The Buckeyes look to make it two in a row at home when they take on the Fighting Camels.
Ohio State (3-1) looks to stay undefeated at home when they welcome Campbell (3-2) to the Schottenstein Center tonight.
Returning from their lone loss this season, 78-64, at No. 23 Texas A&M, the Buckeyes had no trouble hitting the reset button during Monday night’s 80-30 walloping of Evansville.
Now, they get ready to host the Fighting Camels out of the Colonial Athletic Conference, in the first meeting of the two programs since 2014 and only the second of all time. The Buckeyes won that previous meeting, 91-64.
Preview
In their first 50-point win in a decade, it took the Buckeyes until about halfway through the first to kick things into gear offensively. Then, with the game tied, 12-12, at the 6:57 mark in the first, the Buckeyes took the lead on a jumper from freshman John Mobley Jr. and never looked back.
The team was slow to start in their loss to the Aggies as well, though it mattered much less against the Purple Aces than against a ranked team in a road environment. And while it took them a bit to get going Monday, the Buckeyes shot 70 percent in the final half, with sophomore forward Devin Royal leading the charge.
In his first career double-double, Royal finished the game with a career-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Meechie Johnson followed with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and Mobley Jr. put up 11, continuing his streak of double-digit point totals in each game so far this season. The freshman is second in scoring for the Buckeyes, averaging 13.5 points per game.
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Bruce Thornton, who currently leads the team in scoring and assists with an average of 13.8 points and 4.8 assists per game, struggled to find the net, but he did have a career-high seven assists against the Purple Aces.
Like the game at College Station, the Buckeye defense looked strong out of the gate. The Buckeyes held the Aggies to under 24 percent shooting in the first half, and it was more of the same against the Purple Aces, who started the game 2-of-17 from the field and shot just 19 percent. Ohio State now leads the country in field goal defense and ranks fourth in field goal defense.
Similar to the game at College Station, the two teams had a major free throw disparity. Unlike the game at College Station, the disparity swung in the Buckeyes’ favor. At A&M, the Aggies went 32-for-40 from the stripe, while Ohio State was just 16-of-22 comparatively. But Monday night, Evansville was just 5-for-10 compared to the Buckeyes, who shot 17-for-26 in free throw shooting.
On the other side, Campbell, coached by Kevin McGeehan, heads to Columbus off a nice bounce-back win of their own, having defeated Navy, 86-66, last Sunday. Though they’d lost their previous two, both losses were by fewer than 10 points, including a 65-56 loss to Virginia in which the Fighting Camels, well, put up a good fight.
Senior guard Jasin Sinani leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and assists, with 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He is the only player currently averaging more than 10 points per game, though sophomore guard Bragi Gudmundsson and senior forward Terren Frank are close with 9.4 and 9.2 points per game, respectively.
Against the Midshipmen, Campbell carried a narrow five-point lead into the half before finding its stride to secure the victory, outscoring Navy, 48-33, in the second half. Sinani was good for 24 points in the win, while Frank put up 17.
Prediction
Though the Buckeyes are favored in the matchup, Campbell will likely give the Scarlet and Gray a little more trouble than Evansville did earlier this week. The Fighting Camels are averaging 77 points per game this season (OSU, comparatively, is averaging just under that at 76.3, albeit against some tougher opponents).
The Buckeyes will need to be cognizant of finding themselves in foul trouble. The Scarlet and Gray are averaging 20.3 fouls per game compared to Campbell’s 18, and the Fighting Camels aren’t the guys you want to be in foul trouble against: They’re currently fourth in the nation in free throws, making 84 percent from the stripe. If the Camels can draw some fouls early, it could spell trouble for Ohio State, who is shooting just 72 percent from the free-throw line.
Defensively, OSU will need to contain Sinani—he’s got the talent to be a real problem if he’s allowed to be. It should be interesting to see the showdown between Ohio State’s defense and Campbell’s offense, which has a balanced attack and a lot of firepower in its arsenal.
Offensively, it would be nice to see the Buckeyes kick things off quickly and pull away early. Campbell is pretty efficient at forcing turnovers, which could keep things closer than most fans might like unless the Buckeyes can manage to get ahead early.
All in all, Ohio State should be able to lock in this win at home, but there is plenty of opportunity for intrigue and drama in the process.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 97.0%
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: BTN
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 78, Campbell 62