Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes look to go 2-0 in the Big Ten

The Ohio State basketball team is off to great start with a 7-1 record and will attempt to improve to 2-0 in Big Ten play with a victory over Illinois.

I doubt many thought the Ohio State basketball team would get off to a 7-1 start this season after losing three starters from last year’s team. That is the situation and the Buckeyes will try to improve to 8-1 and 2-0 in conference play tonight against the Fighting Illini.

While Ohio State has had success so far this season, Illinois comes in with a 2-6 record. However, four of those six losses were to 7-1 Georgetown, 8-0 Gonzaga, 7-1 Nebraska and 5-3 Xavier.

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This has the potential to be a high scoring game. Ohio State is averaging 78 points per game while Illinois averages 77 points per contest.

Four Illinois players are averaging in double figures and three of them shoot at least 35 percent from three-point range.

Trent Frazier averages 14.7 points per game. Ayo Dosunmu 13.1, Aeron Jordan 11.1 and Giorgi Bezhanishvili 10.0. Only Bezhanishvili is shooting below 35 percent from beyond the arc.

The Buckeyes only have two players scoring in double figures but five are averaging at least eight points per game.

Center Kaleb Wesson is averaging 14.5 ppg, C.J. Jackson 13.3, Luther Muhammad 8.9, Duane Washington Jr. 8.8 and Andre Young 8.1 and that gives the Buckeyes great balance. Unfortunately, Muhammad is battling an injury so one of the other players mentioned above, or Kyle Young (7.9 ppg), may need to step up and pick up the slack on offense.

Ohio State has an advantage on the defensive end only allowing 60.1 points per game which ranks No. 18 in the country. Illinois is giving up 77.1 points per game.

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It would be quite a start if the Buckeyes were to begin Big Ten play 2-0 and 8-1 overall. Not many predicted that would be the case with Chris Holtmann’s young team.

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