, Chris Holtmann subbed in Hardman with 7:35 left to go, in place of Dale Bonner. Hardman responded by scoring 11 points over the last seven minutes or so, knocking down four of his eight shots.
More than a few fans have asked why Hardman never plays, when his teammates say he is the team’s best shooter and that part of his game was already pretty refined coming out of high school. Chris Holtmann said last year that Hardman’s just not physically built or ready for this level of basketball, and truth be told if that’s really true, there’s never going to be a path for him to play.
But if the season is spiraling, Ohio State needs guys out there who can hit shots. Maybe he can’t defend and maybe he’s not going to viciously attack the glass for rebounds, but Hardman can hit shots. So at this point, why not?
I’m not advocating for Hardman to play 15 minutes a game, nor should he take minutes away from Bruce Thornton or Roddy Gayle. But five or six minutes per game, maybe Hardman knock down a three or two that sparks his teammates when things go dry.
It’s okay to say it like it is — Hardman was an early commitment in the class of 2022 that didn’t pan out. He looks physically overmatched on the floor, and has already been passed over by freshmen on the depth chart. But if we’re in, “just throw anything against the wall” mode, that should also include Hardman.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25249198/usa_today_22338419.jpg "Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch")
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
It was hard to judge Bowen Hardman off his play in the Nebraska game, as he was clearly brought in to give them a spark shooting and shot the ball every possession. He was solid, shooting 3-for-6 from the field, 2-for-5 from three-point range, with eight points.
I am not opposed to Bowen Hardman’s minutes off the bench. He looked good against Nebraska, and we know he can shoot at a high level, but Taison Chatman did not play in this one, and that is where I want those minutes to go if they are looking for a spark.
I understand why it was Hardman and not Chatman in this contest, because Chris Holtmann was clearly looking for a shooting spark, and Hardman provided that over Chatman. However, Chatman provides a higher ceiling.
Chatman has not played much this season as he recovers from two separate injuries and missed a lot of the offseason. He has looked okay in the minutes he has played, but at this point in the season and the position the team is in, it really can’t hurt to give Chatman some more minutes and let him get more comfortable.
Dale Bonner has struggled at times, and Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle can’t play 40 minutes a game. Maybe Chatman is the bridge player to help that.
At this point, it is all hands on deck to save the season. Also, you want Chatman to be here next season.
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
Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
The sophomore guard from Cincinnati scored a career-high 11 points in Ohio State’s loss to Nebraska Tuesday night.
Ah yes, Ohio State men’s basketball. The big beautiful dumpster fire that looks to once again be headed in the wrong direction as we approach the final stretch of the season.
After a loss to Nebraska on Tuesday night, the Buckeyes are now 3-5 in Big Ten play, and have fallen out of everyone’s bracket predictions for the NCAA Tournament. Just a few weeks ago, this team was projected to be a six or seven-seed. Boy, how things can change quickly.
While it wasn’t the headline of Tuesday night’s game, something funny happened with 7:35 remaining — Bowen Hardman checked in. Ohio State was trailing by 16 on the road, and nothing was working. It was clearly a “throw everything at the wall and see if something sticks” move by Chris Holtmann. Hardman responded by scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three. More on him in a bit.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated what Ohio State would need to improve on if they wanted to even the score with Penn State at home (spoiler alert, they did). Connor said the Buckeyes need to guard Ace Baldwin and Kanye Clary better. Justin said the Buckeyes just need to hit more three-pointers. 67% of the people sided with Justin, and Ohio State won, too!
After 136 weeks:
Connor- 64
Justin- 53
Other- 15
(There have been four ties)
By most accounts, Bowen Hardman has been Ohio State’s best shooter since he stepped foot on campus. He hasn’t played because pretty much every other aspect of his game lags far behind what is needed to compete at this level. But after his tryout of sorts on Tuesday, should Hardman see the floor more often?
Today’s Question: Is it time to have the Bowen Hardman conversation?
Connor: Sure, why not?
Things are heading south quickly for Ohio State, and unlike past seasons where the Buckeyes’ offense kept chugging along despite a bad defense, right now they’re struggling at both ends of the floor. Ohio State has been held under 70 points six times this season, but four of those games have come in the last few weeks (four of their last five games).
One of those games was Nebraska this past week, when Ohio State struggled offensively and put up 69 points. During the second half, as the Cornhuskers pulled away, Chris Holtmann subbed in Hardman with 7:35 left to go, in place of Dale Bonner. Hardman responded by scoring 11 points over the last seven minutes or so, knocking down four of his eight shots.
More than a few fans have asked why Hardman never plays, when his teammates say he is the team’s best shooter and that part of his game was already pretty refined coming out of high school. Chris Holtmann said last year that Hardman’s just not physically built or ready for this level of basketball, and truth be told if that’s really true, there’s never going to be a path for him to play.
But if the season is spiraling, Ohio State needs guys out there who can hit shots. Maybe he can’t defend and maybe he’s not going to viciously attack the glass for rebounds, but Hardman can hit shots. So at this point, why not?
I’m not advocating for Hardman to play 15 minutes a game, nor should he take minutes away from Bruce Thornton or Roddy Gayle. But five or six minutes per game, maybe Hardman knock down a three or two that sparks his teammates when things go dry.
It’s okay to say it like it is — Hardman was an early commitment in the class of 2022 that didn’t pan out. He looks physically overmatched on the floor, and has already been passed over by freshmen on the depth chart. But if we’re in, “just throw anything against the wall” mode, that should also include Hardman.
Justin: Give me extended Taison Chatman minutes instead
It was hard to judge Bowen Hardman off his play in the Nebraska game, as he was clearly brought in to give them a spark shooting and shot the ball every possession. He was solid, shooting 3-for-6 from the field, 2-for-5 from three-point range, with eight points.
I am not opposed to Bowen Hardman’s minutes off the bench. He looked good against Nebraska, and we know he can shoot at a high level, but Taison Chatman did not play in this one, and that is where I want those minutes to go if they are looking for a spark.
I understand why it was Hardman and not Chatman in this contest, because Chris Holtmann was clearly looking for a shooting spark, and Hardman provided that over Chatman. However, Chatman provides a higher ceiling.
Chatman has not played much this season as he recovers from two separate injuries and missed a lot of the offseason. He has looked okay in the minutes he has played, but at this point in the season and the position the team is in, it really can’t hurt to give Chatman some more minutes and let him get more comfortable.
Dale Bonner has struggled at times, and Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle can’t play 40 minutes a game. Maybe Chatman is the bridge player to help that.
At this point, it is all hands on deck to save the season. Also, you want Chatman to be here next season.
Continue reading...
The B1G Conference Basketball Tournament
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Basketball
- 2 Replies
Big Ten Sticking With 20-Game Conference Schedule, Tournament Going to 15 Teams With Additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington
Big Ten conference schedules will remain at 20 games but the league will move forward with a 15-team conference tournament after its expansion next season.
BIG TEN STICKING WITH 20-GAME CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, TOURNAMENT GOING TO 15 TEAMS WITH ADDITIONS OF OREGON, UCLA, USC AND WASHINGTON
Changes are coming with the Big Ten's expansion to 18 teams, but one thing that will remain the same is the number of conference games played by the league's teams.
With Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington all joining the Big Ten basketball ranks starting in the 2024-25 season, each Big Ten team will continue to play 20 conference games each year, per College Hoops Today.
One thing that is changing, however, is the Big Ten Tournament, which will move to a 15-team bracket starting with the 2025 tourney.
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A 15-team bracket would mean that the bottom three teams in the conference are excluded from conference tournament action. No seed lower than the No. 8 Michigan State men's team in 2017 has ever won the Big Ten Tournament.
Just sayin': With 15 teams only the #1 seed gets a bye in the 1st round.
2026 GA WR Devin Carter (Auburn Decommit, Florida St. Verbal)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 10 Replies
247
Rivals
Twitter
HudL
Class: 2026
Position: WR
School: Ellenwood(GA)Cedar Grove
Height: 6ft
Weight: 165lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2026
Position: WR
School: Ellenwood(GA)Cedar Grove
Height: 6ft
Weight: 165lbs
Login to view embedded media
