While the end result of Ohio State's first true test of the season may have been a loss, the Buckeyes sure found out a lot about themselves in that 64-55 defeat at the hands of Louisville.
Ohio State got down by as many as 19 points in the first half and trailed by 17 at halftime in a first half where they were overmatched in nearly every facet of the game. But somehow, someway, the Buckeyes found themselves down by just three.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colgate (1-7) | Schottenstein Center | 4:30 p.m. | BTN |
Ultimately, it was a loss. But the fact Ohio State scratched and clawed its way back and made it an extremely competitive game with three freshmen on the floor playing their first road game is certainly a good sign going forward.
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back tonight when they return to the Schottenstein Center to host Colgate. The Raiders are just 1-7 entering tonight's game so it should be a golden opportunity for Ohio State to get back on the winning track.
Opponent Breakdown
Colgate enters tonight's game with only one victory on the season — a 64-58 win over Campbell back in mid-November.
The Raiders have since lost four straight, but all four losses have come by single digits including a 78-71 loss to Arizona State out of the Pac-12.
Offensively, Colgate is led by Damon Sherman-Newsome, a 6-foot-5 guard who averages a team-high 16.3 points per game to go along with 3.7 rebounds. Sherman-Newsome also shoots it at an extremely high rate from downtown at 45.7 percent.
The Raiders have two additional double-figure scorers in 6-foot guard Austin Tillotson and 6-foot-11 big man Ethan Jacobs. Tillotson is the team's second-leading scorer at 14.3 points per game and leads Colgate in assists at 3.7 per contest. Jacobs enters tonight's game averaging 10 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Overall, though, Colgate struggles as a team to put the ball in the basket. The Raiders average only 63 points per game as a team.
Buckeye Breakdown
The biggest cause for concern for Ohio State coming out of the Louisville loss was that its seniors did not play very well.
Senior point guard Shannon Scott spent the majority of the final eight minutes riding the bench as D'Angelo Russell took over primary ball handling duties and took over the game. Scott finished with just three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the floor. He had five turnovers and only one assist.
The Buckeyes' other senior leader, Sam Thompson, scored just seven points on 1-of-5 shooting from the line. He was aggressive and attacked the basket, but also only made just 4 of his 10 free-throw attempts.
Three of Ohio State's freshmen — Russell, Jae'Sean Tate and Kam Williams — all played significant roles in the comeback, though. They seemed nervous in the first half playing in a hostile road environment for the first time, but looked much more comfortable in the game's second half as they helped the Buckeyes continuously chip away at the lead.
How It'll Play Out
Ohio State was definitely frustrated with the end result of the game against Louisville and likely can't wait to get back out on the court.
That doesn't bode well for the Raiders. They'll likely be the victim of an angry Ohio State team that doesn't want to waste any time against another inferior opponent.
This game likely has a chance to get out of hand very early on as the Buckeyes should roll to another home win against an unranked non-conference opponent. The next four games on Ohio State's schedule can all be seen as tune-ups for the Dec. 20 showdown with North Carolina in Chicago as part of the CBS Sports Classic.
