Jami Jurich
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Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Valparaiso: Game preview and prediction
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The Buckeyes look to bounce back from a routing as they welcome Coach Diebler’s alma mater to Columbus.
Ohio State heads home to regroup as they welcome Valparaiso to Value City Arena tonight.
The Buckeyes (6-4 overall, 5-1 at home) return to Columbus on the heels of their 91-53 thumping by Auburn in Atlanta on Saturday, after a slow start against a dominant team proved impossible to recover from.
The matchup with Valparaiso is a matchup of familiar faces, as Ohio State head coach Jake Dieber played his collegiate career with the Beacons (then the Crusaders) before spending four years as a member of their coaching staff. Valparaiso (5-4, 0-1 away), out of the Missouri Valley Conference, are heading to Columbus following a 16-point win over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday.
Tonight’s game marks the first meeting of the two programs since 2011 and the fourth all-time, with the Buckeyes technically going 2-0 against the Beacons (with both wins at home). Diebler was on the team for Valpo’s 2006 loss to OSU. The third meeting—a win for Valpo in 2000—was later vacated by the NCAA.
The Beacons are averaging 78.8 points per game, with a 43.5 percent shooting percentage overall.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25793493/usa_today_24988463.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Holiday Hoopsgiving-Ohio State at Auburn")
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
There’s no way to sugarcoat Saturday’s loss against No. 2 Auburn, which marked OSU’s third loss in four games. The Buckeyes couldn’t afford to take their time against the Tigers in general, so when Auburn star Johni Broome started the game on fire (good for 11 points and six rebounds in the opening seven minutes), the slow start was an insurmountable hurdle.
Even after a seven scoreless minutes for the Tigers, the Buckeyes couldn’t get the offense going enough to overcome the deficit they’d accrued, with Auburn heading into halftime comfortably leading, 49-21. Broome alone accounted for 17 of those first half points, along with 12 rebounds.
Turnovers and poor shooting plagued Ohio State through much of the first half. The Buckeyes lost possession five times, accounting for eight points for the Tigers, and shot just 6-of-24 from the field. They made just one shot from three-point range of five attempts, and shot only 57.1 percent from the free throw line. Even into the second half, the Buckeyes never found offensive rhythm—the team’s scoring leader Bruce Thornton didn’t even record points until the final five minutes of the game.
The Tigers, on the other hand, proved why their offense is so dominant, shooting 19-for-39 from the field and 9-for-16 from long range for the first half, and finished the game 33-of-72 and 13-of-30 from three-point range. Broome totaled 21 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and six assists in the game.
The lone positive note for OSU was double-digit scoring from both sophomore forward Devin Royal (14 points, five rebounds) and senior guard Micah Parrish (10 points, two assists and a block). Sophomore forward Sean Stewart led with six rebounds.
Both Royal and Parrish have scoring averages in double-digits, at 14.1 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Royal also leads the team in rebounds, with an average of 7.2 per game.
Though Thornton was good for just three points against Auburn, he is currently averaging 14.9 points (the team high), 2.7 rebounds and five assists per game. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr., who is averaging 12.4 points per game, still sits second in the country in three-point shooting with a 54 percent average from long range.
The Beacons spent their Saturday very differently than the Buckeyes, securing a solid win over Central Michigan to snap a two-game skid, thanks in large part to a 26-point performance from freshman guard All Wright. A whopping 57 of their 93 points came in the second half.
Wright, who is averaging 9.9 points per game this season, shot 50 percent from three-point range and 100 percent from the charity stripe in the outing.
Senior guard Tyler Schmidt sits atop the leaderboard in scoring for the Beacons, averaging 12.9 points per game. He is also good for 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Also averaging in double digits for Valpo are junior guard Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (11.6 ppg) and sophomore forward Cooper Schwieger (11.1 ppg), who also leads the team in rebounds with 7.1 per game.
De La Cruz Monegro also faced the Buckeyes last season as a member of the Western Michigan Broncos. The junior guard scored seven points in 30 minutes as Ohio State downed WMU last November, 73-56.
PREDICTION
Tuesday is a much-needed reset opportunity for an Ohio State team that got downright dominated this weekend but should be the dominant ones on the court tonight.
The Buckeyes should be angry, which will hopefully fuel them offensively, especially against a Valpo defense that has struggled to build any sort of momentum this season. It’s an opportunity for OSU to use the three-point differential between these two teams to their advantage: OSU is shooting 41.3 percent from three-point range, compared to the Beacons’ 33.2 percent.
Thornton, who has been hit-or-miss this season, needs to take advantage of this opportunity to find his confidence, and the team must execute better. They’ll also need to keep their eye on Wright, as another lights-out performance from him could crack the door for an upset.
But ultimately, while this game should be a fun one given Diebler’s ties to Valparaiso, it should not be a close one. The Buckeyes are heavily favored—by a 20.5-point margin—so if there were ever a time for them to snap out of their slump, this is it.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 95.8%
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Peacock
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Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
The Buckeyes look to bounce back from a routing as they welcome Coach Diebler’s alma mater to Columbus.
Ohio State heads home to regroup as they welcome Valparaiso to Value City Arena tonight.
The Buckeyes (6-4 overall, 5-1 at home) return to Columbus on the heels of their 91-53 thumping by Auburn in Atlanta on Saturday, after a slow start against a dominant team proved impossible to recover from.
The matchup with Valparaiso is a matchup of familiar faces, as Ohio State head coach Jake Dieber played his collegiate career with the Beacons (then the Crusaders) before spending four years as a member of their coaching staff. Valparaiso (5-4, 0-1 away), out of the Missouri Valley Conference, are heading to Columbus following a 16-point win over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday.
Tonight’s game marks the first meeting of the two programs since 2011 and the fourth all-time, with the Buckeyes technically going 2-0 against the Beacons (with both wins at home). Diebler was on the team for Valpo’s 2006 loss to OSU. The third meeting—a win for Valpo in 2000—was later vacated by the NCAA.
The Beacons are averaging 78.8 points per game, with a 43.5 percent shooting percentage overall.
PREVIEW
There’s no way to sugarcoat Saturday’s loss against No. 2 Auburn, which marked OSU’s third loss in four games. The Buckeyes couldn’t afford to take their time against the Tigers in general, so when Auburn star Johni Broome started the game on fire (good for 11 points and six rebounds in the opening seven minutes), the slow start was an insurmountable hurdle.
Even after a seven scoreless minutes for the Tigers, the Buckeyes couldn’t get the offense going enough to overcome the deficit they’d accrued, with Auburn heading into halftime comfortably leading, 49-21. Broome alone accounted for 17 of those first half points, along with 12 rebounds.
Turnovers and poor shooting plagued Ohio State through much of the first half. The Buckeyes lost possession five times, accounting for eight points for the Tigers, and shot just 6-of-24 from the field. They made just one shot from three-point range of five attempts, and shot only 57.1 percent from the free throw line. Even into the second half, the Buckeyes never found offensive rhythm—the team’s scoring leader Bruce Thornton didn’t even record points until the final five minutes of the game.
The Tigers, on the other hand, proved why their offense is so dominant, shooting 19-for-39 from the field and 9-for-16 from long range for the first half, and finished the game 33-of-72 and 13-of-30 from three-point range. Broome totaled 21 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and six assists in the game.
The lone positive note for OSU was double-digit scoring from both sophomore forward Devin Royal (14 points, five rebounds) and senior guard Micah Parrish (10 points, two assists and a block). Sophomore forward Sean Stewart led with six rebounds.
Both Royal and Parrish have scoring averages in double-digits, at 14.1 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Royal also leads the team in rebounds, with an average of 7.2 per game.
Though Thornton was good for just three points against Auburn, he is currently averaging 14.9 points (the team high), 2.7 rebounds and five assists per game. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr., who is averaging 12.4 points per game, still sits second in the country in three-point shooting with a 54 percent average from long range.
The Beacons spent their Saturday very differently than the Buckeyes, securing a solid win over Central Michigan to snap a two-game skid, thanks in large part to a 26-point performance from freshman guard All Wright. A whopping 57 of their 93 points came in the second half.
Wright, who is averaging 9.9 points per game this season, shot 50 percent from three-point range and 100 percent from the charity stripe in the outing.
Senior guard Tyler Schmidt sits atop the leaderboard in scoring for the Beacons, averaging 12.9 points per game. He is also good for 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Also averaging in double digits for Valpo are junior guard Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (11.6 ppg) and sophomore forward Cooper Schwieger (11.1 ppg), who also leads the team in rebounds with 7.1 per game.
De La Cruz Monegro also faced the Buckeyes last season as a member of the Western Michigan Broncos. The junior guard scored seven points in 30 minutes as Ohio State downed WMU last November, 73-56.
PREDICTION
MONEGROOOO ️@M0negro delivers with the wide openoff the pass from @Tyler_schmidt23 #GoValpo pic.twitter.com/aRKOPoLjab
— Valpo Basketball (@ValpoBasketball) December 14, 2024
Tuesday is a much-needed reset opportunity for an Ohio State team that got downright dominated this weekend but should be the dominant ones on the court tonight.
The Buckeyes should be angry, which will hopefully fuel them offensively, especially against a Valpo defense that has struggled to build any sort of momentum this season. It’s an opportunity for OSU to use the three-point differential between these two teams to their advantage: OSU is shooting 41.3 percent from three-point range, compared to the Beacons’ 33.2 percent.
Thornton, who has been hit-or-miss this season, needs to take advantage of this opportunity to find his confidence, and the team must execute better. They’ll also need to keep their eye on Wright, as another lights-out performance from him could crack the door for an upset.
But ultimately, while this game should be a fun one given Diebler’s ties to Valparaiso, it should not be a close one. The Buckeyes are heavily favored—by a 20.5-point margin—so if there were ever a time for them to snap out of their slump, this is it.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 95.8%
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Peacock
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 76, Valparaiso 53
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