Ohio State men’s basketball extended its winning streak to seven games on Wednesday night, as it defeated Miami of Ohio 84-64.
When the Buckeyes took the lead following two Bruce Thornton free throws at 14-13, they never relinquished the position on top. A 39-26 halftime lead put Chris Holtmann’s team in a comfortable position, and it showed in the second half.
The win improves Ohio State’s record to 8-1, as it sets to return to Big Ten play, traveling to State College to take on Penn State on Saturday evening.
Let’s take a look back at tonight’s win, after we learned plenty about another Buckeye basketball victory.
Ohio State didn’t play its best, but …
Buckeyes in the WIN COLUMN yet again🙌
Back at 🏡 on Dec. 21 vs. New Orleans#Team125 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NCFF5S7Ous
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) December 7, 2023
What we learned
It didn’t matter. A sign of a good team is when you aren’t playing your best, you still find a way to win. It wasn’t a great night shooting or defending for the Buckeyes, but they used volume to defeat the Redhawks fairly handily. They pulled away late which made the win look much better. Ohio State may have lost a game like this last year, but this is a completely different team this season.
Ohio State’s defense did it’s job
Steal ➡️ score. 🙌 @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/Jf6WxxYdtt
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 7, 2023
What we learned
The defense wasn’t perfect, it did allow Miami to shoot 43.6%, but it was about the turnovers and subsequently the points after them. The Buckeyes dominated in this area, forcing 17 turnovers, many resulting in scoring plays. They won the rebounding battle as well, 40-29. Great job by the Ohio State defense.
Ohio State’s scoring was a team effort
ZED SLAM. 😤 @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/5c65XxvySk
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 7, 2023
What we learned
It’s going to be hard to lose when you have multiple players end with double-digit scoring. The Buckeyes had six players; Jamison Battle, Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr., Evan Mahaffey, Dale Bonner, and Zed Key, all score at least 10 points. The balanced effort is much different than we have seen in previous Ohio State teams and is a huge development going forward.
Devin Royal is still adjusting to this level
.@DevinRoyal7 has entered the chat with a field goal ✌️ pic.twitter.com/8fu0uc4pEK
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) December 7, 2023
What we learned
There was high hopes that Royal, last years Mr. Basketball in Ohio, would make an immediate impact in his freshman campaign. He’s currently coming off the bench, but is very hesitant to be aggressive on offense. It looked like he was turning the corner after scoring 11 against Central Michigan, but has struggled in the two games since — tonight scoring three points on 1-of-3 shooting. He did find other ways to contribute with 4 rebounds, but is still a work-in-progress. The talent is clearly evident.
The transfers trio of Jamison Battle, Dale Bonner and Evan Mahaffey showed up
Jamison BBBBATTLE🗣️ 🤝 333333333333
🌰 63 | 🔴 44#Team125 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8EKFchINgr
— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) December 7, 2023
What we learned
Holtmann did a great job this offseason of adding players who are immediate contributors to this team. Two of them, Battle and Mahaffey, are starters and Bonner plays plenty off the bench. It wasn’t the best shooting night for the non-starter, but he still added 11 points with 3 rebounds. Mahaffey didn’t scored much, but chipped in 10 points with 4 boards. Battle was his usually scoring self, adding 13 points.
Bonus: Big Ten Network+ is terrible
🏀 Take a look back at great moments during last basketball season between @OhioStateHoops and Texas Tech with the voice of the Buckeyes, Paul Keels with Paul’s Calls, powered by @HondaInOhio#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/QgpoEA72x8
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) December 5, 2023
What we learned
As someone who pays for the Big Ten Network as part of a cable package, you’d think there would be access to it’s family of networks. Well, that’s not the case with the plus, its streaming service. You have to play to watch, so I decided to listen to the game. Paul Keels doesn’t get enough kudos, he’s amazing as the voice of the Buckeyes. He’s a very underrated aspect of the Ohio State fan experience.
Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.
