Ohio State Info
Head Coach: Jake Diebler
Location: Columbus, OH
Conference: B1G
Nickname: Buckeyes
Mascot: Brutus Buckeye
Last time out: Beat USC
Point Spread: Ohio St by 5.5
Typical Rotation Depth: 8+
Nota bene:
- Jake Diebler parlayed his strong finish as interim coach at the end of last season into the full time job at OSU
- OSU played one of the harder non-cons in the B1G, beating Kentucky and Texas while losing to Texas A&M, Pitt, and Auburn
- While Ohio St is 17-6 vs Nebraska as members of the B1G, Nebraska has won 4 of the last 5
- Ohio St is 1 of 3 B1G teams that Nebraska plays twice this season. The others are Maryland and Iowa.
- Last month Nebraska outlasted Ohio St thanks to Brice Williams' 24 points and Juwan Gary with 19. Micah Parrish led Ohio St with a career high 30 points. Berke would leave the game near the end with an injury after scoring 15 in one of his best games as a Husker. Since that time he's missed 3 games and scored 2 points on 1-16 shooting.
- Ohio St. has been off since last Wednesday's game at USC
Player to watch: Bruce Thorton, Jr
The Ohio St PG came into this season as a member of the all-conference pre-season team and has added a consistent 3pt shot to his impressive arsenal, shooting 43.9% from 3 while leading the team in scoring and assists. Thorton is a true 3 level scorer and shoots at a high percentage from anywhere, even shooting 48.0% from mid-range. Bruce Thorton Sr was a NFL cornerback
Player to watch: John Mobley
The freshman combo guard has become a bucket for the Buckeyes and has jumped into the startling lineup with Meechie Johnson out of the picture. Mobley leads the team in 3pt attempts, currently hitting on 40.3% of them for the season, and is the type of player where you need to pick him up once he crosses half court. Inside the arc is a different story as he converts at an anemic 34.2% from mid-range and shocking 46.2% at the rim
Player to watch: Devin Royal
The bouncy forward leads the team in rebounding and lives at the rim where he converts at a high rate and draws contact. If you can get him to pull up anywhere past the rim you'll live with the results.
Ohio State 's Roster
| Player | # | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | Summary |
| Bruce Thornton | 2 | JR | G | 6-2 | 215 | 17.4 Pts 3.3 Reb 4.3 Ast |
| John Mobley | 0 | FR | G | 6-1 | 175 | 13.1 Pts 1.6 Reb 2.2 Ast |
| Devin Royal | 21 | SO | F | 6-6 | 210 | 13.3 Pts 6.9 Reb 1.1 Ast |
| Micah Parrish | 8 | SR | F | 6-6 | 180 | 12.7 Pts 4.5 Reb 1.5 Ast |
| Sean Stewart | 13 | SO | F | 6-9 | 227 | 5.6 Pts 5.7 Reb 0.6 Ast |
| Aaron Bradshaw | 4 | SO | F | 7-0 | 226 | 6.4 Pts 2.7 Reb 0.2 Ast |
| Evan Mahaffey | 12 | JR | F | 6-6 | 200 | 3.9 Pts 3.1 Reb 0.9 Ast |
| Ques Glover | 6 | SR | G | 5-11 | 182 | 4.6 Pts 1.5 Reb 1.3 Ast |
| Meechie Johnson | 1 | SR | G | 6-2 | 172 | 9.1 Pts 2.5 Reb 2.7 Ast |
| Ivan Njegovan | 17 | FR | C | 7-1 | 250 | 1.7 Pts 1.6 Reb 0.1 Ast |
| Colin White | 20 | FR | F | 6-6 | 205 | 1.3 Pts 1.0 Reb 0.4 Ast |
| Austin Parks | 25 | SO | C | 6-10 | 250 | 1.4 Pts 0.9 Reb 0.4 Ast |
| Kalen Etzler | 24 | JR | F | 6-8 | 200 | 1.4 Pts 0.6 Reb 0.0 Ast |
Other Players
San Diego St transfer forward Micah Parrish has regained his 3pt stroke, hitting 35.3% on the year; is turnover prone. Thorton, Mobley, Royal, and Parrish log most of the minutes at the 1-4. Duke transfer Sean Stewart typically starts at center where he's a shot blocker/rebounder but is very foul prone. Kentucky transfer Aaron Bradshaw is more of the same though can take a 3. Croatian freshman Ivan Njegovan is the 3rd string center who has mostly been phased out of the rotation. Samford transfer guard Ques Glover is depth at guard. Forward Evan Mahaffey is a glue guy. Freshman wing Colin White sporadically plays.
UNL Game Notes
Roster/infirmary report
Possible starters for Nebraska
3 Guard Brice Williams 6-7 214 lbs Senior
1 Guard Sam Hoiberg 6-0 185 lbs Junior
4 Forward Juwan Gary 6-6 226 lbs Senior
23 Forward Andrew Morgan 6-10 242 lbs Senior
24 Guard Rollie Worster 6-5 210 lbs Senior
Bench
34 Center Braxton Meah 7-1 264 lbs Senior
0 Guard Connor Essegian 6-4 190 lbs Junior
2 Guard Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 lbs Senior
9 Forward Berke Büyüktuncel 6-10 244 lbs Sophomore
31 Guard Cale Jacobsen 6-4 195 lbs Sophomore
12 Guard Gavin Griffiths 6-7 193 lbs Sophomore
5 Forward Braden Frager 6-7 220 lbs Freshman
8 Guard Jeffrey Grace III 6-3 200 lbs Junior
20 Forward Justin Bolis 6-8 225 lbs Sophomore
25 Guard Nick Janowski 6-4 208 lbs Freshman
35 Forward Henry Burt 6-7 222 lbs Sophomore
Out for year
51 Forward Rienk Mast 6-10 260 lbs Senior
Back against the wall Fred Hoiberg
The Skinny:
For all intents and purposes, tonight's game is a NCAA tournament elimination game. Both Ohio State and Nebraska find themselves on the bubble as both teams desperately need wins to supplement their current body of work with the added bonus of bursting the other's bubble. There are about 19 or so teams vying for about 9 spots; missed chances for both teams have made this game critical.
You could make the argument that Nebraska is best served keeping the score low and trying to pull out a win....which flies in the face of attempting to get off to a fast start. Perhaps they can split the difference tonight and try to limit the pace/damage against a Buckeye team that would like to get out in transition. It will be interesting to see who they start at center as Meah tends to be a better defender and Morgan more aggressive offensively. Berke started the last time these two played but has offensively been a trainwreck since returning for injury.
3pt defense will be key against this Ohio St team that doesn't shoot a ton of 3s but shoots them well with freshman John Mobely having Tominaga range. In OSU's last 6 games they've only managed to win the 2 where they've gone nuclear from 3 against Washington and USC. On the other side, Nebraska seems likely to commit to working inside like they did vs Minnesota as Ohio St remains the most foul prone team in the conference. It's very possible for Nebraska to FT their way to victory.
Logically it make sense for Ohio St to win this game at home on 6 day's rest. We can only hope that Nebraska zags yet again.
Prediction: Nebraska 76 - Ohio St 72
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