Ohio State basketball: Who will lead the Buckeyes in scoring?
By Jacob Rhymer
The Ohio State basketball team had a lot of uncertainties coming into this season that are now becoming clearer as we get closer to the start of the season. The biggest uncertainty was who would lead the Buckeyes in scoring this year. Let’s get into that now.
In the last couple of seasons, Holtmann and the Buckeyes relied on a heavy dosage of wing scoring. In 2022 it was a mix of E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham. Last season Brice Sensabaugh took over as the leading scorer in his freshman year; he is now in the NBA. This season we will see a difference in where the scoring is mainly coming from.
The top candidate to lead the Ohio State basketball team in scoring is point guard Bruce Thornton. The rising sophomore really took over the Buckeye offense toward the end of his freshman season. Specifically in the Big Ten Tournament, when the Buckeyes rolled off three wins and reached the Big Ten semifinals, Thornton was dominant averaging 15.5 points per game on 46.3% shooting from the field.
Thornton will be the leader for the Buckeyes this season and that’s why I think he’ll be their leading scorer. He’s tough and can really score from any level on the floor. To help his case, Thornton also put in 21 points in a charity exhibition game against Dayton a couple of weeks ago.
Another potential leading scorer for the Ohio State basketball team is another sophomore. Roddy Gayle Jr. is a player being talked about as a potential breakout candidate in all of college basketball. He provided a major spark on the offensive end in the Big Ten Tournament last year as he averaged 12 points per game on 64% shooting in that four-game stretch. If this effort on offense carries over into this season, Gayle Jr. will be an X-factor for the Buckeyes.
If you’re looking for a newcomer who could lead the Buckeyes in scoring, I like transfer Jamison Battle. His ability to help spread the floor will help give the offense some more firepower. As for freshmen, look out for Scotty Middleton to provide a boost in scoring with his length and unique scoring ability.
The past couple of years we’ve had a general idea of who the leading scorer for the Ohio State basketball team would be. That race is wide open coming into this season. However, I think it’s safe to say the Buckeyes will have a lot of different options to help with putting the ball in the basket.
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The Ohio State basketball team begins their run at a redemption season tomorrow when they host Oakland in their first official game of the college basketball season.