Ohio State is walking into one of its biggest early tests with the numbers stacked against it. The Buckeyes, 2-1, face No.
4 UConn tonight at 7:30 p.m. at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut, in the first meeting of a two-year home-and-home series. Next season, the Huskies will come to Columbus and play at the Schottenstein Center.
The gap between the teams is pretty clear on paper. KenPom gives Ohio State just a 22% chance to win, while ESPN’s BPI has the Buckeyes at 14.3%.
DraftKings has UConn favored by 10.5 points. And with the Huskies allowing only 54 points per game so far, an Ohio State win would count as a real upset in every sense.
UConn has opened 3-0 with two blowouts - 40-plus-point wins over Wagner and Gardner-Webb, both sub-300 in KenPom - plus an 85-77 neutral-site win over Michigan. Ohio State’s start has been more uneven.
The Buckeyes dropped their opener, 94-83, to No. 25 BYU, a game in which they gave up 60 second-half points and turned in one of their worst defensive showings in several years.
They’ve since beaten Youngstown State and Marshall, but neither game came easily. Ohio State began the season 18th in KenPom and has slipped to No.
That rough defensive start is why the conversation around this matchup keeps circling back to one thing: which Buckeye has to pop for Ohio State to have a shot?
One answer is Justin Pippen. Ohio State brought him in this summer to be a point-of-attack defender, someone who could bother the ball and still chip in around 10 points a night as a third or fourth scoring option.
That version hasn’t fully shown up yet. Pippen was fifth in the ACC last season with a 3.5% steal percentage and ranked inside the top 100 nationally, and he came to Columbus with a reputation from Cal as a physical, difficult defender.
But through three games, he hasn’t quite been that guy.
Pippen himself said after the Marshall win that he is still sorting out how Ohio State wants to defend and how he naturally plays. He said he is not “quite there” yet.
That matters because the Buckeyes have already seen what happens when opposing guards get loose. BYU’s Rob Wright scored 35, and Marshall’s Noah Otshudi put up 27. If Ohio State can’t stay in front of the ball, UConn’s Braylon Mullins and Silas Demary will have plenty of film to study.
The other name in the mix is Anthony Thompson, the five-star freshman who could be the kind of shot-making and rebounding boost Ohio State needs. Thompson is averaging 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds, but he just turned in his best game of the season against Marshall with 11 points and six rebounds. Ten of those points came in the first half, and he played only five minutes after halftime.
Jake Diebler said that was tied to the Buckeyes using a three-guard look with Justin Pippen, Jimmie Williams, and John Mobley alongside Amare Bynum and a center. Diebler also said Thompson’s solid first half “relieved some pressure” and that “his confidence has not wavered one bit.”
Thompson showed enough against Marshall to hint at what he can become. If he can deliver 14 to 18 points tonight, Ohio State would take some of the burden off Mobley and Bynum and give itself a much better chance to hang around in Hartford.
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Desmond Howard Took Another Shot At Jeremiah Smith And Buckeyes Fans Wont Like It
Desmond Howard stirred the pot again on First Take, taking aim at Jeremiah Smith and suggesting the Ohio State receiver has not delivered decisive moments in big games over the past two years. It is the kind of criticism that lands loudly in Columbus, especially with Smith already carrying the kind of national profile that makes every comment about him feel bigger than it should.
The pushback is easy to find in Ohio States own recent games, from Smiths game-winning touchdown against Indiana to a strong showing against Iowa that featured key receptions and scores. Even with the Buckeyes College Football Playoff path still uncertain, Smith remains one of the sports top Heisman Trophy candidates, which is exactly why any fresh swipe at his big-game rsum is going to get noticed. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Faces A Bigger Problem Than Just Beating Northwestern
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The path forward is complicated by more than just its own inconsistency. The Buckeyes are also watching results elsewhere, with teams such as UCLA, Indiana, USC, Oregon and Iowa all shaping the postseason picture around them. Even if Ohio State handles Northwestern, the bigger question is whether this group can sharpen enough to hold its place in a crowded Big Ten race and keep its playoff hopes alive. [Read more 🡒]
Northwestern Coach Sounds Off After Ohio State Call Changed The Game
David Braun had plenty to say after Northwesterns 28-19 loss to Ohio State, and much of it started with respect for the Buckeyes. The Wildcats coach praised Ohio States performance and pointed to the programs recent success as the kind of standard his team is trying to chase, even while the result left Northwestern still searching for a breakthrough in Big Ten play.
Braun also made clear he disagreed with the replay ruling that helped swing momentum toward an Ohio State touchdown, a moment that only added to Northwesterns frustration. Beyond the officiating, he said the Wildcats have to clean up their penalties, and he offered a cautious update on injured quarterback Aidan Chiles, saying the recovery remains a week-to-week process. [Read more 🡒]