For the past two-and-a-half weeks, Ohio State has been all over the country. Literally.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis (2-6) | Schottenstein Center | 12 p.m. | BTN |
The Buckeyes played three games in Maui before a road trip to Durham, North Carolina, on Wednesday, and they’ve taken some lumps along their travels. Ohio State suffered its first two losses of the season in the past four games, albeit both to top-20 teams, and hasn’t played at the Schottenstein Center in a full 17 days.
That changes at noon Saturday as the Buckeyes return home with their sights set on a bounceback performance against a St. Francis program they’re favored to beat by 26.5 points.
“First of all, just being able to get our sleeping pattern back on schedule to where guys are accustomed to their daily routine. But obviously the Maui trip was great, going to play Duke, then coming back home to have an opportunity to play a game before we have a Big Ten opponent,” Ohio State assistant coach Jack Owens said Friday. “The most important thing is the game ahead, and obviously to be able to go out and play tomorrow against another team is going to be exciting.
“But I know the guys will be up for it. I know it's been a lot of travel and those sorts of things, but we have an opportunity to get better, and I know our guys will be up for it.”
The 25th-ranked Buckeyes (5-2) host a 2-6 Red Flash team whose only wins this season have come against Hartford and Division III Franciscan. Four of St. Francis’ losses have come by double-digits, two by at least 24 points, and Ohio State will be the first ranked opponent it faces all year. In fact, the Buckeyes are the only currently ranked team on the rest of the regular-season schedule for the NEC program.
It’s been three years since St. Francis won more than nine games in a season, and Ohio State will try to only contribute to the Red Flash suffering on Saturday.
What to Watch For
Poor Red Flash defense
KenPom ranks St. Francis’s defense among the 23 worst in the country at No. 341. The Red Flash are tied for No. 281 in scoring defense, giving up 73.6 points per game, and they’ve allowed four opponents to score at least 80 points against them. Ohio State will be the best offense St. Francis has seen all season, as the Buckeyes rank seventh in the nation in adjusted efficiency per KenPom. The Buckeyes have averaged 77.5 points per game against far better defenses over the past four games, and should score even more against the Red Flash.
Can Ice get some offense going?
Isaac Likekele was never going to be one of the Buckeyes’ top scorers this season, but the Oklahoma State transfer has struggled on offense perhaps more than expected over the last several games. Since Ohio State went to Maui, Likekele has averaged just 2.8 points per game on 23.5% shooting in 28.3 minutes per night. Likekele also shot just 1-for-4 from the free-throw line before fouling out against Duke. Chris Holtmann said Tuesday that casual viewers "miss a lot of what Isaac does” due to the contributions that don’t show up in the box score, but Likekele is certainly capable of a bit more on offense than he’s shown thus far.
Three Important Buckeyes
Zed Key
Fresh off a career night against Duke in which Key dropped 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting, the Buckeye big man could keep that momentum rolling against a team that should have even more trouble with his physicality inside. Key appeared to suffer a shoulder injury late against the Blue Devils, which could limit his minutes on Saturday, but he could be a force against the Red Flash if healthy.
“I think he's fine. Just one of those things that I believe happened a few weeks ago in practice that he re-aggravated,” Owens said. “But I think he's fine. He would be good to go for tomorrow's game.”
Tanner Holden
In 24 minutes over the past two games, the Wright State transfer scored no points on 0-for-2 shooting with two rebounds and no assists. Holden’s 25-point exhibition performance and subsequent 12-point effort in the season opener made him look like a key player on this Buckeye roster, but his production has quickly tapered off since then. Perhaps a step down in competition will allow Holden to gain some traction on Saturday.
Bruce Thornton
As Ohio State’s level of competition went up over the past four games, so did the play of true freshman point guard Bruce Thornton. Since the start of the Maui Invitational, Thornton is averaging 12.5 points per game on 58.1% shooting, and he’s also knocked down 57.1% of his 3-point attempts in that stretch. Despite turning the ball over four times against Duke, his 11-point effort was his third double-digit scoring performance of the past four games.
Three Important Red Flash players
Josh Cohen
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | Season Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LANDON MOORE | G | 6-3 | 200 | 12.3 PPG, 3.4 APG |
| MAXWELL LAND | G | 6-4 | 185 | 13.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG |
| CAM GREGORY | G | 6-5 | 165 | 4.6 PPG, 2.4 APG |
| MARLON HARGIS | F | 6-7 | 205 | 7.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG |
| JOSH COHEN | F | 6-10 | 220 | 20.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG |
St. Francis’s biggest player is also its leading scorer. Redshirt junior forward Josh Cohen, who stands 6-foot-10 and weighs 220 pounds, is averaging 20.4 points per game on 67.4% shooting this season. Cohen already has three 20-point scoring nights under his belt this season, including a 40-point outburst against Lehigh. Cohen even dropped 18 in a loss to Butler, and he’s also St. Francis’ leading rebounder with 6.8 per game.
Maxwell Land
Cincinnati’s Maxwell Land is putting up 13 points per game in 2022-23 as the second-leading Red Flash scorer behind Cohen. The 6-foot-4 guard who played high school basketball at Archbishop Moeller is having a career year in his third season in college, although he’s coming off his worst game of the season – a three-point effort against Bucknell on 1-for-9 shooting.
Landon Moore
A 6-foot-3 freshman guard, Landon Moore is already among St. Francis’ leading scorers in his first year with the program. Moore is averaging 12.3 points per game and logging upwards of 30 minutes of action a night. Moore is the most active 3-point shooter on the Red Flash roster with an average of 5.3 attempts from distance, and he’s knocking down 33.3% of them through eight games.
How It Plays Out
Line: OSU -26.5, O/U: 144.5
St. Francis should be thoroughly outmatched in this one, even if Ohio State has a bit of a letdown performance following four games against higher-caliber opponents.
Prediction: Ohio State 86, St. Francis 63
