Ohio State basketball hangs on to beat West Virginia

The Ohio State basketball team was looking to win their last non-conference game of the 2023-24 season when they took on West Virginia on Saturday night. The Buckeyes were playing a Mountaineers team that wasn't that good coming in as they only had a 5-7 record.

After getting a big lead in the first half, the Buckeyes had to hold on in overtime to win 78-75. It looked like they were going to run away with a victory early in the game until West Virginia was able to start making shots. A win is a win though and the Ohio State basketball team will take it.

Roddy Gayle was the offensive engine for the Buckeyes in this one. He finished with 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. His offensive prowess has been a big revelation for the Buckeyes this year. He's used his big performance in last year's Big Ten Tournament to propel him to a great start to this year.

Ohio State shot just 35% from the field in the game. But because they made 11 three-pointers, it didn't matter. As long as you make enough threes, you can pretty much make up any shooting deficit. West Virginia only made five three-pointers and that was their downfall.

With this win, the Buckeyes move to 11-2 on the season. Now they move into Big Ten play. They are currently 1-1 in the conference, having blown a big lead to Penn State earlier in the year. They will now consistently face tougher competition now that it's just conference play the rest of the way.

Do I expect the Buckeyes to continue to win games in January? I'm not sure. This team is pretty good, but all Chris Holtmann teams seem to slide in January. Until that doesn't happen, I refuse to get my hopes up. Maybe that happens this year, who knows?