LGHL Uncut Podcast: McGuff, Mikesell and McMahon discuss marquee win over Illinois
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Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The mood wasn’t all smiles following the 17-point comeback.

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.


Following a program record-breaking 17-point second half comeback victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Ohio State women’s basketball team wasn’t in the celebrating spirit. The 87-81 win had its positives, but there are reoccurring areas to improve, as highlighted after the game with head coach Kevin McGuff, guard Taylor Mikesell and forward Cotie McMahon.

Coach McGuff is up first. He didn’t mince words when he discussed how the Buckeyes were embarrassing the program in front of a raucous crowd at the Schottenstein Center in the first half. Also, the key factor in what changed in the second half, the performance of McMahon and defining a favorite phrase for the coach — “competitive character.”

Then, Mikesell talks about how Ohio State needs to stop needing to come back like they have this season, but taking value in learning that lesson in a win over a defeat.

McMahon finishes availability off talking about similar items to her teammate and coach, but also goes into more detail about competitive character. Specifically, going out on the hunt in the second half against teams.

The freshman also shares what Coach McGuff said in the second half to get the team prepared to go on a 25-8 run in the third quarter, on the Buckeyes’ way to a perfect 17-0 record on the year.


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Four-star DL from Chicago includes Ohio State among top group
Bret Favachio via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Justin Scott | 247Sports

The Buckeyes have put themselves in striking distance for a highly-regarded interior defensive lineman from Illinois.

Ohio State and defensive line coach Larry Johnson saw their efforts for a highly-coveted defensive tackle pay off after he included them in his group of finalists. Plus, the Buckeyes officially jump into the picture for an Arkansas signal-caller with their latest offer.

Scott reveals top schools list


It was just a handful of months ago that Ohio State was prepared to begin their pursuit of 2024 four-star defensive lineman Justin Scott of St. Ignatius (IL), as evidenced by their offer that came about in early September.

The Buckeyes aren’t just another team on the offer sheet for Scott, and he showed as much on Sunday when he narrowed his recruitment and will move along with focus on eight teams in specific. The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder garnered nearly 30 offers, and has since determined that these eight schools are in the best position to land his services.


Scott, along with Ohio State, included Alabama, Colorado, Miami (FL), Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, and USC as the competition for the Chicago native. The Buckeyes welcomed the Illinois standout to campus for a visit in October, and a return visit for Scott would likely go a long way for the chances of ultimately bringing him into the fold.

Despite falling outside of the Top 50 prospects overall for the time being, Scott does grade out as the eighth-best defensive lineman in the class. The Ohio State target also ranks as the second-highest graded player in the cycle from the state of Illinois.

Buckeyes offer Murphy


While Scott including Ohio State as a finalist was the big recruiting story of the weekend, the Buckeyes also made sure to get active on the trail by dipping into the state of Arkansas for their latest offer.

On Saturday, it was 2025 athlete Quentin Murphy of Joe T. Robinson (AR) that picked up an offer from Ohio State, and could be setting himself up to be a top target at the quarterback position along with Ryan Montgomery and Bryce Underwood.


The Buckeyes joined Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and a few other programs as early offers for the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder.

Quick Hits

• Ohio State welcomed a host of early enrollees in the 2023 recruiting class to campus this weekend. Among the near dozen that arrived on Sunday include Malik Hartford, Jermaine Mathews, Luke Montgomery, Joshua Padilla, Bryson Rodgers, Noah Rogers, Austin Siereveld, Will Smith, Carnell Tate, Jelani Thurman, and Miles Walker.
• The Buckeyes saw arguably their top safety target in 2024 come off of the board when four-star safety Peyton Woodyard of St. John Bosco (CA) announce his pledge to Georgia. With Woodyard off to Athens, expect Ohio State to ramp up their pursuit of five-star safety KJ Bolden of Buford (GA) — the No. 4 player in the country.
• A pair of former Ohio State defensive backs found their new homes this weekend, as Jaylen Johnson is headed to Memphis — where he will reunite with former Buckeye assistant Matt Barnes — and JK Johnson is off to Baton Rouge in a move reminiscent to that of Sevyn Banks last offseason. According to David Johnson of Inside The Rebels, defensive end Javonte Jean-Baptiste, who entered the portal early last week, is scheduled to take a visit to Ole Miss.

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No. 24 Ohio State men fight back, but fall to Maryland 80-73
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Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images

A 14-0 Maryland run to start the second half doomed the Buckeyes after leading by five at halftime.

Following a last-second loss to the Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday, the No. 24 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-5, 2-2) traveled to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins (11-5, 2-3). After leading by five at the half, the Buckeyes fell to the Terrapins to record an 0-2 week.

Maryland has had a roller coaster start to their season, as the team went from unranked in the preseason AP Poll all the way to 13th in the country after a 20-point win over Miami. However, Maryland came into this one 1-3 in conference play and scored just 96 points in their last two games combined.

Ohio State is coming off a heartbreaking loss to No. 1 Purdue after leading 69-66 with 40 seconds left and Purdue scored the final five points to win the game 71-69.

Both teams came into this one looking for a win to get back on track.

The buckets were flowing early, as Sean McNeil picked up where he left off and had six early points for the Buckeyes. McNeil had the three-pointer that gave Ohio State a 69-66 lead against Purdue with 40 seconds left on Thursday night.


As basketball is, this one was a game of runs early. Maryland jumped out to a lead early with the Buckeyes answering and taking a tie of 12-12 to the first media timeout behind two early three-pointers from Sean McNeil. McNeil injured his ankle early in the first half against Purdue but was able to tough it out.

However, that same ankle was stepped on early in this contest as well and he left the game with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

Maryland was able to take a 23-16 lead after a Donta Scott three-pointer, but Ohio State answered with a 7-0 run over two minutes and 17 seconds, including five points from star freshman Brice Sensabaugh.


After some fairly ugly basketball and fouls, Maryland took a 31-26 lead after back-to-back offensive rebounds and four points by Maryland guard and Charlotte transfer Jahmir Young.

The Buckeyes answered out of the Chris Holtmann timeout with a quick five-point run after two free throws from Tanner Holden and another three-pointer by Brice Sensabaugh. Sensabaugh is shooting the three at a 46 percent clip to start the season.

This run forced a Maryland timeout with just under three minutes remaining in the first half.

Justice Sueing got a putback basket on the Sensabaugh miss and two free throws from Young tied the score at 33.


The Buckeyes closed the half on a 6-1 run after the tie game and on a 13-3 run total to take a 39-34 lead into the half.

Justice Sueing and Brice Sensabaugh led the way for the Buckeyes in the opening half, both recording 11 points. Sensabaugh added four rebounds and Sueing added three rebounds.


For Maryland, Jahmir Young recorded 13 points and eight rebounds in the first half, including four offensive rebounds.

Julian Reese recorded six points and five rebounds in the first half. The Buckeyes held leading scorer Donta Scott to just three first-half points and 1-for-5 shooting from the field.

Maryland outrebounded the Buckeyes 24-16 in the first half.

In quite possibly the worst two minutes of basketball of the season for the Buckeyes to open the second half, Ohio State had four turnovers in the first 1:42 of the half and Maryland went on a 6-0 run to take a 40-39 lead.

After back-to-back three-pointers from Donta Scott and Don Carey and the Terrapins pushing the lead to 46-39, Ohio State was forced to use a timeout. Maryland started the second half on a 12-0 run.

With the score at 48-39, Isaac Likekele stopped the bleeding for the Buckeyes after getting an offensive rebound and put back. It took the Buckeyes over five minutes to score to open the second half. After three more made baskets from Maryland, the Buckeyes trailed 56-45 with 11:45 remaining in the game.

Maryland started the second half 10-for-13 from the field after finishing the first half just 2-for-17 from the field. Ohio State started the second half 3-for-11 from the field.

Maryland was able to keep the Buckeyes at arm's length, holding a 60-50 lead with 8:55 left in the second half.

Sueing drilled a three-pointer to make the score 60-53 and give Ohio State a 7-0 run over the span of just one minute. This run also came with Ohio State's leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh on the bench.


Two free throws from Brice Sensabaugh cut the Ohio State deficit to just three and Maryland held a 62-59 lead with 5:56 left. Two free throws from Maryland’s Hakim Hart gave Maryland a 64-59 lead.

Sueing recorded a basket after a three-point play by Jahmir Young for Maryland and Ohio State took a timeout down four with 4:27 left in the game.

Roddy Gayle went on a 5-0 run after a three-pointer and a floater in the lane, but Maryland continued to get to the free-throw line and make the Buckeyes pay for it. The Terrapins led 72-68 with 1:29 left in the game.

With a 74-68 lead, Justice Sueing missed a good look at a three-pointer and Sensabaugh fouled out with 46 seconds left in the game.

Maryland clinched the game at the free throw line and won the game 80-73.

Maryland’s Jahmir Young had a career game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to lead the Terrapins. Maryland finished with five players in double figures, all starters and only recorded six bench points.

Brice Sensabaugh had 22 points but fouled out and Justice Sueing had 21 points to lead Ohio State.

Bouncing back


This season, the Buckeyes are 3-0 coming off a loss. They took down Cincinnati after losing to San Diego State, took down St. Francis (PA) after losing to Duke, and defeated Maine after falling to North Carolina.

The Buckeyes have also won those three games by an average margin of 33 points, leaving little doubt in any of those games.

Best in the country


After the game against Purdue, the Buckeyes rose to the number one spot on KenPom.com in adjusted offensive efficiency at 119.0. The Buckeyes have been high on the list in offensive efficiency over the last three seasons with guys like E.J. Liddell, Duane Washington, and Malaki Branham, but have yet to hit the top mark.

The Buckeyes still have work to do on defense, as they currently rank 77 in adjusted defensive efficiency at 97.2.

College Park is no friend to Ohio State


It has been tough sledding for the Buckeyes at Maryland since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes entered this contest just 1-5 at the Xfinity Center and an average margin of defeat of 16.2 points per game. The Buckeyes also suffered a 100-65 loss to Maryland in College Park in Chris Holtmann’s first year during the 2016-17 season.

It has been a different story against Maryland in Columbus, as the Buckeyes are 3-0 against Maryland at home.

Okpara gets first start


For the first time this season, freshman center Felix Okpara recorded his first start of the season and of his career. Zed Key had previously started in all 14 games this season.

The rest of the starting lineup was the same, as Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Brice Sensabaugh, and Justice Sueing received the start.

Quick to the bench


While Okpara got his first start of the season, it only took two minutes and 39 seconds for head coach Chris Holtmann to go to the bench to replace him. Junior guard Eugene Brown was subbed in for Okpara and the Buckeyes went with a small ball lineup with Maryland’s tallest player being Julian Reese, who is listed at 6’9.

Foul trouble early


In the first five minutes of the game and before the first media timeout, Maryland forward and top scorer Donta Scott was charged with two fouls and had to spend some early time on the bench.

For the Buckeyes, freshman center Felix Okpara had three fouls in the first half, Bruce Thornton had two fouls in the first half and picked up his third early in the second half and Eugene Brown had two fouls in the first half.

You get a tech, you get a tech


In one of the weirder moments in the game, Maryland head coach Kevin Willard received an early technical foul for leaving the coach's box and use not so nice language toward the officials.

Then, towards the end of the first half, Maryland’s Ian Martinez and Ohio State’s Tanner Holden received double technical fouls after Holden put his knee into Martinez's back during a loose ball, and Martinez took exception, pushing Holden. Those technical fouls offset.

Julian Reese also received a technical foul for Maryland in the second half for taunting Ohio State's Eugene Brown after making a basket over him and that led to a quick four points for Ohio State.

Maryland rolls to start the second half


Ohio State led 39-34 at the half, but the Terrapins took full control of the game to start the second half, opening up an 11-point lead in the first seven minutes of the half and going on a 22-6 run to take a 56-45 lead.

Ohio State had six turnovers in that stretch and just three baskets.

Up Next:


As we get into the heart of conference play, the Buckeyes will come back to Columbus and take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday, January 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

Minnesota has struggled this season and sits at 6-8 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

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No. 3 Ohio State women come back from 17 down to beat Illinois 87-81
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State University athletic department

The Buckeyes faced another test, and needed to cram for a strong second half comeback.

The Ohio State women’s basketball team overcame every challenge they’ve faced so far in the 2022-23 season, including four wins against ranked opponents and losing two starting point guards. On Sunday, a season seemingly full of tests welcomed one of the largest against an unlikely opponent — the Illinois Fighting Illini.

In a battle between No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big Ten, Ohio State continued to show they’re up for the challenges that come their way, beating the Illini 86-81.

There was deserved hype entering Sunday’s game, with Ohio State sitting at 16-0 and Illinois starting 14-2. Both teams were in the middle of the best starts to a season in their respective program histories. In the first quarter, the game matched the hype.

Illinois got things going off the jump, with guard Genesis Bryant — the back-to-back B1G Player of the Week — hitting a three-point shot. It was Bryant’s first of 10 points she scored in the first quarter.

The Buckeyes had an answer for the Illini at every turn. Ohio State attacked the basket and got to the free throw line 10 times in the first quarter, hitting nine. In the run of play, they were hitting big shots too.

Guard Taylor Mikesell and forward Rebeka Mikulášiková made a combined three shots from deep. On the boards, guard/forward Taylor Thierry cleaned up. Thierry grabbed three in the first quarter, the best coming near the end of the quarter. After getting the defensive rebound, Thierry found Mikesell charging down the court alone for a Hail Mary pass and layup.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes’ defense, they had difficulties going up against Illinois forward Kendall Bostic. The leader in the Big Ten in rebounds per game scored eight points and had four rebounds in the first quarter. Those Bostic points came off teammates finding the forward in the paint and grabbing their misses, with two of her four rebounds coming offensively. The game was tied 22-22 at the end of one quarter, in an evenly-matched start to the game.

Bostic continued her reign of terror induced on the Ohio State defense in the second quarter. The forward continued getting the ball under the basket and making easy layups. So much so, that Buckeyes head coach Kevin McGuff called a timeout as a Bostic layup put the visitors up 32-24 with much of the second quarter left.

The rest of the game leading into halftime was the Scarlet & Gray trying to keep the deficit manageable for the final two quarters. Point guard Makira Cook didn’t give the Buckeyes much of a chance. Cook, the former Dayton Flyer, played a strong second quarter, scoring six points and breaking through the Buckeyes' defense.

Ohio State’s shooting wasn’t helping. The Buckeyes were outshot 73.3% to 40%. For every two points the home team scored, the visitors had four to five. Illinois outscored Ohio State 25-15 in the second quarter and went into halftime down 47-37.

Off the second-half inbound, Mikesell hit a three to pull the Ohio State deficit down to seven, but indicative of how the game went to that point, Bryant scored a three of her own on the next possession, with Mikesell’s hand in her face. Then it got worse for the home team.

Illinois started the third quarter outscoring Ohio State 10-3, increasing their lead to 17 points. Coach McGuff called another early-quarter time-out to collect his team and regroup for the 16 minutes of basketball remaining.

Forward Cotie McMahon wasn’t as impressed with the run. Out of the timeout, McMahon went on a seven-point run single-handedly. Illinois helped with two turnovers in consecutive offensive possessions and suddenly the game was back to a 10-point Illinois lead.

The Buckeyes had a response of all responses, outscoring the Illini 25-8 in the last 6:56 of the third quarter. Ohio State got rid of the entire 17-point deficit thanks to all five starters getting on the scoresheet in the quarter.

Outside of McMahon’s 10, Mikesell had eight with two threes. Thierry had four points and three rebounds of her own.

At the end of three, the Buckeyes tied the game at 65 apiece with 10 minutes remaining. It took Ohio State a little over four minutes to cut away the lead too.

Starting the fourth quarter off for Ohio State was guard Rikki Harris. The starting point guard hit a three to put the Buckeyes up three, their largest lead of the game to that point.

Ohio State kept rolling. Mikesell took the torch from McMahon and became the catalyst of the Buckeyes’ offense. The guard shot perfectly for the first four minutes of the quarter, scoring seven points.

Of those seven, three came from impressive team basketball. In a play where every Buckeye touched the ball, players went to the basket and found open teammates. Then repeated it three times before passing around to find an open Mikesell who drained the deep shot.

After the three, Mikesell stole the ball on the inbound and hit a layup.

It put the Buckeyes up eight with just over half the quarter to go, but Illinois fought back. The visitors brought the lead down to five after two Buckeye offensive possessions ended in misses by McMahon and Mikesell.

Even so, Ohio State held on with big play by the entire team, beating the Illini 87-81.

Cotie McMahon Battles


McMahon’s 22 points aren't her NCAA high, but Sunday was a top performance of her freshman career.

The Centerville, Ohio native was the spark that got the Buckeyes going in the third. McMahon shot 60% from the floor and hit 10-13 free throws. Also, the energy she brought propelled the Scarlet And Gray.

Taylor Mikesell Rises Up


Following the win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Minnesota media asked Mikesell what she does to improve her shooting after having a couple less than average performances. Paraphrasing Mikesell, she said she’s not changing a thing and she’ll keep shooting.

On Sunday, that shooting was on display. Mikesell went on a 7-2 run in the fourth quarter for Ohio State. Part of a 31-point night for the Northeast Ohioan.

What’s Next


Ohio State doesn't play again until Saturday when they travel west to Nebraska. The Buckeyes face a Cornhuskers’ side that’s looked good, bad, and great throughout the 2022-23 season. That game tips off at 2:30 p.m. ET

After the Scarlet & Gray return to Columbus, they have a two-game streak at home. It starts against the Northwestern Wildcats on Jan. 19 before Ohio State plays a game circled on the schedule for many Big Ten fans, Jan. 23 against the No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes.

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Let's Go Bucks!

No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. Illinois: Game preview and prediction
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Twitter | @IlliniWBB

It’s a game that suddenly feels like one of the biggest challenges of the season for the Buckeyes

Sunday, the Ohio State women’s basketball team is back home for the first time since New Year’s Eve. Like that game, Sunday’s matchup carries excitement and features a tough challenge for the Buckeyes. While it doesn’t include a rivalry like the Scarlet & Gray’s victory over the Michigan Wolverines, the Illinois Fighting Illini travel to Columbus playing the best basketball for their program in over 20 years.

Preview


In recent history, the Buckeyes and Fighting Illini hasn’t been the most exciting of games on the women’s basketball calendar. Ohio State enters the game with five-straight wins, and is 27-5 overall against Illinois in games played in Columbus. This year has all the makings of Illinois making it a contest.

That’s because the Illini are an all-new team. In the offseason, Illinois hired former Dayton Flyers coach Shauna Green to the same role with the team from Champaign, Illinois. Since then, Illinois is 9-0 at home, won 11 games before Christmas for the first time in program history and upset guard Caitlin Clark and the then No. 12 Iowa Hawkeyes.

Green has won with only five returning Illinois players from the 2021-22 season. She has Illinois sitting at 14-2 with transfers, former players from Dayton and a couple standouts from the preview Illini roster.

In the returning player department are forward Kendall Bostic and guard Adalia McKenzie.

Bostic’s name isn’t up there with the likes of Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes or Monika Czinano, but it should be. The former Michigan State underclassman transferred to Illinois last season. Bostic’s debut season ended with the 6-foot-2 forward leading the Big Ten in rebounding, grabbing 11.4 boards per game.

What put her out of the conversation was scoring. Last year, Bostic averaged 7.4 points, starting all 27 games for the Illini. In two games against the Buckeyes during 2021-22, Bostic had 16 rebounds per game, for 32 alone against the Scarlet & Gray, hitting a double-double in each.

This season, Bostic has four double-doubles, with two in a row heading into Sunday. Illinois gets her the ball as her teammates attack the basket. Once the extra defender joins in to stop the layup attempt, Bostic’s teammates know that the forward is waiting in the paint and get her the ball. Not only is her scoring increasing, defensively she’s thriving.

After getting 19 blocks all of last season, Bostic has 29 this year. Creating issues for players trying to get into the paint.

The other returning Illini is Adalia McKenzie. While her teammate, guard Genesis Bryant, is garnering a lot of deserved attention lately, McKenzie’s performances stand out too.

Thursday, against the Northwestern Wildcats, McKenzie scored 14 points, but went strong towards the basket, something Ohio State struggled with at times against the Golden Gophers, and found open teammates.

That’s another thing about the Illini, they move the ball quickly and find open teammates fast. That gives Illinois a lot of chances from beyond the arc, and they hit them better than anyone in the country.

Currently, Illinois leads NCAA Division I women’s basketball hitting 41.9% of their three-point attempts. Scoring those baskets are guards Bryant, Jada Peebles and Dayton transfer Makira Cook.


For more on Bryant, the back-to-back B1G Co-Player of the Week since starting for the Illini in December was highlighted in the latest Land-Grant Holy Land B1G women’s basketball update. Ohio State won’t have any time to rest when the NC State transfer is on the court.

Peebles leads the conference shooting 51.6% from deep, and Bryant and Cook aren’t far behind. The work of those three guards grabs attention, but that attention means Bostic gets open more often than teams would like.

If Ohio State wants to neutralize their shooting once they get into their half court defense, the speed and athleticism of forward Cotie McMahon and guard/forward hybrid Taylor Thierry will be crucial. The two, plus forward Rebeka Mikulášiková, have their hands full, but the Buckeyes’ half court defense has looked better in the last two weeks, especially in their 66-57 win over the Michigan Wolverines.

Should Illinois handle the Buckeyes press well, Ohio State won’t have much time to get back on defense. Illinois moves quickly in transition too, not giving the Buckeyes much rest, although Ohio State is likely the best conditioned team in the conference based on how they defend in the full court.

For all the warranted accolades of the Illini’s offense, their defense can be broken. Although they allow less points than the Buckeyes per game, Thursday against the Wildcats, at home, an 18-point third quarter lead dwindled down to two with 5:18 left in the game. Northwestern did that by attacking the basket. Throwing layup after layup at the Illini, something that wasn’t clicking for them in the first half, even though the Wildcats had their chances.

Projected Starters

Lineup Notes

• Mikulášiková returned to double-digit scoring, putting up 15 points against the Gophers Thursday — all on three-point shots.
• Guard Rikki Harris has 21 assists in four games since becoming the starting point guard. She had 26 in her first 12 games.
• Thierry passed her rebound total from last year (103), reaching 104 rebounds this season after grabbing 12 against the Gophers.

Lineup Notes

• Guard Makira Cook and forward Brynn Shoup-Hill both came to Illinois with Green from the Dayton Flyers.
• Bryant’s 14.6 points per game is the best of her NCAA career after two seasons playing a substitute role with the NC State Wolfpack.
• All five starters hit double-digit points for the Illini in their 85-79 win over Northwestern.

Preview


This game, like the Michigan game, seems evenly matched and anything could happen. Ohio State’s strength is their experience, and it’ll show again on Sunday. Even if the Buckeyes go down, the expectation is that they fight back and claw their way into the game again.

With a veteran Buckeyes team, with only one new player in their starting lineup compared to last season, they’ll have the advantage in chemistry over the Illini.

Thierry will get her first double-double of her NCAA career, and have a strong offensive performance.

However, it’s going to be tight. Ohio State hasn’t shown they can stop Bostic after the Buckeyes’ two wins last season. The Scarlet & Gray’s shots will fall and allow the press to force turnovers.

It also wouldn’t be a surprise at all if that clawing back falls short and Ohio State loses their first game of the season.

How to Watch


Date: Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Stream: B1G+

LGHL Prediction: 88-84 Ohio State Buckeyes

Still No Sheldon


Most questions surrounding the Buckeyes women’s basketball team are about point guard Jacy Sheldon. The team’s defensive press leader, grabbing 30 steals in just five games to star the year, hasn’t played since Nov. 30 against the Louisville Cardinals.

Don’t expect her back for Sunday’s game. Sheldon was still in a boot in Minneapolis this week, but one less crutch — so maybe that’s progress? Even so, head coach Kevin McGuff’s made it clear that there’s no timetable on her return, outside of saying she’ll return this season.

Ohio State is playing the long game with this injury. Also, being undefeated and the No. 3 in the country doesn’t take up a lot of real estate in the coach’s brain. With that said, he’s not going to rush Sheldon back and make her lower leg injury worse.

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No. 24 Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Maryland: Game preview and prediction
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes and Terps are both looking to bounce back from Big Ten losses last week.

The grind of conference play has officially begun and the No. 24 Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team (10-4, 2-1) is looking to bounce back from a loss to the top-ranked team in the nation when they face the Maryland Terrapins (10-5, 1-3) this afternoon in College Park.

The Buckeyes fell to 2-1 in Big Ten play after their heartbreaking loss to No. 1 Purdue in Columbus Thursday night. The Boilermakers emerged with a 71-69 victory while Ohio State had to stomach its second home loss of the season.

Ohio State led 36-33 at the break, but the two teams kept things at a razor-thin margin throughout the second half. And unfortunately for the Buckeyes, their elite, clean performance against possibly their toughest opponent of the season came up short after a costly Justice Sueing turnover late in the game that gave Purdue the ball, a shot and a three-point play to stay ahead for good.

Freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh continued his phenomenal run with a team-high 21 points and five rebounds on the evening. The only other player in double-figures was the senior forward Sueing, who had 15 points on the night. It didn’t help that junior forward Zed Key left the game with zero points in four minutes after suffering a shoulder sprain. In a two-point game, his scoring volume was definitely missed.

Freshman center Felix Okpara filled in effectively from a defensive perspective (guarding Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center and the conference’s best scorer Zach Edey, no less). It was an impressive performance in 31 minutes from a player who’d been averaging under 14 this season. In all, Ohio State had eight steals and four blocks against Purdue.

Ohio State shot 50% from the field, including 43% from three-point range. Unfortunately, the Boilermakers dominated the Buckeyes on the glass, out-rebounding Ohio State 37-27. Purdue also won the offensive rebounding battle, 16-9.

That last turnover was a painful way to end play, especially since the Buckeyes — who had been struggling with turnovers at various points this season — had just seven against Purdue compared to 14 for the Boilermakers.

It was an early look at two of the favorites for the Big Ten crown and, while Purdue came out on top in round one, the Buckeyes surely have February 19 circled on their calendars for their re-match in West Lafayette.

However, the Buckeyes can’t be looking for revenge too soon, because they have to take care of business this afternoon against a Maryland squad that’s struggled to gain traction with the start of conference play.

Preview

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Terps can be a dangerous team, but the squad which started off 8-0 with wins over Miami (FL) and Illinois has now lost five of its last seven games. And Maryland is still seeking its first win of 2023, having lost to Michigan (81-46) and Rutgers (64-50) on the road. Overall, Maryland is 10-5, including 1-3 in conference play.

Maryland fits the vein of the defense-minded teams Ohio State has faced in Big Ten play so far this season. The Terps are particularly adept at defending the long ball, allowing just 29% of opponent three-point attempts. Offensively, Ohio State is making 38% of its attempts.

Maryland is fifth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 63.3 points per game. Ohio State’s other conference opponents so far this season, Rutgers, Northwestern and Purdue, are first, second and fourth, respectively, in the category, so the Buckeyes at least have experience having faced similar defensive squads.

On the flip side, offensively, Maryland is averaging just over 71 points per game. In a troubling turn for the team, the Terps have scored just 96 points in their last two outings. And the Terps are 13th in the conference in three-point offense, connecting on just 31% of their shots from range.

Senior guard Jahmir Young, who came to Maryland after three seasons with Charlotte, leads the Terps in scoring with 13.9 points per game. Seniors Donta Scott and Hakim Hart are also averaging in double-figures for Maryland so far this season. Scott was particularly hot in the early season stretch but has cooled with the start of Big Ten play.

In Maryland’s most recent outing against Rutgers, the Terps shot just 41% from the field as Young led the team with 13 points. Senior guard Don Carey, a transfer from Georgetown, was the only other Maryland player in double figures with a dozen points on the night. While Maryland and Rutgers were neck-and-neck on rebounds and steals, the Terps had 20 turnovers to Rutgers’ 13.

The second-straight double-digit loss was a blow for the squad which has a tough stretch ahead (after Ohio State, the Terps go on the road at Iowa, return home to face Michigan again, then have to head to Purdue).

Leading Maryland from the bench is Kevin Willard, who is in his first season in College Park after spending 12 seasons at Seton Hall. Willard, who played his college ball at Western Kentucky and Pitt, has experience with turnarounds, having previously righted the ship during his time at both Iona and Seton Hall and winning conference coach of the year honors at both.

Prediction

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Yet again this season, the Buckeyes find themselves facing a solid defensive opponent in the conference. On two occasions already, Ohio State has emerged on top in two very different game flows (a narrow buzzer-beater versus Rutgers and a totally dominant win against Northwestern).

Maryland owns the overall series against the Buckeyes 10-9. Last year, Ohio State split its two games with Maryland with each team taking its home matchup. Donta Scott led the Terps in the first matchup, a loss in Columbus, with 25 points and six rebounds.

Despite coming off a loss against Purdue, Ohio State seems to be playing better and better basketball as a team. Leading the way is Sensabaugh, who has won Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for three-straight weeks and is establishing himself as one of the top players in the conference. The newcomer is seventh in the conference in scoring, averaging more than 16 points per game, and has led Ohio State in scoring in six of the last seven games.

The Buckeyes have risen all the way to No. 11 nationally and No. 2 in offensive efficiency according to Kenpom. Importantly, the Buckeyes finally seemed to be back to full strength heading into 2023 with the return of Gene Brown and Isaac Likekele to the lineup, but it didn’t help to be without one of their leading scorers for most of the game Thursday. It was announced Saturday afternoon during the Michigan vs. Michigan State game on FOX that Key, who averages 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, will not play today against the Terrapins.

Maryland, meanwhile, is sitting at a still-respectable No. 41 per Kenpom. However, Maryland’s recent slump might be a right-sizing of sorts. With a first-year head coach and without its top scorer from last season, the Terps were picked to finish 10th in the conference in the preseason. They rose as high as No. 13 in the nation after their impressive early season run, but offensive struggles that have emerged in recent weeks have exposed some of the gaps that will only become more salient as conference play continues.

Recent trajectories would seem to favor Ohio State (yes, even with the loss to the Boilermakers) but, as we’ve seen, road games in the Big Ten are no joke. We also can’t ignore the fact that both of Maryland’s recent double-digit losses came in tough road environments.

And Ohio State cannot underestimate facing a reeling squad that’s desperate to get back to winning ways before things spiral out of control.

ESPN BPI: Ohio State 55.4%

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 74, Maryland 67

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Game Notes: No. 3 Ohio State avoids upset in Minnesota
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State University Athletic Department

The Buckeyes 12-point win doesn’t reflect a tough night against the Golden Gophers.

The Ohio State women’s basketball team continues their record-breaking season on Thursday. Against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Buckeyes won 83-71 thanks to key performances from multiple members of the Scarlet & Gray. However, it was anything but comfortable for head coach Kevin McGuff’s side.

Here are some takeaways from the Buckeyes’ 16th win in 16 games.

Ohio State Outperformed


Ultimately, all the matters is the final outcome. Ohio State won and stays atop of the early Big Ten conference standings, and has 13 games remaining in their regular season schedule.

The Buckeyes’ win was like other victories this season. Ohio State goes down, they go down some more and then make a second half push, leaving their opponents in the dust. Entering Thursday, the Scarlet & Gray was the clear favorite against a Minnesota Golden Gophers team starting four freshman and a sophomore.

Appearances aren't always what they seem.

“I thought they played harder, competed better than we did, certainly in the first half,” said coach McGuff.

Ohio State led by five points at the end of the first quarter, but went into halftime down 43-39. Minnesota took the lead through forcing turnovers and getting the ball into the paint. Those turnovers allowed the Gophers to shoot nine more shots than the Buckeyes, and Ohio State couldn't get their press going because of misses and losing the ball.

In the paint, Minnesota out-scored coach McGuff’s side 28-16. It got so bad in the second quarter that the Buckeyes’ coach called a timeout to regroup and bring in forward Eboni Walker to start slowing down the Gophers.

It worked, to an extent, but the home team didn’t relent. Playing the No. 3 team in the country didn’t phase the Gophers. If anything, it energized them.

Guard Rikki Harris and the Buckeyes did better defensively, even if the offensive side of the ball still struggled. The Scarlet & Gray held Minnesota to one three, and their lowest point total of the game for a quarter, up until that point. There’s one area that the Ohio State point guard identified that particularly helped.

“We have to trust each other on the defensive end,” said Harris. “Once we started trusting each other, we played better defensively and then defensive turned into offense.

The final quarter saw that offense shine through. With Minnesota tired from running 30 minutes, the Buckeyes scored the first 14 points of the final quarter, five of which came from the free throw line.

“We finally got the competitive character part right in the second half,” said McGuff. “We buckled down, got a little better defensively, we got some rebounds and I think we were way better running in transition and moving the ball side-to-side to generate quality shots going down the stretch.”

Harris Putting in Work


All the starters for Ohio State were important in the game in different ways. For Harris, she continued her consistent play on the court since jumping into the role with the season-ending injury to Madison Greene on Dec. 20. Harris raised her game though scoring on Thursday.

Harris scored a career-high 19 points. How she scored the points was also on a different level. Harris shot 53.8% from the field, her best in the current stretch of four starts. She also improved at the free throw line, hitting all four of her shots at the charity stripe.

What doesn’t jump out on her stats — but was key in a close game — was turnovers. Harris only gave the ball away once, showing the experience of an upperclassman. Her night won not only the game, but the dub chain.

Taylor Mikesell’s Growing Role


Leading Ohio State in scoring is no surprise, with Taylor Mikesell scoring 22 points. It’s what the guard is known for, but this season continues to show her strengths elsewhere on the court.

For the third time since the Buckeyes went down two starting point guards, Mikesell registered at least a five in three different categories on the scoresheet. Thursday it was seven rebounds and seven assists on top of those 22 points.

It joins a 25-point, five-rebound and six-assist night against the Oregon Ducks, and 16 points, nine rebounds and seven steals against the Northwestern Wildcats.

Mikesell was doing it all Thursday, and she made her teammates better with fellow splash sister Jacy Sheldon still out with a lower leg injury.


After the game, Mikesell was asked about one area that’s down for her this season — shooting. Especially against the Michigan Wolverines, where Mikesell shot 25% from the floor. Mikesell’s field goal, three-point and free throw percentages are all down this season, slightly. The question was about what she needed to improve, and her answer was classic Mikesell.

“Nothing, just keep shooting,” said Mikesell. “At the end of the day its going to go in, so you just gotta keep shooting.”

Thierry and McMahon the Foundation


For all the great guard play over the 40 minutes of the game, it was the play of forward/guard Taylor Thierry and forward Cotie McMahon that calmed the ship for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes entered the game down in rebounding margin to their opponents, which is no shock, but against the Gophers their 19 combined rebounds put the Buckeyes up 45-40 in the rebounding department.

It didn’t come up more than in the second half. Thierry had eight in the second half alone, split half-and-half defensively and offensively, even though her seven points scored was below her season average.

McMahon had a tough first half, giving up bad turnovers where it seemed like her timing was off from her teammates. The last 20 minutes of the game, McMahon made those early transgressions in the game disappear. McMahon scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in the last two quarters, and led the Buckeyes in +/- on the day.

Forward Rebeka Mikulášiková also came up big, hitting five threes for 15 points on the night. To read more about the Slovakian’s performance, check out the game recap.

Record Broken


This year has been Ohio State adding new lines to the program record book. Sheldon’s 11 steals in a game were an individual mark, and up until Thursday the team tied for their best start of the season since they became an official NCAA program in 1965.

Against the Golden Gophers, the win is the Buckeyes’ 16th in a row to start the year, now all alone in the University’s women’s basketball history. After the game, McGuff was asked if it broke the record.

“I don’t know,” said McGuff. “I’m not good at that stuff.”

An Almost Loss


People say that losing creates valuable lessons, but Ohio State doesn’t have any of them to look upon and learn. Thursday was really only the second time Ohio State was in a position to lose a game late. The other coming against the USF Bulls in the San Diego Invitational.

While neither turned into a loss, the USF game, which needed overtime and a swing in the final minute of that overtime to pull out a victory, was a catalyst for improved play on the other side of the result.

There’s a lot to take from Thursday’s game, like finding better shots, playing better defense in the paint and trusting each other defensively. If there’s a time to take a step in those departments, its now with the 14-2 Illinois Fighting Illini and an away trip to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the horizon.

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Play Like a Girl Podcast: Breaking down the Buckeyes’ breakdown
JamiJurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The not-so-peachy Peach Bowl. But hey, at least TTUN didn’t win either!

On LGHL’s “Play Like a Girl” podcast, Megan Husslein and Jami Jurich welcome in friends from around the LGHL, Ohio State, and sporting worlds to talk about everything from Ohio State sports to advocacy for women in sports and all the happenings in between.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio


The Buckeyes’ football season concluded on New Year’s Eve with a 42-41 loss to Georgia in the Peach Bowl. How did the Buckeyes go from underdog to first-half confidence to second-half collapse? On this episode, Megan and Jami take a look at what went wrong in this matchup, along with TCU’s brilliant underdog win against TTUN (they know, they know — they doubted the Horned Frogs too. And they were glad to be proven wrong).

The duo also look at Damar Hamlin’s tragic medical emergency in Monday Night’s NFL game, along with the NFL’s response, what to expect for Monday’s National Championship and whether TCU is a good case study for how to use the transfer portal to your advantage.


Contact Megan Husslein
Twitter: @meganhusslein

Contact Jami Jurich
Twitter: @JamiJurich

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LGHL Uncut Podcast: Chris Holtmann, Matt Painter, players on Purdue’s win over Ohio State
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

Ohio State thought they had this one locked down...until they didn’t.

Throughout the season, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio


No. 24 Ohio State (10-4, 2-1) had a lead with under 30 seconds to go for the seconds time in the past three weeks, but came up short, falling to No. 1 Purdue 71-69 in front of a packed crowd at the Schottenstein Center. A crucial turnover followed by a dagger three-pointer from Purdue did them in and dealt Ohio State their first conference loss of the season.

Following the nail-biter, we first spoke to Matt Painter, who seemed relieved more than anything. He said Ohio State losing Zed Key four minutes into the game “simply was not fair” and gave a ton of praise to the duo of Felix Okpara and Gene Brown for their defensive efforts slowing down 7-foot-4 Zach Edey.

We then heard from Justice Sueing and Sensabaugh, who were short on words for the most part. Sensabaugh did his best to deflect questions that were about his personal stats and development. Sueing took ownership for the costly turnover that ultimately cost his team the win.

Finally, Chris Holtmann spoke and said that he needs to continue to work with Justice on ballhandling and breaking the press. He also said that his team’s strategy to stop Edey worked to a point, but they don’t practice post-trapping a ton.


Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor

Theme music provided by www.bensound.com

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You’re Nuts: Is Brice Sensabaugh a surefire one-and-done?
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

He’s been an offensive juggernaut all season long, but will that translate to being a first-round NBA draftee?

Over the summer and into the pre-season, Chris Holtmann repeatedly told everyone how gifted a scorer Brice Sensabaugh was, how much of a mismatch he was, and much more. He went so far as to say he was the most gifted freshman he’s coached in terms of pure scoring ability — which includes Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell, too.

Now, that praise has materialized and Sensabaugh is popping up on nearly every NBA mock draft. Is he as good as gone? We’ll discuss in a moment, but first, a recap.


Last week, we debated which of Ohio State’s nine January games was the most important. Justin said it was Ohio State’s matchup with No. 1 Purdue, which coincidentally they lost last night, 71-69. Connor said it was the rematch at Rutgers on Jan. 15, after the controversial ending to Ohio State’s win over Rutgers on Dec. 8.

With 58% of the vote, Justin won. 27% of the people who read agreed with Connor, and the other 15% said it was one of the other seven games this month.

After 82 weeks:

Justin- 36
Connor- 33
Other- 9

(There have been four ties)


As stated at the top, we’re talking about big Brice Sensabaugh this week. He’s showing up in every mock draft, is leading Ohio State in scoring, and is priority No. 1 for opposing defenses as they prepare for the Buckeyes. We knew he’ll enter the NBA Draft at least, but is he a gone already.... in January?

This week’s question: Is Brice Sensabaugh a surefire one-and-done?

Connor: Yes, he’s good as gone

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Enjoy him while you can, Buckeye fans, because Brice Sensabaugh will only be donning the scarlet and gray for about two more months.

Sensabaugh has shown some serious chops on the offensive end. He’s a three level scorer — shooting 52.8% overall and 46.6% from three-point land. He’s perfected the patented E.J. Liddell “green bean” jumper, where he pulls up from about 10 feet away and knocks down an off-balance fadeaway. He’s shown the ability to crash the offensive glass and score on putbacks as well, and is a ferocious dunker to boot. That right there is what NBA scouts care about.

About this time last year, Malaki Branham was averaging six points per game right before busting out in Big Ten play. He wound up being drafted in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft. As it stands, Sensabaugh is even more advanced than Branham was offensively at this stage of his freshman year.

Neither Sensabaugh nor Branham were especially developed on the defensive end by the end of their freshman season, but that didn’t stop the Spurs from taking Branham with the 20th overall pick last season. For the most part, teams want young, talented scorers who they think can step into the league and score right now. Defense, body weight, muscle mass, that can all be taught and improved on with time. But if buckets can be provided right now, that’s what matters the most.

Sensabaugh scored a ton against lower level competition, but has also played very well against some of the best teams in the country — Purdue and North Carolina, for example. If his production tapers off throughout league play, he may slip a little bit and his draft status could be murky. But right now he’s a projected first rounder, and I don’t think he’s going to fall off to the point where that changes between now and the end of March.

Justin: No, there’s a chance he could come back

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

So you’re saying there’s a chance?

I am writing this right after the Purdue game, and even I am questioning my own viewpoint on this, so give me a second to compose myself. Okay I am ready.

So here is the thing about my take on this. I am approaching this from the viewpoint of “please let him come back because him and Scotty Middleton could win a national title.”

I am only kind of kidding. I do think the fact the Buckeyes have another elite recruiting class incoming could help Sensabaugh decide to return, as they could be a legitimate top five team in the country next year if everyone that can return does in fact return.

I don’t think the question is about whether or not he is ready. He very clearly is on offense, and while his defense has a ways to go, so did Malaki Branham’s, and that didn’t really affect his draft stock.

I think it could come down to whether or not he thinks coming back for an extra year could 1) Let him compete with a better and more experienced team that could (I said could) have national title hopes, and 2) He thinks that one more year can be the difference between going late first round and being a lottery pick, which it very well could.

Also, Branham benefited from being on a team that wasn’t that deep from an offensive perspective. On this current team, while Sensabaugh is the Buckeyes go to guy, there will be games where Justice Sueing, Sean McNeil, Zed Key, Tanner Holden, and others have the hot hand and take some shots away from him.

In conclusion, he is likely gone, but it is only early January, and anything can happen. So I will say there is a chance. A slight chance, as it may be. Forever the optimist I am, apparently.

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Three desired 2023 resolutions for Ohio State football
CMinnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The New Year offers opportunities for necessary changes.

My sincere best wishes to all of you for a Happy New Year in 2023. Although the Ohio State football season ended in a painful manner, I could not be happier with the effort the Ohio State coaching staff and players gave on Dec. 31 in the Peach Bowl versus the favored Georgia Bulldogs. On our latest Silver Bullets Podcast, Michael Citro and I reviewed the game, and there were opportunities to win by Ohio State that just were not seized.

It is against this backdrop that I am going to offer up Three Desired 2023 Resolutions For Ohio State Football. Festivus has come and gone until next December, so this will not be under the guise of The Airing Of Grievances — more like healthy resolutions that could be of benefit for the Ohio State program as the work for the 2023 season earnestly begins.

1. Find a healthy medium for the Ohio State defense

Ohio State was able to survive on the road at Maryland on Nov. 19, but everything came crashing down against “That Team Up North” on Nov. 26 with five big scoring plays being the primary culprit in the decisive 45-23 loss. Against Georgia, with Ohio State holding a 38-27 lead in the 4th quarter, the Buckeyes gave up a one-play, 76-yard touchdown pass that swung the momentum towards the Bulldogs in only 10 seconds.

What I am suggesting for the “healthy medium” is that Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles prefers an aggressive, attacking defense that is susceptible to big plays. Perhaps the “healthy medium” is to reduce the number of times the secondary has no safety help, like what happened in the Michigan and Georgia games. Perhaps the “healthy medium” can be to play with two safeties back, and force the opposition to go the length of the field.

Yes, points may still be scored, but it should take minutes off the clock, not seconds. And that leads me to my second resolution...

2. Ryan Day as more of the CEO

“Ryan Day mentioned in our production meetings he’s going to stop calling plays next year because he needs to become more of a manager as a head coach...” ~ Kirk Herbstreit on ESPN, 01/01/2023

This is a concept that many Ohio State fans have been clamoring for, but here is where I am going to tie this back into my first resolution. Yes, Ryan Day giving up play calling duties is a huge step for the offense, but how I would hope this could work would allow for Day to become more involved on the defensive side of the ball.

Please understand that what I am advocating for is Ryan Day to be able to spend more time in the defensive meetings and game plan sessions, and have the headset on during a game to approve or veto the defensive calls in a game. Here is where Ryan Day could say to Jim Knowles, “Let’s make sure we have our two safeties back” before the team takes the field for a defensive series.

Ryan Day will, and should, always have his hands involved in the offensive game plan. To not have Day involved would be detrimental to Ohio State offensively, as he has gained a well-deserved reputation for quarterback development. A point of reference is Alabama’s Nick Saban. Saban has a defensive coordinator, is heavily involved in coaching the Alabama secondary, and involved in the defensive game plan formation — as defense is Saban’s strong suit — but is not calling the defensive plays for the Crimson Tide.

My belief is that Ohio State is going to promote internally, with Justin Frye and Brian Hartline likely to take on more of the offensive game plan formation responsibilities during game week, and Day having that headset interaction with whomever is in the coaches’ box about what he would like to do or see when the offense is on the field. And that leads me to my third resolution...

3. More player substitution in 2023

Kyle McCord and Devin Brown will be competing for the starting quarterback position in 2023, and neither of them have played a great deal. As a matter of fact, McCord actually threw more passes in 2021 as a true freshman (38) than as a sophomore (20). Yes, that is because McCord started versus Akron in 2021 when C.J. Stroud needed to rest his ailing shoulder, but the reality is McCord is largely untested. Devin Brown’s 2022 statistics show him with zero passes attempted, but four handoffs.

Here is where Ryan Day is doing himself, and the offensive players, no favors. Going into the 2021 season, Day lamented how none of the quarterbacks had thrown a pass, and how it was going to be challenging. Yet when given ample opportunities to have McCord and/or Brown in-game opportunities in 2022 when Ohio State was decisively leading in games (Arkansas State, Toledo, Wisconsin, Rutgers, at Michigan State, Iowa, Indiana), Day squandered them, limiting them to handoffs.

This resolution is not limited to only the quarterback position. In today’s college football reality, where players can leave and enter the transfer portal with no notice, it is incumbent upon coaching staffs to try to get players as much deserved playing time as possible, if only to try to maintain some semblance of roster management.

Think of it is this way. After next season, McCord will be eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. Other players, such as wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Julian Fleming, will also be eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. Wouldn’t it make sense for Ohio State to play backup wide receivers such as Kaleb Brown (one reception as a freshman in 2022), Kyion Grayes (one reception as a freshman in 2022), or Kojo Antwi more in 2023 with the backup quarterbacks, considering they will be the likely starters in 2024?

The same for the backups at offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, secondary, etc. The transfer portal has made it essential that backups get involved more than ever, especially when the coaches who recruited them out of high school are promising them ample playing time and abundant NIL funds. Here’s to seeing more players on the field for Ohio State than we have over the last couple of seasons.

Those are just three desired resolutions I have for Ohio State as we get ready for the 2023 season. As always, let me know what you think, and Go Bucks!

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Ryan Day’s big-game record took a hit on New Year’s Eve, but bad luck is at least partially to blame
Josh Dooley 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

The Ohio State head coach does not deserve a total pass for his team’s past performances — especially in CFP and rivalry games. But can a fella get a break once in a while!?

Ryan Day is now 45-6 as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. His .882 winning percentage puts him ahead of Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, and Dabo Swinney — just to name a few. And he is highly respected for not only his offensive prowess and ability to develop quarterbacks, but also his general leadership and work as a mental health advocate.

But in the minds of many (eh, let’s call it a vocal few), his accomplishments and sterling reputation don’t mean a thing without the ring.


I concur, but to a lesser degree. Yes, at some point, Day must win a national championship if he wants to go down as one of the all-time Ohio State coaching legends. That is the expectation, and it is the standard to which he will always be held. Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer did Day no favors by winning it all so early in their respective tenures, but the current HC knew what he was signing up for. With great power comes great responsibility.

However, it is impossible to view Day’s accomplishments as anything less than impressive. The man is 45 and freaking six! His teams have played in three of the last four College Football Playoffs. He has been able to avoid upsets like his corners avoid finding the football (sorry, but not really). And the culture in Columbus seems to be quite strong, despite what some of his detractors would have you believe.

But why has Day not been able to get OSU over the hump? And should he shoulder all of the blame?

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Working in reverse, the answer to my second question is a definitive “no”. Day should receive much of the ire from disgruntled Buckeye fans, but football is a team game, with many players and coaches involved. There is plenty of blame to go around. On top of that, winning a national championship is hard! So in most instances, blame should be removed from the equation entirely. The better team usually wins, and to say that Ohio State is or always has been the better team, is just plain ignorant.

We as fans wish it were the case, but the 2020 season is a perfect example. I do not consider Day to be remotely at fault for his team’s loss to Alabama. He was not responsible for OSU’s worst defense since the turn of century, and Bama had the far more talented roster. Getting your butt handed to you by a superior team does not equal inferior coaching – at least not all of the time. In this particular instance, it was David versus Goliath, and the little guy was wearing scarlet and gray.

All of that being said, Day has repeatedly shot himself in the foot with a conservative approach in big games, resulting in multiple losses to TTUN and a 1-3 CFP record. So failing to get the Buckeyes (all the way) over the hump – when put in a very realistic situation to do so – is something that he should absolutely take ownership of. And I believe that he does/has. Because Day is not much of an excuse-maker, in my opinion... even if the temptation to do so must be real.

How could it not be (real)? Day and at least a few of his teams have been the victim(s) of horrendous luck in multiple big games, including last Saturday’s Peach Bowl. I know that if it were me giving press conferences and interviews, the media would not yet have heard the end of my tirade aimed at officials and their interpretation of targeting. But Ohio State has refused to play much of a blame game, despite losing arguably their most important player for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

Up 11 and driving, the Buckeyes faced a pivotal third down in their effort to put the defending champs (Georgia) away. C.J. Stroud lobbed a pass toward Marvin Harrison Jr. in the endzone, which the receiver did get his hands on, but he was separated from the ball – and nearly his helmet – by a hard hit from UGA’s Javon Bullard. Helmet-to-helmet contact was debatable, but the defender leaving his feet to launch and Harrison’s status as a defenseless player were not.

Somehow the original targeting call was reversed, forcing Ohio State to settle for a field goal and a 14-point lead. The rest, as they say, is history.


Unfortunately, losing college football’s best wide receiver (for a second time in 2022) was hardly Day’s first brush with bad luck in a CFP setting. Trailing 21-16 in the 2019 Fiesta bowl, OSU’s Jeff Okudah forced a fumble, which was then picked up and taken to the house by fellow Buckeye Jordan Fuller. But upon replay review and a large sum of money apparently changing hands, that call was also reversed, protecting Clemson’s lead.

Ohio State did eventually take a lead in the fourth quarter, but after trading scores with the Tigers, Justin Fields and Chris Olave could not get on the same page, leading to a game and season-ending interception for Day’s squad. The zebras, man. Twice in four years...

Re-hashing these painful events might give you the impression that I am a Ryan Day apologist. And maybe I am, which I’ve acknowledged on LGHL’s Hangout in the Holy Land. But we cannot simply ignore the obvious. OSU has been royally screwed by (at least) two blown calls in two different CFP semifinals. If that statement makes me a homer, fine. I would argue that it makes me a reasonable football fan with two functioning eyeballs.

I am not here to defend Ryan Day or label him a victim of exclusively bad luck. The man makes an exorbitant amount of money, and criticism comes with the territory. But I think it is worth pointing out or arguing that two plays – two tiny, little plays – have significantly impacted his early coaching legacy. And the vast history of Ohio State football! Think about that: Just two plays could have potentially cost Day and the Buckeyes two national championships.

If those painful memories are too much to bear, at least think about how incredibly close the Buckeyes have been – year in and year out under Day’s guidance – before grabbing your pitchforks. The luck will turn eventually, because we can’t lose ‘em all... Can we?

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Buck Off Podcast: Final thoughts on the Georgia game, biggest questions, and key positions heading into the offseason
Chris Renne 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

Ohio State’s season is over. We discuss what’s next for the Buckeyes in 2023.

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On today’s episode of “Buck Off with Christopher Renne,” I’m joined by Jordan Williams to get into the next steps for Ohio State as they head into the offseason, as well as our lasting thoughts coming away from the Georgia game.

We start the show with our final thoughts coming out of the Peach Bowl down in Atlanta. The conversation starts where we stand with the Buckeyes and our level of excitement moving forward. We move on to the biggest questions remaining after the game, and where Ohio State stands in college football.

Then we get into a discussion about Ryan Day the play-caller, and why the Kirk Herbstreit comments about him passing the torch should hold a lot of weight. This leads to us talking about what a world without Day calling plays looks like, and why you should not expect too much change offensively.

After that, our conversation turns to the key positions moving forward into the offseason and the most important questions surrounding the four groups we discuss. We get into the corners, the safeties, the running backs, and the offensive line.

Next, we get into our final thoughts on the season and what Ohio State needs to do next if the Buckeyes are going to take the next steps.

Then, to close out the show, we give our score predictions for the National Championship game.


Connect with the Show:
Twitter: @BuckOffPod

Connect with Chris Renne:
Twitter: @ChrisRenneCFB

Connect with Jordan Williams
Twitter: @JordanW330

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Buckeyes make the cut for a top 2024 LB, have the attention of a Florida WR
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Kristopher Jones | 247Sports

Ohio State makes the top schools list for one of the top linebackers in the country in the 2024 class.

Ohio State’s season is unfortunately over, but the staff is far from finished when it comes to the work being done off the field. In today’s college football landscape, there’s not really an “off day” and the Buckeyes know that just as well as anyone. There is plenty of work to be done with both high school prospects and transfer portal targets on the recruiting front.

Hoping to land more experienced depth to bridge the gaps for this offseason, things look to be in the works at multiple positions already. With still lots of time for things to sort themselves out, there will be surprises here and there too. Ryan Day and crew have kept Ohio State in good shape when it comes to recruiting, and while it’s not all sunshine and rainbows right now, there’s still a lot to look forward to as one of the nation’s top recruiting staffs.

Ohio State included in top schools list for Jones


Being a position of need in the 2024 class, the linebacker spot is going to garner some serious attention over the next several months. Virginia native linebacker Kristopher Jones was a preview topic of discussion when he made it known he intends to take an official visit to Ohio State later this year, closer to the summer months. Having already been on campus last spring, Jones knows what the Buckeyes have to offer, and a return visit is proof the staff is doing what it takes.

On Thursday, Jones was once again in the news for the Buckeyes, as he took to Twitter to share the latest update in his recruitment by releasing a list of 12 schools he would be focusing on as he tries to narrow down his decision. Including the Buckeyes, Jones also kept Penn State, LSU, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma in the running. While this isn’t a short list, with nearly 30 offers to his name, cutting that pool down in less than half certainly shows he’s working through the process.

The No. 85 player nationally, Jones is also the ninth-best linebacker and the top player from Virginia per the 247Sports Composite. Jim Knowles knows what he wants in his linebacker targets, and Jones is fitting the mold to this point, keeping him a player to keep an eye on until he commits to the program of his choice. Still work to be done for the Buckeyes if they want to lock up Jones, at least they’re already one of the five schools that for now will be receiving an official visit. That points toward the notion that Ohio State is not only in his top 12, but even near the top of the schools he’s still considering.

Quick Hits

• Social media posts aren’t everything, but do tend to show where prospective recruits are focusing at least some of their attention. Many times it’s to flaunt the various schools they have offers from, but either way, seeing Ohio State in the minds of top talent is never a bad thing.

Thursday, Florida native receiver Malachi Toney used his Twitter account to share an image of him in a Buckeye hat asking Ohio State fans their thoughts on how he looked. A class of 2026 athlete, Toney is a product of American Heritage. The program has been great to the Buckeyes over the years, and especially recently with the addition of Brandon Inniss from the prep school.

Already holding double digit offers to his name, Toney might be just a high school freshman, but that hasn’t stopped schools such as Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Penn State, Florida State, and others in addition to Ohio State from throwing their name into the mix for his services. Buckeye fans love to see another Florida star receiver in the making touting the Scarlet and Gray, and seeing Brian Hartline sharing this tweet tells you all you need to know about how he and Ohio State feel about Toney as a major target in the 2026 class.


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No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball overcomes 10-point deficit to beat Minnesota, 83-71
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Twitter | @OhioStateWBB

It was a tough night in Minneapolis for the Buckeyes, but a dominant performance in the 4th quarter helped Ohio State remain unbeaten.

After No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball (15-0) beat the No. 14 Michigan Wolverines on New Year’s Eve, it’s been a quiet week for the top-ranked team in the conference. On Thursday night the heat was back on, traveling north to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Ohio State continued their streak of wins this season, and their now 11-game winning streak against the Gophers, beating Minnesota 83-71.

The Buckeyes started the game as well as they could. Their first two shots from the team’s leading scorers in guard Taylor Mikesell and Rebeka Mikulášiková put the Buckeyes up five points quickly. The Scarlet & Gray pushed the lead to seven, but went cold offensively and defensively.

Passing and timing was off early. Ohio State forced but also committed four turnovers, giving the Gophers five points off the giveaways. With the ball, shooting faltered and the Buckeyes went 2-for-7 after their early hot start.

On the other side, Minnesota went 4-for-5, with three of those makes coming off layups. The Buckeyes’ defense in the paint struggled, forcing a timeout from head coach Kevin McGuff, who charged onto the court with words to say to his team.

McGuff was more fired up than usual in the game. Maybe it was just more noticeable with Minnesota’s sidelines being below the court level and nobody to sit or stand next to the coach. Even so, the defense wasn’t up to stopping the Gophers up to that stoppage in play.

Off the timeout though, forward Eboni Walker entered the game, and Ohio State’s presence improved.

It let the Scarlet & Gray get their lead back up to 10, but Minnesota kept fighting back. Before the end-of-period buzzer, Gophers guard Katie Borowicz threw up a three before the shot clock expired and hit the shot. Ohio State still held the lead, 24-19, going into the second quarter, but it wouldn’t last.

Returning back to the game in the second quarter was forward Rebeka Mikulášiková, who Walker relieved at the pivotal first quarter timeout. Mikulášiková had a difficult start to the quarter. The forward struggled to keep up with the quick attacks of the Golden Gophers. Then, after two bad passes in a row, McGuff brought Walker back into the game.

Minnesota’s shooting improved, with the Gophers initial deflated play at the start of the game gaining more confidence as they continued to make things difficult for the Buckeyes. The home team shot 52.4% in the second quarter, compared to only 38.5% for the Scarlet & Gray.

Included in Minnesota’s strong second half was a 12-point run that put the Buckeyes down for the first time in the game. The Golden Gophers went up four before Ohio State swung the lead back in their favor, but it too wouldn’t last. Forwards Mallory Heyer and Alanna Micheaux scored six of the last eight Gophers points, compared to just two from the Buckeyes.

Ohio State entered halftime down four, 43-39.

Usually when Ohio State comes out of the locker room at the half, there’s a noticeable difference. On Thursday, it looked like much of the same. The Buckeyes struggled with poor shooting, and halfway through the quarter the Gophers extended their lead, but only by a point.

Guard Taylor Thierry was pushing Ohio State, grabbing offensive rebounds and giving the Buckeyes chances, but they started the third quarter shooting 2-for-11. There were rushed attempts, 1-for-4 shooting from deep and a team that didn’t look like they had it.

Minnesota’s youth almost gave them a mentality of being inexperienced enough to not care about a team with a No. 3 ranking. The Gophers increased their lead to 10, but Ohio State wasn’t backing down quite yet.

The Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run with Walker starting it on a midrange jumper. Then, it was Thierry doing things now in the scoring column, hitting a layup plus a bonus free throw from the line. Then, Mikulášiková hit a three to pull Ohio State within two.

It looked like another game where Ohio State pulls things back their way, but missed their final four shots of the quarter. Minnesota freshman forward Heyer hit a three late, and put the home team back up six with 10 minutes remaining.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes gained some life. After hitting layups on two consecutive fastbreaks, fouls made the game a chippy. After one against forward Cotie McMahon, Minnesota guard Mi’cole Cayton received a technical for talking to a ref after the call.

Soon after, it was Mikesell getting fouled and hitting both free throws, which put Ohio State in the lead for the first time since 2:58 remaining in the second quarter.

Within the first four minutes of the final quarter, the Scarlet & Gray hit five free throws. Then, Mikulášiková hit her fifth three-point shot of the night. Suddenly Ohio State was in the driver’s seat with a 69-61 lead, forcing a Gophers timeout.

In the second half of the fourth quarter, Minnesota threw all they could to get back into the lead, but started shooting like Ohio State did for most of the game. The Gophers had their worst shooting quarter of the game, hitting 20% from the field in the 83-71 Buckeyes win.

Mikulášiková Rebounds


The Slovakian forward had a difficult first half defensively, but was clutch for Ohio State on offense when they needed it.

Mikulášiková scored 15 points, making five threes on the night. It’s only the second game of double-digit scoring in the last eight for the forward who hit that mark in each of her first eight games.

Most of Mikulášiková’s points came in the second half, coming when Ohio State needed them the most.

Losing at Their Own Game


What hurt Ohio State the most in the first half was poor defending and giving the ball away. While the Buckeyes are known for their press and causing fits for opponents, a team with four freshmen and a sophomore starting forced more turnovers than Ohio State.

Minnesota forced 12, compared to only seven for the visitors. The home team scored 12 additional points off those turnovers, with the Buckeyes never really looking like their best selves over the first 20 minutes.

While the turnovers improved in the third quarter, Ohio State gave up the ball only once, but didn’t capitalize with 25% shooting.

Minnesota showed that playing the Buckeyes with pressure and physicality causes problems for Ohio State.

What’s Next


Ohio State’s next game is three days away back in Columbus, Ohio. Their opponent is a surprising team in the Big Ten this season — the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Illinois is surpassing all of their own expectations with first year head coach Shauna Greene leading the Illini to their first season with 11 wins before the end of the calendar year. After beating the Iowa Hawkeyes on New Year’s Day, the attention on Illinois has grown.

Sunday’s game tips off at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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Costly turnover burns Buckeyes as Purdue knocks off Ohio State, 71-69
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes and Boilermakers treated us with an all-time classic in Columbus Thursday night, with the visitors coming out on top.

For the first time in two years, No. 24 Ohio State (10-3, 2-0) welcomed top-ranked Purdue (13-1, 2-1) to Columbus on Thursday evening for a classic Big Ten fist fight. Purdue entered the night as the No. 1 team in the nation, although a one-point loss to Rutgers on Monday night somewhat dulled the shine of a battle with the top-ranked team in the country.

Regardless, it was a key matchup between teams who are currently considered two of the favorites to win the Big Ten conference. The last time Purdue visited the Schottenstein Center was Jan. 19, 2021 — when Jaden Ivey’s buzzer-beating three over Seth Towns propelled the Boilermakers to a 67-65 win.

However, it was not to be, as the Boilermakers were able to edge out a tight contest in the final seconds, 71-69. Ohio State did a fine job on Edey, but the supporting cast around him stepped up and made shots — which was their only option the way the Buckeyes were swarming Edey.

Chris Holtmann went with the now-customary lineup of Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Justice Sueing, Brice Sensabaugh, and Zed Key. Matt Painter rolled out Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith, Ethan Morton, Caleb Furst, and the big Canadian Zach Edey.

Despite Purdue dominating the offensive glass early, the Buckeyes ran out to a 18-7 lead by the under-12 media timeout. Sensabaugh had nine of those 18, but the Buckeyes were also taking care of the basketball and forcing the Boilermakers to move the ball around the perimeter to look for shots. Felix Okpara did a phenomenal job on Edey early in the game after Key left with a reported shoulder sprain, holding the Canadian to just two points over the first eight minutes without committing a foul.


Ohio State continued to put the pressure on Edey, Furst, and Trey Kaufman-Renn in the post, sending two and sometimes three defenders down to stop easy baskets. The Boilermakers were forced to kick it out and swing the ball looking for a three, and more often than not they got one. The problem, however, was that Purdue only hit one of their first nine three-pointers. By the under-eight timeout, the Buckeyes still held a 22-14 lead, and were shooting 58.8% as a team.

However, over time Purdue did, in fact, make other players beat Ohio State. After missing open shots repeatedly while Edey fought off three defenders, the Boilermakers knocked down five three-pointers over the final 6:05 of the first half to close the opening stanza on a hot streak. Purdue finished the first half on a 9-3 run to go into the break down just three points, 36-33. Sensabaugh led Ohio State with 13 points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting. Smith had 12 points for Purdue on 5-of-7 shooting.


The two teams came out throwing haymakers in the second half, with Purdue hitting five of their first seven shots and Ohio State knocking down four of their first nine. The Boilermakers cut the Buckeye lead to just one point, 46-45, thanks mostly to six quick points from Edey over the first 4:43 of the second half.

The Boilermakers took a brief six-point lead for 56 seconds, but a long baseline jumper from Roddy Gayle followed by an emphatic slam from Sensabaugh pulled Ohio State back within two, 52-50. After the dunk from Sensabaugh, Matt Painter called timeout, and Holtmann pleaded with the crowd with his hands for more noise — to which they obliged. Purdue held a two point lead with just under 11 minutes remaining.

The Buckeyes tied things up 58-58 by the under-eight media timeout courtesy of an Okpara floater from about nine feet out off the feed from Sensabaugh. His previous career-high was 19 minutes against Charleston Southern on November 10, but his number was called tonight when Key was ruled out with the shoulder injury.

Ohio State took a brief lead on Sueing’s turnaround fader with just under seven minutes remaining, but the little Loyer’s three-pointer with 4:36 left put the Boilermakers back up one point, 64-63.


After Felix Okpara was fouled by Edey going up for a dunk with 1:53 remaining, he hit one of two free throws to tie things back up at 66 points. One minute later, with 40 seconds left on the clock, Sean McNeil had his biggest moment in the scarlet and gray, sinking a long three-pointer to give the Buckeyes a 69-66 lead.

However, after Edey hit a pair of free throws to make it 69-68, the Buckeyes turned it over on the inbounds and Loyer hit a three to put Purdue ahead for good, 71-69.

If you weren’t around tonight to watch the Buckeyes’ nail-biting loss to the top-ranked Boilermakers, here are a few of the key moments and runs that helped Purdue squeak one out in front of a huge crowd in Columbus.

Sensabaugh pushes the pace early


As has been the case the last few games, Sensabaugh took three of Ohio State’s first five shots, making two of them, for a quick four points. The first came on a dunk off a feed from Sueing, and the second was a fastbreak layup where he simply outran Morton to the other end.

Key exits with a shoulder injury


3:48 into the game with Ohio State leading 6-5, Edey corralled a rebound off a missed free throw from Furst. He immediately pivoted to slam home a dunk, and in the process Key twisted his shoulder in an unnatural way. He limped off the floor with his left arm dangling to the side, and was immediately escorted back to the locker room. Edey’s dunk made it 7-6 Purdue.

Boilers owning the offensive glass


To give Purdue credit, they crashed the glass on both ends. The Boilermakers had five offensive rebounds during their first six possessions, leading to eight second-chance points. But they weren’t defending at the other end, as the Buckeyes outscored Purdue’s offensive outputs on far fewer opportunities.

12-0 run for the Buckeyes


Starting at the 15:19 mark of the first half, Ohio State went on a 12-0 run that turned a 7-6 deficit into a 18-7 lead over the next 3:27. It went something like this:

• Bruce Thornton three
• Sueing baseline fader
• Sensabaugh two-point jumper
• Sueing baseline fader
• Sensabaugh fastbreak layup good, and the foul (hit the free throw as well)

Who would like to guard this tall Canadian?


After Key was ruled out with what Ohio State called a “shoulder sprain” three minutes into the game, the Buckeyes were forced to defend the 7-foot-4 Edey by throwing everything and the kitchen sink at him. Okpara spent 13 minutes on him, but Isaac Likekele and Gene Brown both switched on to the big man as well.

To their credit, Edey only scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting in the first half, but he also grabbed eight rebounds.

Boilers get hot from beyond the arc to end the half


After hitting just one of their first nine three-pointers to start the game — most of the wide-open variety, Purdue closed the first half by hitting five of their final six from beyond the arc. A 30.5% three-point team on the season, Ohio State was banking on the Boilers missing a good chunk of those looks. For the first 15 minutes or so, it worked like a charm. Over the final five minutes, it did not.

Who you calling slow?


The two teams opened the second half with a frenzy of scoring, as Purdue outscored the Buckeyes 12-10 over the first 4:43 and going 5-of-7 from the floor. Both teams were moving quickly and trying to catch the other off guard in transition to begin the half. Ironically enough, Purdue and Ohio State are two of the slower teams in the Big Ten, with both ranking outside the top-200 in adjusted tempo.

Okpara denies Edey and Sensabaugh brings the house down


On a possession where it felt like Purdue grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, the penultimate shot for the Boilermakers turned out to be a dunk attempt by Edey. However, Okpara went straight up and met him at the highest point, swatting his shot back towards the Purdue bench.

Thornton corralled the rebound and found Sensabaugh streaking down the court for an aggressive dunk, pulling the Buckeyes back within two, 52-50 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game. Matt Painter called timeout as the crowd turned up the volume a few decibels.

Sueing, McNeil retake the lead for the Buckeyes


With the game tied 58-58 and 6:55 remaining in the game, Sueing backed down Morton on the left block, took two dribbles, and then hit a turnaround jumper to put Ohio State up two. On the next possession, Sean McNeil hit a long two to extend Ohio State’s lead to four points — their largest lead in over 10 minutes.

Loyer’s triple puts Purdue back in front


Purdue trailed for 2:21 following that Sueing bucket over Morton, but Loyer — whose older brother Foster tormented the Buckeyes four years ago at Michigan State — knocked down his second three-pointer of the game to give Purdue a 64-63 lead with 4:36 remaining in the game.

McNeil has his moment


With the game tied at 66 and 40 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes had nothing going as the shot clock slowly ticked down. McNeil had the ball with seven seconds on the shot clock, and yanked a straight-away three over the head of Mason Gillis to give the Buckeyes a nice 69-66 lead.

Ohio State turns over the inbound, Loyer makes them pay....again


Up one point with 24 seconds remaining, Sueing’s errant pass was stolen by Morton, and following a Purdue timeout, Loyer knocked down another three to give the Boilermakers a 71-69 lead with 10 seconds remaining.

Up Next:


Ohio State (10-4, 3-1) won’t get much of a break before their next challenge, which comes on the road at Maryland (10-4, 1-2) Sunday afternoon. Kevin Willard’s first Maryland team rose into the AP Top 25 early in the season, but quickly fell out after a few embarrassing losses. The Buckeyes lost to Maryland 75-60 on February 27 last season in College Park.

The Buckeyes’ game against Maryland will tip off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon, and will be broadcast on ESPN.

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OK, Coach Frye has a year under his belt, tOSU OL performed pretty darn well. He corraled several Ohio kids to join up, and lost out on several OL difference makers. Also a couple in the portal. Don't see any OL in the Recruiting forums, which with losing two potential first round draftees from the tackle position, tOSU desperately needs. Actually losing three - Johnson (LT), Jones (RT), and Jones (RG), with Wypler hopefully coming back to try to earn Rimington Award. Donovan (LG) not eligible for draft yet. Anyone got anything to share?

You’re Nuts: Best thing to do instead of watching the National Championship game
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.

Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.

In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.

Today’s Question: What is the best thing to do instead of watching the National Championship game?

Jami’s Take: Watch “RRR”


Next Monday will be a very unhappy birthday to me, due to the fact that the National Championship will be happening in my backyard and the Buckeyes won’t be participating. I think that’s garbage.

Do you think I’m going to let that keep me from having fun? Absolutely not. And you shouldn’t either, whether it’s your birthday too or just a routine Monday.

Why torture yourself watching last year’s champs attempt to repeat against what seemed until last weekend to be a second-rate team? That three hours of your time would be better spent watching the cinematic masterpiece “RRR” on Netflix.

You’ve seen it already? CONGRATS ON YOUR GREAT TASTE. Watch it again.

You’ve never heard of it? Buckle up while I tell you about the greatest film ever made, in my humble opinion (in as vague terms as humanly possible so as not to spoil anything).

“RRR” is an Indian Telugu-language anti-colonial buddy film is an action-packed masterpiece that has been steadily gaining traction in the West throughout 2022.

Here’s what you need to know:

-This is maximalist movie-making at its finest.

-It is the most expensive Indian film to date

-It is packed with mind-blowing action sequences, brilliant and over-the-top musical numbers, heart, humor and a breathtaking story carefully woven together by filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli

The general plot imagines a fictional friendship in which two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, live under the rule of the British Raj in the 1920s.

Beyond this, I encourage you to go in without reading up on the film so that you can fully experience the over-the-top action and surprises that await you at every turn. But suffice it to say, Marvel movies have been found dead in a ditch comparatively.

If you think a great football game packs action, wait until you see these two men accomplish the physically impossible. You think breaking some tackles is cool? It has nothing on the superhuman physical obstacles our main characters overcome. You think Stetson Bennett or Max Duggan’s arms are weapons? There is no comparison with the weapons Ram and Bheem use to fight their enemies in this film.

If a Cinderella story or a repeat will make you cry because the storyline is larger than sports, grab some tissues before diving into what our two main characters are willing to do for their families, loved ones, and their country.

I promise this film will wow you as much or more than the greatest sporting event you have ever watched. And it will certainly help you forget that the Buckeyes won’t be taking the field next week.

Matt’s Take:


While I am tempted to suggest the 2020 rom-com “Sweet Autumn,” which is airing on the Hallmark Channel at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night, I’m not going to do that, because it is only two hours (with commercials) and therefore wouldn’t account for the entire runtime of the game. However, it is a delightful film. My favorite Hallmark star Nikki Deloach stars opposite network stalwart Andrew W. Walker in what amounts to a low-stakes puzzle movie in which they each inherit half of a candy company, but have to work together in order to figure out the clues left by the previous owner to understand why they were each given a share of the shop.

So, instead, I am going to suggest that you get out of the house and go see “Avatar: The Way of Water.” I saw it on Wednesday night, and it is definitely a movie that I have now seen. Was it great? Not at all. Was it entertaining? Most definitely. Will I remember a damn thing about it by the time I’m done writing this article? Probably not. But, you know what? At three hours and 12 minutes plus trailers, it is absolutely something that can occupy an entire evening for you instead of subjecting your still fragile emotions to watching what should have been an Ohio State national championship.

Jami’s pick, “RRR,” has a similar run time (“Avatar 2” bests it by five minutes, plus trailers), but between you and me (and I’ve told Jami this), I fell asleep this summer when I was watching “RRR.” In fairness, it wasn’t because the movie was bad. It was absolutely insane in all of the wonderful ways that Jami described, but it couldn’t keep me awake. You know what I was able to stay up and watch all of? “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

I do plan on eventually doubling back and finishing “RRR,” but it won’t be on Monday night.

Anyway, back to “Avatar 2.” There is a lot of world-building mumbo jumbo in this movie, and it assumes that you care about these characters that we haven’t seen on the big screen in 13 years far more than I think anyone actually does, and there multiple scenes that take 10-15 minutes that could have accomplished the same thing in 30-45 seconds, but when James Cameron sets his mind to make something visually remarkable, many does he deliver.

The entire film is stunningly gorgeous and the creativity is unparalleled in a big-budget movie. But what really makes the movie and the runtime worth it is the fact that the final third of the film is essentially one epic action sequence. Spoiler Alert: almost all of the action occurs on or under the water, leading to some absolutely kick-ass set pieces. The way that Cameron is able to communicate so much about the narrative of the film through the action sequences with very little dialogue (since a lot happens underwater) is truly impressive.

My brother saw the original “Avatar” I truthfully think 12 times in the theater and a couple dozen more since then; so to be able to go with him to see the sequel last night was a really fun experience. If you are looking for something to do on Monday night and are in the Central Florida area, he might be up to going again, if you ask nicely, but even without him, “Avatar 2: Underwater Boogaloo” is a great way to distract yourself from the Georgia and TCU game.

And besides, with those five extra minutes of action, the 30 minutes of trailers, and driving two and from the movie theater, you can legitimately avoid the entire football game on Monday night; so it’s a win all around!

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New Year’s resolutions for the Ohio State football team
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

From the transfer portal to the coaching staff, Ryan Day and company have a lot of things on their to-do list for 2023.

We are just five days into the new year, and people are slowly getting acclimated to the normal, day-to-day realities of living their lives. The same is likely true at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. So, if Ryan Day and his coaching staff are a bit behind on putting together their 2023 New Year’s Resolutions, we figured we would give them a hand.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, and it might not even hit the biggest of all things that need addressed this year, but we thought the least we could do is get the ball rolling. Feel free to include your resolutions for the Buckeyes in the comments below.

Get some secondary help from the transfer portal


This probably should have been a resolution in 2022 as well, but the coaching staff decided instead to not upset the applecart and stand pat with what they had, and that proved to be fairly disastrous. We all know that the poor secondary play largely costs the Buckeyes a chance at the national title and while the cornerbacks were bad all season (and the safeties struggled after a strong first third of the campaign), the issues started even before the Scarlet and Gray officially took the field.

With only six scholarship corners on the roster for 2022, when three guys — Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock, and Cam Brown — all suffered injuries of varying significance during fall camp, the team and position group was already behind the 8-ball. Unfortunately, whether due to lack of practice time, further injuries, or just not being ready to shoulder the load, the corners never got over the hump and were by leaps and bounds the worst unit on the team this year.

The safeties started the season strong, seeming to justify Jim Knowles’ new defensive scheme, but as the fall progressed, they got progressively less effective. Perhaps that was because there was more film for opposing offenses to study, but whatever it was, the OSU secondary as a whole in 2022 needs to make major improvements if the defense as a whole is ever going to get back to where Buckeye fans, coaches, and players expect it to be.

Already this week, former four-star cornerback, redshirt-freshman JK Johnson entered the transfer portal. There might end up being more players (either from the secondary or elsewhere) as rumors and general agita about the state of the program seem to be slowly returning to pre-playoff levels.

Fortunately, Knowles was able to land the commitment of former Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter on Wednesday to presumably replace Tanner McCalister in a slot/coverage safety spot. With Ronnie Hickman presumably heading to the NFL, Carter will join Lathan Ransom, Sonny Styles, Cam Martinez, Kourt Williams, Kye Stokes, and perhaps Josh Proctor in a safety room that is filled with talent and athleticism but will have a lot to prove.

True freshmen prospects Jayden Bonsu, Malik Hartford, and Cedrick Hawkins will also be in the room but will have a long road to contribute significantly as freshmen.


At corner, the Buckeyes currently seem to have Burke, Hancock, Jyaire Brown, Ryan Turner, and Cam Brown as scholarship corners, but the latter Brown is expected to be departing as well.

Incoming corners will be top-100 talent Calvin Simpson-Hunt and No. 136 national player Jermaine Mathews. Unlike their safety counterparts, these two might have a chance to get on the field in their rookie seasons, especially if the Buckeyes don’t flesh out the room. If they don’t, they risk the possibility of being stuck in a situation similar to what they found themselves in this year.

The traditional way to do that would be to add to your 2023 recruiting class on next month’s National Signing Day, but a) the Buckeyes need someone who can contribute right away, and asking a true freshman to come in and do that isn’t likely to be the best option. And b) OSU does not appear to be in on any additional defensive backs that are currently uncommitted.

So, the next option is to hit the portal as hard as you can to try and find guys who can contribute right away. The top remaining DB in the portal is... coincidentally enough... Carter’s former Syracuse teammate Duce Chestnut. Before signing with Syracuse, Ohio State had shown some interest in the corner. He is a two-time All-ACC honoree and would make a perfect plug-and-play addition to the Buckeyes’ CB room.

At this point, I know that Day and company only like to bring in transfers if they can have an obvious impact, but in the case of the corners, you just need competent bodies there. They absolutely cannot allow an already thin position group to turn into a M*A*S*H unit simply because they don’t want to mess with the vibe in the room.

Currently, Chestnut is the only DB in the portal that looks like he could make an impact for 2023. Of course, there will be another transfer window open up at the conclusion of spring camps, at which point, the Buckeyes should have had an opportunity to evaluate what they have in their collective secondary rooms and what they still need to find.

Need to add depth at offensive tackle


Similarly, the Buckeyes need to add some talent at offensive tackle. Dawand Jones and Paris Johnson Jr. will both be in the NFL by next fall, leaving Josh Fryer as the only experienced tackle in the Buckeyes’ locker room. Though the cupboard isn’t as bare as in the secondary, finding some players who can compete for jobs, or at least serve as inevitable spot-starters and/or injury replacements will be helpful.

There aren’t a ton of top-line offensive line talents remaining in the portal right now, but the eighth-rated lineman is still on the board. Washington State’s Jarrett Kingston is on campus visiting the Buckeyes today. Not incredibly highly regarded, but he does come with a lot of collegiate experience, having been a member of the 2018 recruiting class.

Western Kentucky’s Gunner Britton is pegged as the best remaining o-line player remaining in the portal. He has visited Mississippi State already, and I haven’t seen any conjecture as to Ohio State being in on him, but whether it’s waiting until after spring or really planning on young guys stepping up, the Buckeyes need to develop some depth across the offensive come fall.

Pick a starting quarterback by the end of spring practice


Based on how Day operates, not to mention the realities of coaching in the transfer portal era, I know this one is just never going to happen, but I firmly believe in not prolonging your quarterback competition a single second longer than you have to.

We saw how devastating the uncertainty was for the Buckeyes when Urban Meyer hemmed and hawed between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett in 2015, and that was with two experienced, championship-level QBs in the mix. Whether Day ultimately decides on Kyle McCord or Devin Brown as his next starting quarterback, it would benefit that player, the offense, and the entire team if that decision was made sooner rather than later.

Let the guy know he’s the guy so that he can grow into his leadership position over the summer and work on developing his rapport with the team’s wide receivers. I think the safe bet is that the older McCord will eventually get the nod — whenever that might be. Not only does he have additional time in the program, but he was also the high school quarterback for one Marvin Harrison Jr., so you know that there is a strong connection between them.

The word is that Brown is an exceptional athlete and showed just that during open bowl practices. With how much we have seen folks clamoring for Buckeye quarterbacks to run more over the past four years, perhaps though, Day will figure that into the equation.

Personally, I don’t care much which QB the coach chooses, I think at least when it comes to quarterbacks he’s earned the benefit of the doubt, but I just don’t want to see it get dragged out. I understand that you have to maintain the morale in the room when anyone can transfer at any point (or at least during the NCAA-designated transfer windows), but things just work so much more smoothly when you have a field general in place; and after the rigamarole of the last couple of seasons, I just don’t know if I can deal with any extra drama.

Don’t screw up this playcalling decision


My thoughts on Ryan Day’s play calling have been widely known (essentially he is one of the best when he has time to do it properly... as a head coach, he rarely has time to do it properly; so he should find someone else who does), so if he does decide to give up play-calling duties as he has reportedly been considering, he has to make the right decision.


In the article linked above, I laid out my case for why I think it will be (and should be) Justin Frye who gets the promotion to offensive coordinator and play caller, but like with the quarterback, I don’t have any personal need to be right. If Day goes with Tony Alford, Brian Hartline, or someone else completely off the board, that’s fine with me, as long as it works.

Day made a big step last offseason in dismantling his defensive staff. While that worked in spats this season, there is still a ways to go on that side of the ball. But, in bringing in someone else to take over the offense, there won’t be nearly as much slack given if things don’t go well right away.

The Buckeye head coach has made his name as an offensive savant, his units are routinely at the top of college football in yards and points, if he chooses the wrong play-calling successor, and the OSU offense backslides, that could be catastrophic for the program, especially if it takes Knowles another season or two to get the right guys in to completely turn the defense around.

The Buckeye offense is what separates Ryan Day from so many other coaches in the country. Coupled with a new quarterback, if he brings in a new OC who doesn’t knock it out of the park, it can lead to truly unfortunate ramifications for the program and his legacy.

Extra Quick Hitting Resolutions

• Stop giving up so many 30+ yard touchdown plays.
• Stop doing whatever it is that the program is doing that means once players get injured, they are incapable of healing in time to play the rest of the season.
• Teach defensive backs how to defend at the point of the catch.
• Give backups — especially at quarterback — meaningful snaps in blowouts.
• Play young guys when appropriate. This helps future development and keeps guys from feeling the need to transfer.
• Beat Michigan.
• Win the Big Ten.
• Win the national title.

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Ryan Day set three goals for his program heading into 2022, and missed on all three
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The Buckeyes have more work to do in another offseason that will be full of questions.

During Big Ten media days ahead of the start of the 2022 season, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day set three goals for his program: beat Michigan, win the Big Ten, and win a national title.

After a 2021 season where the Buckeyes failed to accomplish any of those goals, Day knew the expectations in Columbus were much higher. He made wide sweeping changes to his staff in the offseason to try and accomplish those goals, including bringing in guys like Jim Knowles and Justin Frye to try and fix the issues of the prior year.

The results? Exactly the same. Another 0-for-3 for an Ohio State team that should be far better than what we’ve seen over the past few seasons.

Those three goals are what the Buckeyes strive to accomplish in any given year, but over the course of Day’s tenure at the helm, they are now just 3-8 in reaching those benchmarks — including a concerning 0-6 over the last two years.

They won two Big Ten titles in Day’s first two seasons as the headman in charge, with a win over Michigan in 2019 before the Wolverines dodged the game in 2020, but had no national titles to show for it. Huge losses to Jim Harbaugh’s guys each of the last two years has thwarted any hopes of a B1G title, and a second lease on life in 2022 was not enough to salvage the ultimate goal of a national title.

So now here we are, in the exact same spot we were after the end of the 2021 campaign. The defense, which we had thought was fixed throughout most of the year, came crashing back down to earth in the team’s biggest games down the stretch, with a secondary that, even on the best days for the defense as a whole, never quite looked right. Offensively, the Buckeyes will be tasked with breaking in a new starting quarterback, with C.J. Stroud off to the NFL, as well as a number of key offensive linemen.

Some questions will be harder to answer than others, but there are a few things Ohio State seemingly needs to do to take the next step back to regaining its prominence as a national college football power.

At the very top of the list, the Buckeyes absolutely have to get things righted in the secondary. Outside of a one-year positive blip in 2019 — thanks largely in part to Jeff Hafley and a guy like Chase Young hiding some issues elsewhere — Ohio State’s secondary has been nothing short of terrible for three of the last four seasons. At a program that produced first-round NFL Draft picks at cornerback in each of the three years prior and has a history of stellar defensive backs, this shockingly poor level of play cannot continue.

It seems pretty clear that Tim Walton is not the guy, and Day should not look to retain the former NFL assistant heading into 2023. We saw no improvement from any player in the cornerback unit over the course of this season, and if anything guys just got worse this past offseason — see: Denzel Burke. You have a guy on staff who just produced a pair of NFL Draftee’s at corner in his previous stop at Cincinnati in Perry Eliano, including the likely NFL DROY in Sauce Gardner, so maybe just let that guy coach the position he’s shown to have success at?

While we’re making coaching staff changes, the Parker Fleming experiment must come to an end. There is no reason to have a full-time staffer coaching your special teams unit in general, but especially when that unit was really bad this past season — specifically in the team’s biggest moments. Twice Ohio State tried to run what would have been game-changing fake punts against Michigan and Georgia, and both were a disaster for different reasons. You would be far better served replacing that spot on the staff with another full-time defensive assistant, rather than the guy too busy searching his own name on Twitter to actually coach his position group.

Another issue that has plagued Ohio State, especially over the past two seasons: strength and conditioning. How many soft-tissue injuries have we seen in Columbus to key players these last few years? How many times has a guy gotten hurt, only to never return to full strength at any point the rest of the season? How often have Ohio State players gotten visibly bigger, but shown no signs of any actual in-game benefit or strength gains along with that size? Mick Marrotti is a dinosaur, his methods are out-dated and misguided, and it is past due that Day moves on from one of the few remaining Urban Meyer holdovers and gets with the times.

As far as Day himself, we have started to see rumors that he is considering removing himself from the play-calling duties moving forward — an issue that became especially apparent in the latter half of the regular season. To his credit, Day called a very good game against Georgia, similar to that against Clemson in 2020, but he also had a full month to prepare for those games. For the most part, his game plans against some of the best teams on Ohio State’s schedule have been lacking in creativity and largely conservative, and so I think that him taking a backseat as a play-caller to function as more of a CEO of the program and a QB guru is a step in the right direction.

Ohio State fans seem exceptionally spoiled from the outside looking in. A program that routinely wins 11-plus games and just took the defending national champs to the brink in a College Football Playoff game needing to make wholesale changes may appear to be a bit of an overreaction, but that is the nature of the beast that is Ohio State. The current state of the Buckeyes is not good enough, at least by their own measures — and by their own head coach’s set of goals. Simply running it back next season and expecting better results isn’t going to get the job done.

Ohio State is one of the top three most talented teams in the country in any given year based on recruiting rankings, and so beating Michigan and winning the Big Ten should be nearly a given. This program should be competing for national titles year in and year out. Right now, none of those things are true.

As it was last time around, this will be another pivotal offseason for Ryan Day. Ohio State did take some major strides in some key areas earlier this year, but at the end of the day many of the same problems that held them back in 2021 once again proved to be their downfall in 2022. Unless those issues are resolved and tangible changes are made, they will be the same problems that doom the program in 2023. There are a ton of reasons to be optimistic about the Buckeyes next season, but if Ohio State once again goes 0-for-3 on its three main goals, that head coach’s chair in Columbus is going to be feeling mighty hot.

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Key Stats: A look at Ohio State’s late season defensive collapse over the final three games
Chris Renne 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

The Buckeyes defense was much improved in 2022, but if you only watched the final three games, you might have a different opinion.

On a snowy November day in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Ohio State Buckeyes were absorbing the effects of their first loss to the Michigan Wolverines in over a decade. The writing was on the wall way before being physically beaten down 42-27, with an already emphatic loss to the Oregon Ducks on the resume. The Buckeyes needed to bring in a new defensive coordinator.

In came Jim Knowles, a star at turning around putrid defensive units. His reputation was enough to sway Ohio State fans into thinking this year was going to be different. At the beginning, the expectations changed immediately. The Buckeyes won a ranked matchup in a defensive battle, 21-10 over Notre Dame. However, by the end of the season, those changes we saw disappeared, and costed Ohio State a chance at a national championship.

Through the first 10 games of the season, Ohio State was in the top-10 in every statistical defensive category that mattered except opponent red zone percentage. The Buckeyes ranked in the top-10 in yards per play allowed, points per game, yards per game, and third down conversion percentage. But that all changed down the stretch.

Ohio State’s defensive issues from last year arose once more, and the secondary got worse throughout the year. This culminated into a stretch of two losses to Georgia and Michigan, and a game that showed many of the remaining defensive holes against Maryland.

The final three-game stretch


Defining how the season ended for the Buckeyes starts with a sloppy matchup against Maryland. The Terrapins had Ohio State in a situation where a touchdown could have won them that game. Zach Harrison made a great individual play to end any thoughts of an upset, but the cracks were there.

Knowles did a phenomenal job in turning the defense around, but the lasting impressions will be disappointment. All the problems he was brought in to improve reappeared when it mattered most. The defense gave up big plays in the passing game, could not end drives defensively, and could not get the job done in the end. Even with these stats, the improvement was immense under Jim Knowles in year one.

More should be expected, but there is still a long way to go — as we will see below.

Opponents scored on 100 percent of their red zone trips

This area was a problem for the entirety of the season, but the difference between the first 10 games and the final three games was the amount of trips teams were taking to the red zone against the Buckeye defense. On the 12 trips inside the 20-yard line that Ohio State allowed, the final three opponents scored all 12 times, breaking down to eight touchdowns and four field goals.

From a defensive improvement standpoint, the red zone might be the one area Ohio State went backwards defensively this year. Opponents took less trips, but when they got down to the short end of the field, the Buckeyes were giving up points. The final stretch took the Buckeyes all the way down to 127th in the country, with a final season total of teams scoring 91.1 percent of the time. For comparison’s sake, the offense was third in the country in the red zone, converting 95.2 percent of the time.

This area of situational football was a struggle this season, and if the Buckeyes take another leap defensively next year, the red zone would be the place to start. Limiting trips, and more importantly limiting the touchdowns, could change the final outcome in these games.

Ohio State gave up 7.6 YPP down the stretch

Last season, Ohio State finished 31st in yards per play allowed. For much of this season, Ohio State hung out in the five to 10 range in the rankings. At the end of the year, they finished 29th overall in opponent’s yard per play, according to teamrankings.com.

This stat does not tell the whole story, because the two best teams Ohio State played all year were the last two games. Against Maryland they allowed 5.9 yards per play, which would rank 104th in the country if that were a final season total. But it was not over. The Buckeyes gave up 8.8 yards per play and 8.9 yards per play against Michigan and Georgia, respectively.

To put that into perspective, the Buckeyes gave up 6.9 yards per play in last year’s loss to Oregon, and 8.0 to Michigan in the final regular season game last year. Ohio State’s defense was more consistent throughout the season, but in games that mattered the final stats were much of the same. This is the biggest question mark on the next step for Jim Knowles and what Ohio State’s defense will look like moving forward.

We’ve seen improvement on per game basis, but next season all eyes will be on how Knowles’ defense looks in the big games. The yards per play weren’t the only problem, as there were some backbreaking explosive plays that did more damage.

Ohio State allowed five touchdowns over 50 yards

Big plays defined the last two losses for Ohio State. This is not the total number of explosive plays allowed, which Jim Knowles classifies as runs over 10 yards and passes over 15 yards, but this says everything about the last main issue issue facing the defense down the stretch.

Ohio State had the ball against Georgia up 11-points with just under nine minutes to go in the game. A drive that took any time off the clock would limit the amount Georgia had to get a second needed score. Instead, they gave up a 76 yard touchdown pass in which Lathan Ransom was left falling down in man-coverage with no help over the top.

This was not the only back breaking play down the stretch. Against Michigan there were four of them. The Wolverines completed two passes over 65 yards where a missed tackle and bad coverage led to two touchdowns. The Buckeyes also gave up a 45-yard touchdown pass where the coverage broke down. Then they allowed two long TD runs to Donovan Edwards. The final two games of the season really came down to a few plays, and this raises questions.

Against Georgia, Ohio State was doing a great job of keeping everything in front of them. Then the play-calls changed and Georgia took advantage of a defense that had shown their weaknesses down the stretch. They attacked downfield and found the results they were looking for. This is where the game was lost in the end.

Ohio State gives up 1,465 yards (488.3 YPG)

My lasting impression starts here. Ohio State gave up over 400 apiece yards in the final three games of the season. Once again, over a whole season the 488.3 yards per game allowed were a far cry from the other games. Compared to the rest of the season, Ohio State gave up 2,413 yards, which was good for No. 1 overall in the country at 241.3 yards per game. Down the stretch, giving up 488.3 yards per game felt like a different season altogether.

The Buckeyes gave up big plays and could not defend the pass, giving up 994 (331.3 YPG) passing yards during the same stretch. All of the secondary improvements that came from Knowles’ take over and the new defensive back coaches were no longer apparent. When the Buckeyes played the three most talented quarterbacks on their schedule, the defense was exposed at the most inopportune time.

In the secondary, the collapse was the most discernible from the rest of the defense. This position group will be the most significant question mark heading into the offseason, and if this doesn’t improve, the results next year will be much of the same.

What’s next for the Buckeyes?


As a self-proclaimed Jim Knowles truther, the defense looked different this year. At times there were no questions about the success of Knowles and the Ohio State defense. Injuries led to cracks in the secondary, and teams found success in attacking the Buckeye defense downfield.

That doesn’t change the fact the defense was much improved throughout most of the season with a rotating door of players playing cornerback. There was a noticeable difference in the physicality, aggressiveness, and speed the defense played with. The improvement in the front-7 was the most significant. If the secondary could match next year, maybe Cornelius Johnson and Arian Smith don’t happen.

As my fellow LGHL’er Josh Dooley wrote about, there was still a lot to be excited about, and another year in the scheme for all the players involved will be the first step to even more success next season. Returning players have not fully been decided, but the players who have to returned form a strong core that Knowles can continue building on. The likes of Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, Steele Chambers, and a few more notable names waiting to make a decision will impact the floor of the defense. The improvement of these players will be the key to raising the ceiling to another level.

This year should be seen as a foundational piece, but not looking at the collapse down the stretch would take us into a disingenuous evaluations of how the year really went. Ohio State is a long way away from the defense that was putrid on a week-to-week basis the last two seasons, but there is still a long way to go for Knowles and company. For the Buckeyes to reach their national title aspirations, improvement is still needed in a multitude of areas — as we all found out down the stretch.

For the Buckeyes, improvement will never be good enough. The results need to come with it, and Ohio State came up short of their three goals — beating Michigan, winning the Big Ten, and winning a national title. Next year, the proof will be in the results, and despite the collapse, Jim Knowles is still the man for the job.

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McMahon, Braun battle Thursday in freshman showcase
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land

Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades in 2022-23 are mostly split between two players and both take the court Thursday

In 2022-23, the Big Ten is proving itself as a top conference. Throughout its 14 teams are upperclassmen like Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, Maryland guard Diamond Miller and Indiana center Mackenzie Holmes who pull in the collective attention.

Thursday is a different type of game, when two first-year students will go head-to-head, showcasing the future. It’s between forward Cotie McMahon of the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and guard Mara Braun of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Although they play different positions, the two freshman have similarities. Both are local to their respective universities. McMahon played at a regular Buckeye recruiting pipeline on the football side in Centerville, Ohio. Braun plays even closer to home, from Wayzata, Minnesota.

They’re also both making a name for themselves in college basketball. McMahon’s 23rd ranking was five spots ahead of Braun in 2022 ESPN high school recruiting rankings, but once they joined college, Braun excelled right away.

In Minnesota’s first two games of the season, Braun went off. Against Western Illinois and Lehigh, Braun scored 68 points. In the second game, three of Braun’s 38 points came when the Golden Gophers needed it the most — at the final buzzer.

Down 98-99, Braun hit a buzzer-beating three. It wasn’t a wide-open attempt by any means. Braun hit a catch-and-shoot with the defense in her face. That fantastic shot only gave Minnesota the win, but the freshman guard her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.


While Braun’s staggering 34 points per game average to start the first week of the season hasn’t held, the guard’s still leading Minnesota with 17.4 points per game, including a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a narrow 73-70 defeat to the Virginia Cavaliers, leading to a second Freshman of the Week award.

For Ohio State, McMahon’s taken a slightly different road. The forward’s started every game for the Scarlet & Gray, but took some time to find her stride. Against then No. 5 ranked Tennessee Volunteers, McMahon made her NCAA debut with 10 points, but struggled in Ohio State’s second ranked game against the Louisville Cardinals, scoring just a point.

McMahon admits its because of time needed to adjust to the college game, and slow down a little bit to make better decisions. As McMahon began to take the advice from her coaches and teammates, her situation’s changed.

Since the tough Louisville showing, McMahon’s had a month’s worth of Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. That stretch includes four games against tough opponents in the Michigan State Spartans, USF Bulls, No. 16 Oregon Ducks and No. 14 Michigan Wolverines.

In those Buckeye victories, McMahon averaged 14 points and six rebounds. Ohio State needed McMahon the most against USF, where the Scarlet & Gray needed overtime to beat the tough Florida side. McMahon scored a career high 30 points in a night where most of her opponents offense went stagnant.

On Thursday, the only two players with multiple Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards face off, and the match-up is no secret.

“It’s definitely a competitive battle,” said McMahon. “It’s a battle between the freshmen, I think it’ll be really fun.”

McMahon also acknowledged that she’s won the award more than Braun, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more going Braun’s way through the end of the season. The thing is, Braun isn’t the only young talent Ohio State has to deal with.

“They’ve got incredible young talent, one of the most talented young teams in the league,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “They’re not an easy team to play against, because the score the ball so well.”

Part of that scoring is another Minnesota freshman, forward Mallory Heyer. While Braun leads the Golden Gophers in the points category, Heyer is third with 11.1 points and six rebounds per game.

McGuff and the Buckeyes aren’t hoping for a game where Minnesota’s dynamic freshmen duo can show their offensive might. Instead, Ohio State’s hoping their press and push the young Gophers into mistakes.

Also, it means the Buckeyes half court defense, including McMahon, needs to keep their game up when the press doesn’t work. There’s promise in the half court defense following a better half court showing against the Michigan Wolverines on New Year’s Eve.

“Our focus in practice is mainly defense. Offense will take care of itself,” said McMahon. “Working on it in practice and then having it show in the game.”

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No. 24 Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Purdue: Game preview and prediction
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes will try and knock off another top-ranked team in Columbus tonight when they host Purdue.

Ohio State hit the road for the first time in conference play on Sunday night. Having little trouble with Northwestern, the Buckeyes beat the Wildcats 73-57 in Evanston. Ohio State jumped out on Northwestern early, building a 14-3 advantage on their way to a 35-17 lead as the teams hit the halftime break. The Bucks didn’t let up in the second half, keeping Northwestern at bay to earn their second conference win of the season.

Brice Sensabaugh continued his sensational freshman season, leading the Buckeyes with 18 points. Along with Sensabaugh’s output, Sean McNeil hit three triples on his way to 15 points. Justice Sueing did a little bit of everything, scoring 13 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out five assists. Zed Key registered his fifth double-double of the season, and first since the win over Rutgers, adding 11 points and 11 rebounds to the cause.

After so many trips to Ryan Arena that have came down to the final shot, it was nice to have an Ohio State win that was easy from start to finish, especially after the pain that many Buckeye fans had to endure less than 24 hours before when the Ohio State football team failed to beat Georgia in the Peach Bowl. The Buckeye defense smothered the Wildcats, only allowing Northwestern to hit 28 percent of their shots from the field. Ohio State also did strong work on the boards, outrebounding Northwestern 46-37.

With not only his 18 points against the Wildcats, but also his 21 points on Thursday in the win over Alabama A&M, Sensabaugh now has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third straight week. The standout from Florida joins Jared Sullinger and D’Angelo Russell as the only Buckeyes to earn the honor in three consecutive weeks. Sensabaugh leads Ohio State in scoring with 15.9 points per game, and is hitting nearly 47 percent of his three-point attempts.

Preview


The 24th-ranked Buckeyes (10-3, 2-0) will now return home to take on Purdue (13-1, 2-1), who entered the week as the nation’s top ranked team before losing to Rutgers on Monday night. The teams met once last year, with Purdue earning an 81-78 win in West Lafayette. Ohio State trailed by 20 points in the second half before staging a furious comeback that was capped off by an E.J. Liddell three-pointer with 25 seconds to go to tie the game. Purdue answered with a three-pointer from Jaden Ivey at the buzzer to earn the victory.

Tonight’s game will mark the 22nd time Ohio State has taken on a top-ranked AP Top 25 team. The Buckeyes have a 10-11 record all-time against the top team in the nation, but have been strong of late in big games like this, winning eight of their last 11 games against the No. 1 team in the country. The last time Ohio State took on the top ranked team in the nation was last year in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, topping Duke 71-67 in Columbus.

Unlike Ohio State, Purdue isn’t coming into this game on a winning note. After a 13-0 start, the Boilermakers suffered their first loss of the season on Monday night when they lost at Mackey Arena to Rutgers, 65-64. Purdue trailed 34-24 at halftime, but closed the gap in the second half, with the lead changing hands a number of times in the last five minutes of the game.

Fletcher Loyer’s three-pointer with 30 seconds to go gave the Boilermakers a 64-62 lead. The Scarlet Knights answered with a three-pointer from Cam Spencer with 14 seconds left to take back the lead. Purdue got one last shot at keeping their record perfect on the season, but Brandon Newman’s three-pointer with three seconds left in the game didn’t fall. Zach Edey finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. The big Canadian now has six straight games with a double-double and 11 on the season.

Zed Key is going to have to be at the top of his game tonight, since Edey is a handful on both ends of the court. The junior has been outstanding all year long, but his performance against Minnesota really stands out. When the Boilermakers hosted the Golden Gophers, Edey recorded career-highs with 31 points and 22 rebounds. With the dominance he has shown on the court this year, Edey is going to be in the conversation for National Player of the Year honors at the end of the season.

The loss continued a couple trends from Purdue. In their last 12 losses, the Boilermakers have lost eight of these games by three points or fewer. Purdue also has had a problem with teams from New Jersey over the last few years. Since the 2019-20 season, the Boilermakers are just 1-6 against teams from the Garden State.

An area Purdue is going to try and exploit is their dominance at the free throw line. So far this year, the Boilermakers have made 248 free throws while their opponents have only attempted 150 free throws. Teams have had a tough time dealing with the size of Edey, with the big man attempting 104 free throws so far this season.

While Purdue has been great at generating points at the free throw line, lately they have been ice cold behind the three-point line. Over their last five gams, Purdue is hitting just 23 percent of their triples, with 29 of their 121 three-point attempts falling during that span. The Boilermakers have had two games this year where they have failed to reach 20 percent in three-point percentage. In the win over Austin Peay in the second game of the season, Purdue saw just two of their 19 three-point attempts fall, and more recently against Davidson, only three of 25 attempts from long range went in.

Brice Sensabaugh won’t be the only winner of multiple Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards this year in this contest. Fletcher Loyer has earned the honor twice this season. in his first two Big Ten games, Loyer scored 20 points and dished out eight assists against Minnesota. Six days later, Loyer recorded a career-high 22 points against Nebraska. The Buckeyes will have to keep an eye on Loyer behind the three-point line. Loyer hit five triples in his first college game, and in late November he hit four threes in the win over Duke in Portland.

Rounding out the key contributors for Purdue are guards Braden Smith and Brandon Newman, as well as center Caleb Furst. Smith has strong all-around skills, averaging 8.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. While Smith might not put up huge numbers, he feels like the glue that keeps the team together on the floor, just like Justice Sueing is for Ohio State.

While Zach Edey gets most of the attention for Purdue, the Buckeyes will also have their hands full with Caleb Furst. The sophomore is just a couple inches shy of seven-feet tall, giving the Boilermakers a bit of twin towers action when paired with Edey. Furst has started to find his scoring touch as the season has gone on. After not reach double figures in the first four games of the season, Furst has now scored at least 10 points six times in the last 10 games.

Prediction


Earning a win over Purdue isn’t going to be easy, but what game in the Big Ten is? It’s quite obvious what Ohio State has to do if they want to hand the Boilermakers their second straight loss: slow down Zach Edey.

The 7-foot-4 center from Toronto is who Purdue will try and feature early and often in the offense. The key for the Buckeyes is going to be Zed Key. Even though Key will give up size to Edey, he has the athletic talent to at least slow down the Purdue big man. Key will have to be careful to not get into foul trouble, or else it could be a long night for Ohio State.

If the Buckeyes are able to at least slow down Edey, it will force Purdue to look to the perimeter for their offense, which isn’t something that hasn’t worked out well for the Boilermakers of late. If Ohio State can force Purdue to take some three-pointers instead of getting the ball onto the block with Edey, Chris Holtmann has to feel great about his team’s chances in this game.

Even though Purdue comes into this game ranked No. 1 in the country, Ohio State has plenty of experience against top teams in the nation, so the moment won’t be too big for them. Buckeye teams usually find a way to reach another level when they hosted top ranked teams, so the game being at Value City Arena is an advantage, which sometimes isn’t the case in less games where the atmosphere falls flat.

While Purdue certainly has the size advantage in this game, the sum of Ohio State’s parts feel like they are greater. Not only do the Buckeyes have an outstanding freshman with Brice Sensabaugh, they also have veteran players like Justice Sueing, Issac Likekele, and Sean McNeil, who come up big when needed, and do a bit of everything on the court. Right now it feels like this Buckeye team is playing together a little better, where the Boilermakers might be doubting themselves a bit after losing their first game of the year on Monday night.


ESPN BPI: Ohio State 68.5%
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1

LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 68, Purdue 64

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