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Ohio State Men’s Basketball vs Texas A&M: Game Preview and Prediction
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Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes get a tough test early in the season at home against No. 15 Texas A&M.
After a season-opening win against Oakland, the Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) will now turn their attention to the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies (1-0), a talented team full of experienced players.
The Buckeyes defeated Oakland 79-73, and while there were some things to work on, it was the first game against a veteran coach like Greg Kampe, the important thing was to get out with a win and move on.
Also, the Buckeyes got an unexpected chance to test their late-game execution, and it went well, breaking the press a couple of times, securing important defensive rebounds, and making late free throws.
Ohio State finished with 17 points from Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, and Zed Key apiece to lead the team. Gayle also finished with seven rebounds and five assists, while Key chipped in eight rebounds on top of his points. Freshman Scotty Middleton finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, with five of those rebounds being on the offensive side of the ball. He played 28 minutes in his first collegiate game.
Sophomores Evan Mahaffey and Felix Okpara started for the Buckeyes but only played 14 and 13 minutes due to early foul trouble and the emergence late of Key and Middleton.
Texas A&M is also 1-0, but they had a much different route to that record than Ohio State. The Aggies defeated Texas A&M Commerce 78-46 and held the Lions to just 19 second-half points. Hayden Hefner led the way with 19 points, while Wade Taylor added 16 points.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25072824/usa_today_21836145.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Texas A&M Commerce at Texas A&M")
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Texas A&M has a well-balanced team that can beat you at all three levels. They are not an elite shooting team, but they can hit enough shots to make you respect that aspect of their game. Taylor and Hefner combined to hit 7 of their 13 three-point attempts in their first game of the year.
Led by Taylor and Tyrese Radford, this is one of the top backcourts the Buckeyes will see this season. The duo combined for 25 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds on 10-for-19 shooting and 4-for-8 shooting from three-point range. A solid and efficient start to the season.
The surprise was Hefner, whose 19 points were a career-high, and he shot 7-for-10 from the field and added four rebounds.
One thing that is currently unknown for Texas A&M is forward Julius Marble. Marble is away from the team right now for an undisclosed reason and did not play in the season opener. His status for right now is unknown, but he is not expected to be with the team for this contest.
While Marble is out, Henry Coleman and Wildens Leveque are the starting forwards. The duo combined for 14 rebounds in the opener but only five points. The game quickly got out of hand, and the guards did most of the scoring, but that will be something to monitor with Felix Okpara guarding the paint for Ohio State.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25072826/usa_today_21835272.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Oakland at Ohio State")
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
This is going to be one of the best teams the Buckeyes face all season, and it is coming very early in the season. These are great games to test exactly where a team is early on and to snuff out weaknesses before conference play starts.
This game could easily come down to which backcourt plays better. Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle or Wade Taylor and Tyrese Radford. Both backcourts are talented, but the Aggies have the experience edge, how much will that play a factor in a game down the road?
This is going to be tough for the Buckeyes to win because the Aggies will be hard to come back against if they get a lead early, and they will also be hard to put away if the Buckeyes have a lead late.
However, I do think the Buckeyes pull this one out. It will be close all game and likely will come down to who executes better late in this game, and while Texas A&M is more experienced, the Buckeyes have already had to execute late in a game to win, and that will bode in their favor.
ESPN BPI: Texas A&M 53.4%
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: Peacock
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 70, Texas A&M 67
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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
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes get a tough test early in the season at home against No. 15 Texas A&M.
After a season-opening win against Oakland, the Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) will now turn their attention to the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies (1-0), a talented team full of experienced players.
The Buckeyes defeated Oakland 79-73, and while there were some things to work on, it was the first game against a veteran coach like Greg Kampe, the important thing was to get out with a win and move on.
Also, the Buckeyes got an unexpected chance to test their late-game execution, and it went well, breaking the press a couple of times, securing important defensive rebounds, and making late free throws.
Ohio State finished with 17 points from Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, and Zed Key apiece to lead the team. Gayle also finished with seven rebounds and five assists, while Key chipped in eight rebounds on top of his points. Freshman Scotty Middleton finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, with five of those rebounds being on the offensive side of the ball. He played 28 minutes in his first collegiate game.
Sophomores Evan Mahaffey and Felix Okpara started for the Buckeyes but only played 14 and 13 minutes due to early foul trouble and the emergence late of Key and Middleton.
Texas A&M is also 1-0, but they had a much different route to that record than Ohio State. The Aggies defeated Texas A&M Commerce 78-46 and held the Lions to just 19 second-half points. Hayden Hefner led the way with 19 points, while Wade Taylor added 16 points.
Preview
Texas A&M has a well-balanced team that can beat you at all three levels. They are not an elite shooting team, but they can hit enough shots to make you respect that aspect of their game. Taylor and Hefner combined to hit 7 of their 13 three-point attempts in their first game of the year.
Led by Taylor and Tyrese Radford, this is one of the top backcourts the Buckeyes will see this season. The duo combined for 25 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds on 10-for-19 shooting and 4-for-8 shooting from three-point range. A solid and efficient start to the season.
The surprise was Hefner, whose 19 points were a career-high, and he shot 7-for-10 from the field and added four rebounds.
One thing that is currently unknown for Texas A&M is forward Julius Marble. Marble is away from the team right now for an undisclosed reason and did not play in the season opener. His status for right now is unknown, but he is not expected to be with the team for this contest.
While Marble is out, Henry Coleman and Wildens Leveque are the starting forwards. The duo combined for 14 rebounds in the opener but only five points. The game quickly got out of hand, and the guards did most of the scoring, but that will be something to monitor with Felix Okpara guarding the paint for Ohio State.
Prediction
This is going to be one of the best teams the Buckeyes face all season, and it is coming very early in the season. These are great games to test exactly where a team is early on and to snuff out weaknesses before conference play starts.
This game could easily come down to which backcourt plays better. Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle or Wade Taylor and Tyrese Radford. Both backcourts are talented, but the Aggies have the experience edge, how much will that play a factor in a game down the road?
This is going to be tough for the Buckeyes to win because the Aggies will be hard to come back against if they get a lead early, and they will also be hard to put away if the Buckeyes have a lead late.
However, I do think the Buckeyes pull this one out. It will be close all game and likely will come down to who executes better late in this game, and while Texas A&M is more experienced, the Buckeyes have already had to execute late in a game to win, and that will bode in their favor.
ESPN BPI: Texas A&M 53.4%
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: Peacock
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 70, Texas A&M 67
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