Ohio State Basketball: New look Buckeyes impressive against Bearcats
Nobody knew for sure how the Ohio State basketball team would come out of the gate after losing three starters from last year’s team.
The new look Ohio State basketball team hit the ground running and fought off the Cincinnati Bearcats at the end. It was definitely an impressive first game for Chris Holtmann’s squad.
The Buckeyes pulled off a 64-56 win on the road, not an easy task since three starters from last year’s team are gone. Especially when one of them was Keita Bates-Diop the Big Ten Player of the Year.
Ohio State got off to a great start and led Cincinnati at halftime 27-18, but could this young group of Buckeyes hang on in the second half?
They got off to a fast start but the Wesson brothers, Kaleb and Andre, ran into foul trouble. That wasn’t an issue though as Luther Muhammad and C.J. Jackson stepped up on offense.
The young freshman Muhammad buried two three-point shots and pulled up for a nice two on a drive to the paint. The veteran Jackson kept the offense in sync and his buzzer beater three gave Ohio State a 50-36 lead.
Things got interesting from that point. After going scoreless in the first half, Cincinnati’s Jarron Cumberland got on a roll.
His hot shooting, 22 points and 3-7 behind the arc, brought the Bearcats to within four points late in the game but C.J Jackson’s score on a drive put Ohio State up 62-56 and sealed the win.
The Buckeyes had a balanced attack with eight players in the scoring column and four players K. Wesson (15), Jackson (13, Muhammad (11) and Kyle Young (10) all hit double figures. Cumberland was the only Bearcat to score more than eight points.
Quick takes on the win:
The Buckeyes played with a ton of energy on both ends of the court. On offense the movement away from the ball was most impressive.
While I’m sure coach Holtmann will want to cut down on turnovers some, I think he has to be pleased with only 13 with this group playing their first game together.
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Although Ohio State played unselfish ball, players weren’t afraid to step up and make a play when it was needed. In the past sometimes players would stand around waiting for a veteran to make a play in a crucial situation but I don’t think that will be the case with this bunch.
In addition to scoring 10 points in his first start, Young pulled down eight rebounds with three on the offensive end. More importantly he challenged players in the paint, made hustle plays all over the place and hit the floor after loose balls.
The sophomore is going to be fun to watch this season if his first start is any indication what he will bring to the court every game. In fact, this entire team promises to provide plenty of excitement.
Next. 4th and Short, questions for Week 11. dark
It really was a great start for the new look Ohio State basketball team and I have a feeling this group has the potential to make some noise in the Big Ten.