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Ohio State vs. West Virginia (in Cleveland), Saturday Dec. 13, 8pm EST, ESPNU

Ohio State vs. Illinois 12-9-25

Buckeyes Take on West Virginia in Cleveland on Saturday​

12/11/2025 8:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Ohio State vs. West Virginia
Date:
December 13, 2025
Time: 8 p.m.
Venue: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, Ohio
TV: ESPNU
Listen: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Rosters: Ohio State | West Virginia
Season Stats: Ohio State | West Virginia
Game Notes: Ohio State Media Center

TICKETS: Season, single-game, group and mini plans are available for all men’s basketball games this season. Visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com or call the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center at 1-800-GOBUCKS.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State heads up interstate 71 to take Cleveland for a neutral site non-conference matchup with West Virginia Saturday as part of the Cleveland Hoops Showdown at Rocket Arena. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU. John Schriffen and King McClure will call the action.
The game can also be heard on the Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield. Paul Keels and former Buckeye captain Ron Stokes are on the call.
  • This will be the 19th all-time meeting between Ohio State and West Virginia and the third meeting in Cleveland. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 10-8 but West Virginia has won eight of the last 10 meetings.
  • The teams split the previous two games in Cleveland as the Mountaineers won 67-59 in 2019 and then the Buckeyes won an overtime thriller 78-75 in 2023.
  • In that 2023 game, Roddy Gayle Jr. scored a career-high 32 points and Ohio State held on for a gritty 78-75 overtime victory. Jamison Battle added 17 points after knocking down five three-pointers, all coming in the second half and overtime.
  • The Buckeyes are coming off a hard-fought 88-80 setback to No. 13 Illinois at home on Tuesday night. Bruce Thornton had a tremendous night, making his first nine shots, including six from long range, and finishing with 34 points, six rebounds and six assists. His six threes marked a new career-high. Christoph Tilly added 13 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
  • Thornton is just the third Buckeye in the last 40 years with a game of 34 points, six rebounds and six assists, joining Doug Etzler in 1995 and Dennis Hopson who did it twice during the 1986-87 season.
  • Thornton has had an efficient start to the season. He is shooting 55.6 percent from long range, which is third-best in the country. His overall shooting percentage is 62.3 percent and that’s third in Big Ten and fifth-best among all guards in the country.
  • In addition to Thornton, three other Buckeyes are averaging 13 points per game. Tilly is averaging 13.8 points and a team-best 5.3 rebounds per game. John Mobley Jr. is scoring 13.7 ppg and has made 20 three-pointers. Devin Royal has made nearly 40 percent of his three-point attempts and is scoring 13.6 ppg.
  • The Buckeyes are still 10th in the country in effective field goal percentage at 60.1 percent.
  • West Virginia opened the year with five-consecutive wins, including a 71-49 victory over Pitt. The Mountaineers have then gone 3-3 and are coming off a 90-58 victory over Little Rock on Tuesday night. WVU is third in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 58.4 points per game.
 
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Those two rankings make absolutely no sense.

They've held 4 teams under 50

Lehigh (47 points)
Pitt (49 points)
Mercyhurst (38 points)
Coppin State (49 points)

using KenPoms adjusted offense rankings

Lehigh 295
Pitt 97
Mercyhurst 332
Coppin State 362

So, Pitt is an outlier there, these games against completely terrible offenses inflate that stat quite a bit.

Clemson, Xavier & Wake Forest all scored 70 or more against them.
 
Upvote 0
They've held 4 teams under 50

Lehigh (47 points)
Pitt (49 points)
Mercyhurst (38 points)
Coppin State (49 points)

using KenPoms adjusted offense rankings

Lehigh 295
Pitt 97
Mercyhurst 332
Coppin State 362

So, Pitt is an outlier there, these games against completely terrible offenses inflate that stat quite a bit.

Clemson, Xavier & Wake Forest all scored 70 or more against them.
I was going to say... You would think a team defense that good would have a better NET ranking but evidently their Offense is not good either? Either way Buckeyes better start winning on the court or its going to remain just something to watch while we're waiting on football playoffs and the Spring game!

Actually hoping baseball gets its act together this year but thats a different topic.
 
Upvote 0
I was going to say... You would think a team defense that good would have a better NET ranking but evidently their Offense is not good either? Either way Buckeyes better start winning on the court or its going to remain just something to watch while we're waiting on football playoffs and the Spring game!

Actually hoping baseball gets its act together this year but thats a different topic.

Kenpom has them 113th in adjusted offense, for comparison sakes Ohio State is 32nd.
 
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