Ohio State got a first look at itself Wednesday, and the picture was a mixed one.
The Buckeyes opened preseason play in an outdoor setting at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, falling to Cincinnati 79-68 in the CareSource Invitational. Ohio State spent 22 straight minutes in front, stretching from the middle of the first half to just inside the 10-minute mark of the second half, but Cincinnati took over late, outscoring the Buckeyes 49-33 after halftime and closing on a 30-12 burst.
John Mobley Jr. led Ohio State with 15 points in the first action of his junior season, giving the Buckeyes a steady scoring punch in the loss. Amare Bynum and freshman guard LJ Smith added nine points apiece, while Jimmie Williams and Justin Pippen chipped in eight each off the bench.
Ohio State used 11 players in the game, with Bynum, Anthony Thompson, Curtis Givens III and Ivan Njegovan joining Mobley in the starting five. The Buckeyes finished 22-for-54 from the field, 4-for-23 from 3-point range and 20-for-36 at the line. They also turned it over 16 times and were beaten on the glass 45-35.
Cincinnati got 21 points from Tylen Riley, while Tyler Tejada scored 17 and Jayden Hastings added 16. The Bearcats shot 29-for-60 overall and 6-for-19 from deep, and they made their edge in the second half count.
The game was part of a larger CareSource Invitational that brought together four Ohio teams. After Ohio State and Cincinnati, Dayton met Xavier. It was the kind of event Jake Diebler said he had wanted since taking over as head coach.
“I think this is great. This is great for the basketball community in Ohio.
And it’s been a long time coming,” Ohio State head coach Diebler said in July. “I’ve been vocal about this since I first got the job and wanted something like this to happen.
There are so many moving parts. There are so many moving parts to make something like this happen.
It takes a lot of people. And I’m just excited.
Everyone got together to make it happen.”
The Invitational also carried a purpose beyond the scoreboard. CareSource, the nonprofit sponsor of the event, provides government-sponsored health insurance plans and supports mental health awareness while raising funds for suicide prevention.
Ohio State has one more exhibition on the calendar before the games count for real. The Buckeyes will host Butler at the Schottenstein Center on Oct. 25, with the game set to stream on B1G+. The regular season begins Nov. 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah, against BYU.
In Other News...
Simeon Caldwell Is Giving Ohio States Secondary A New Decision To Make
Simeon Caldwell arrived at Ohio State with the kind of preseason expectations that usually keep a freshman safety in the background, but his early work has pushed him into a more meaningful spot in the Buckeyes secondary. He has seen the field in multiple games already, and his usage has grown as the coaching staff has continued to trust him more in the defensive rotation. The staffs interest in him has only sharpened because he brings versatility to a room that already has plenty of competition.
Caldwells most notable opportunities have come in expanded snaps against Iowa, where he held up well in coverage and showed he can tackle in space. His role has been growing in nickel and dime packages, the kind of subpackages that demand safeties who can handle tight ends and bigger receivers without sacrificing too much on the back end. For Ohio State, that kind of flexibility gives the defense another option to sort through, and it could keep changing how the secondary is deployed from week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Freshmen Suddenly Have A Real Chance To Break Through
Ryan Days latest update on Ohio States young wide receivers gave a clearer picture of where the room stands heading into Maryland. Freshmen Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd have been making progress, and Day said both have shown the kind of confidence that can earn more trust in the passing game. With the Buckeyes still sorting through their receiver rotation, the door is at least a little more open for the first-year players to carve out snaps.
The timing matters because Ohio State may need extra help at the position, and the staff has already been looking for more ways to spread the field. That creates a real opening for Henry and Boyd to get involved in a game that could test the depth chart a little more than expected, while Kyle Parker is also positioned to enter the mix after missing the early part of the season. The next step is whether those practice flashes turn into actual game reps when the Buckeyes line up against Maryland. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has A Few Injury Questions At The Worst Time
Ohio States first availability report for the Maryland game brought a few expected bumps, but the overall picture was still fairly manageable. The Buckeyes entered the week with several players either out or uncertain, yet the list also suggested the roster is generally in good shape heading into the matchup.
The biggest concern for the offense is the status of wide receivers Devin McCuin and Brandon Inniss, both of whom were listed as questionable. On the other side of the ball, safety Leroy Roker III was ruled out, leaving Ohio State to sort through a handful of late-week injury questions at a time when depth and stability matter even more. [Read more 🡒]