The Ohio State basketball team looked really good in the first game of the season against Texas. They shot 50% from three and took down the ranked Longhorns. After that win, Ohio State found themselves ranked 21st in the country ahead of their matchup with Youngstown State.
After having such a hot start shooting the ball, the Ohio State Buckeyes were hoping to have a similar effort against the Penguins in their home opener. They kept up that hot shooting, shooting 55% from the field and 45.5% from three as they blitzed Youngstown State 81-47.
The Buckeyes took fewer threes in this game than they did against Texas. They shot just 22 threes as opposed to the 28 they launched in the opener. John Mobley Jr., aka Juni, was hot off the bench again. He made three of his four threes and finished with 16 points.
The Ohio State basketball team empties the bench against Youngstown State
Mobley was tied for the leading scorer for Ohio State. Aaron Bradshaw was the other player with 16. He also added eight rebounds and a couple of blocks. Bradshaw actually hit a three in this one as well, showing his versatility as the starting center for the team.
The defense is what impressed me most about this Ohio State win. They allowed the Penguins to shoot just 23.7% from the field. You're not going to win any games when your shooting percentage is that low. They were contesting shots all night and closing out very quickly on open shooters.
The Buckeyes actually emptied the bench in this game and everyone who could play did play. That likely won't be the case in their matchup on Friday night against Texas A&M. The Aggies are a ranked foe, and this will be Ohio State's first true road game of the year.
This is a great start for the Buckeyes. With the way they play now, they should be able to sustain it too.