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Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Auburn: Game preview and prediction
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Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Buckeyes will have their hands full in Atlanta as they take on one of the top teams in the country.
After a week off from games, The Ohio State Buckeyes (6-3, 1-1) will head to Atlanta and State Farm Arena for the Holiday Hoopsgiving Event to face the No. 2 Auburn Tigers (8-1).
The other games in the event will be Florida against Arizona State and Grand Canyon against Georgia. The Buckeyes and Tigers kick things off at 1:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Gators and Sun Devils at 3:30. The Grand Canyon Antelopes and Georgia Bulldogs wrap up the college action at 6:00.
Not many teams, if any, have played a tougher schedule than Auburn. The Tigers have played No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 9 Duke, and Memphis.
Their only loss thus far was to Duke in Durham, 84-78. The Tigers still have to play No. 11 Purdue next Saturday, a “neutral” site game in Birmingham, Alabama. Auburn’s last game was a 98-54 thumping of Richmond last Saturday.
Ohio State is coming off a solid bounce-back 80-66 win over Rutgers last weekend after getting blown out by Maryland to open up Big Ten play, which puts the Buckeyes’ Big Ten record at an even 1-1 to start the year.
According to KenPom, Auburn is the No. 1 team in the country, No. 1 in offensive efficiency, and No. 22 in defensive efficiency. Ohio State is ranked No. 28 overall, No. 21 in offensive efficiency, and No. 37 in defensive efficiency.
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Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The No. 2 ranked Auburn Tigers come into this one led by one of the best players in the country, Johni Broome.
Broome leads the Tigers in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks and is averaging 19.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game. He is shooting 56.6 percent from the field and has been one of the most dominant players in the country.
Auburn is a deep team, with seven players averaging at least eight points per game. Chad Baker-Mazara is averaging 13.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Freshman Tahaad Pettiford and Georgia Tech senior transfer Miles Kelly are averaging 11.3 and 11.0 points per game, respectively.
Junior point guard and three-year captain Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes into this contest back in his home state. The standout guard is averaging 16.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
He has been incredibly efficient, shooting 56 percent from the field, 53 percent from three-point range, and 82 percent from the free-throw line. Thornton also leads the Buckeyes in minutes as the only player to average over 30 minutes a game at 32.7.
Breakout sophomore forward Devin Royal has had a great first nine games of the season, averaging 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 62 percent shooting from the field.
Freshman sensation John Mobley Jr. is averaging 12.9 points per game on 55 percent shooting from three-point range. He is only shooting 49 percent from the field, so he has struggled with finishing at the rim, but has been an offensive spark plug off the bench with his shooting of the deep ball.
Senior transfers Micah Parrish and Meechie Johnson are averaging 10.2 and 9.6 points per game, respectively. Johnson has been decent this year, but he is down almost five points per game from last season, even though his three-point shooting numbers are up.
Sophomore transfer center Aaron Bradshaw is back with the team after missing the last five games due to a university investigation, but it is unclear if he will play in this one, as head coach Jake Diebler said this week that Bradshaw still needs to go through a “return to play” process. The 7-foot-1 center would be useful to help clog the paint against Broome and this talented Auburn frontcourt.
The Buckeyes have shot the ball very well this year, shooting 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three-point line.
An issue this season has been at the free-throw line, as the Buckeyes are shooting just 67.6 percent from the charity stripe, and only three Buckeyes are shooting over 70 percent from the free-throw line (Thornton, Mobley, Bradshaw).
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25789541/usa_today_24941953.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Richmond at Auburn")
John Reed-Imagn Images
I think the Buckeyes will lose this matchup, but if they can keep it close, it will say a lot about the team.
Simply put, Auburn is one of the best teams in the country and a national title contender, while Ohio State does not look like either of those things thus far. The Buckeyes have had trouble against bigger and more physical teams like Texas A&M and Maryland, and Johni Broome is one of the top players in the country.
I don’t know how the Buckeyes will stop Broome in the paint, even if Aaron Bradshaw plays. If he doesn’t, Broome will likely be able to dictate how this game is played below the basket and have one of his best games of the season.
However, if the Buckeyes can at least keep it close, it will help their confidence moving forward that they can play with a team that has national title hopes.
ESPN BPI: Auburn 77.0%
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
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justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Buckeyes will have their hands full in Atlanta as they take on one of the top teams in the country.
After a week off from games, The Ohio State Buckeyes (6-3, 1-1) will head to Atlanta and State Farm Arena for the Holiday Hoopsgiving Event to face the No. 2 Auburn Tigers (8-1).
The other games in the event will be Florida against Arizona State and Grand Canyon against Georgia. The Buckeyes and Tigers kick things off at 1:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Gators and Sun Devils at 3:30. The Grand Canyon Antelopes and Georgia Bulldogs wrap up the college action at 6:00.
Not many teams, if any, have played a tougher schedule than Auburn. The Tigers have played No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 9 Duke, and Memphis.
Their only loss thus far was to Duke in Durham, 84-78. The Tigers still have to play No. 11 Purdue next Saturday, a “neutral” site game in Birmingham, Alabama. Auburn’s last game was a 98-54 thumping of Richmond last Saturday.
Ohio State is coming off a solid bounce-back 80-66 win over Rutgers last weekend after getting blown out by Maryland to open up Big Ten play, which puts the Buckeyes’ Big Ten record at an even 1-1 to start the year.
According to KenPom, Auburn is the No. 1 team in the country, No. 1 in offensive efficiency, and No. 22 in defensive efficiency. Ohio State is ranked No. 28 overall, No. 21 in offensive efficiency, and No. 37 in defensive efficiency.
Preview
The No. 2 ranked Auburn Tigers come into this one led by one of the best players in the country, Johni Broome.
Broome leads the Tigers in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks and is averaging 19.6 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game. He is shooting 56.6 percent from the field and has been one of the most dominant players in the country.
Auburn is a deep team, with seven players averaging at least eight points per game. Chad Baker-Mazara is averaging 13.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Freshman Tahaad Pettiford and Georgia Tech senior transfer Miles Kelly are averaging 11.3 and 11.0 points per game, respectively.
Junior point guard and three-year captain Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes into this contest back in his home state. The standout guard is averaging 16.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
He has been incredibly efficient, shooting 56 percent from the field, 53 percent from three-point range, and 82 percent from the free-throw line. Thornton also leads the Buckeyes in minutes as the only player to average over 30 minutes a game at 32.7.
Breakout sophomore forward Devin Royal has had a great first nine games of the season, averaging 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 62 percent shooting from the field.
Freshman sensation John Mobley Jr. is averaging 12.9 points per game on 55 percent shooting from three-point range. He is only shooting 49 percent from the field, so he has struggled with finishing at the rim, but has been an offensive spark plug off the bench with his shooting of the deep ball.
Senior transfers Micah Parrish and Meechie Johnson are averaging 10.2 and 9.6 points per game, respectively. Johnson has been decent this year, but he is down almost five points per game from last season, even though his three-point shooting numbers are up.
Sophomore transfer center Aaron Bradshaw is back with the team after missing the last five games due to a university investigation, but it is unclear if he will play in this one, as head coach Jake Diebler said this week that Bradshaw still needs to go through a “return to play” process. The 7-foot-1 center would be useful to help clog the paint against Broome and this talented Auburn frontcourt.
The Buckeyes have shot the ball very well this year, shooting 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three-point line.
An issue this season has been at the free-throw line, as the Buckeyes are shooting just 67.6 percent from the charity stripe, and only three Buckeyes are shooting over 70 percent from the free-throw line (Thornton, Mobley, Bradshaw).
Prediction
I think the Buckeyes will lose this matchup, but if they can keep it close, it will say a lot about the team.
Simply put, Auburn is one of the best teams in the country and a national title contender, while Ohio State does not look like either of those things thus far. The Buckeyes have had trouble against bigger and more physical teams like Texas A&M and Maryland, and Johni Broome is one of the top players in the country.
I don’t know how the Buckeyes will stop Broome in the paint, even if Aaron Bradshaw plays. If he doesn’t, Broome will likely be able to dictate how this game is played below the basket and have one of his best games of the season.
However, if the Buckeyes can at least keep it close, it will help their confidence moving forward that they can play with a team that has national title hopes.
ESPN BPI: Auburn 77.0%
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
LGHL score prediction: Auburn 84, Ohio State 74
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