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Ohio State basketball: Can the Buckeyes beat a top-ranked team again?

By Jacob Rhymer

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes yells at his players during the game against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on December 29, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Alabama A&M 90-59. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes yells at his players during the game against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on December 29, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Alabama A&M 90-59. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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The Ohio State basketball team has an opportunity to upset the nationally top-ranked team in the country tonight as the Buckeyes host number one Purdue for an early January Big Ten heavyweight bout. If all goes as planned, the Buckeyes could be knocking off a team ranked number one in college basketball, again.

Ohio State is a little familiar with hosting the top team in college basketball and succeeding these past few seasons. They have upset number one ranked times twice already in the Chris Holtmann era. The first was on January 7th of 2018 when Ohio State upset number one Michigan State 80-64. The most recent time was a season ago when the Buckeyes knocked off Duke 71-66.

The main obstacle that could keep Ohio State from making it three straight wins against nationally top-ranked teams is Zach Edey on the inside. The 7’4″ center has been playing like the best player in the country and presents a very difficult challenge for the Buckeyes down low. Containing Edey and keeping him off the offensive glass is vital for Ohio State to pull off the huge win.

If this game had been scheduled to happen next week, Purdue would more than likely not be ranked number one in the country anymore after they were handed their first loss of the season on Monday night by Rutgers, 65-64, in Mackey Arena. With this game happening after Purdue’s loss, the Boilermakers will still have that one next to their name since the rankings haven’t been updated yet.

The Buckeyes will be looking to make this their third straight win over an AP number one team under Chris Holtmann tonight against Purdue. Right now Vegas has a lot of confidence in Ohio State to pull off the upset as they are two-point favorites to win the game according to FanDuel.

With Purdue losing on Monday, Ohio State might be catching Purdue at the right time. The Buckeyes have a track record of playing Purdue close, and I expect another close one tonight.

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The Ohio State basketball team has been playing really well as of late and is riding a lot of momentum heading into this game against Purdue. Tip-off for the huge Big Ten match-up is set for 7:00 PM on Fox Sports 1.

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