The Buckeyes will be home for the holidays as they begin winding down the year with the first of two mid-major stocking-stuffers over the next nine days.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine (6-5) | Schottenstein Center | 8:30 p.m. | BTN |
Maine makes a voyage from the Northeast to lock horns with an Ohio State team that has yet to lose in five home games this season but is coming off an emotional overtime loss to North Carolina in a Madison Square Garden environment that Chris Holtmann likened to a high-level NCAA Tournament game. The Buckeyes haven’t struggled against lower-level competition so far, but their coach believes bouncing back from Saturday’s defeat – perhaps the most draining of the season – will go a long way in defining what he can expect from the team come the start of 2023.
Even after losing its spot in the AP Top 25 on Monday, Ohio State is heavily favored to make quick work of the 6-5 Black Bears, who have already suffered losses to the likes of Brown, Fordham, Marist and Akron in the past four weeks. On his 97.1 The Fan radio show, though, Holtmann said Maine is “more than capable of coming in here and winning.”
The Buckeyes will challenge that notion at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Schottenstein Center.
“This is a good Maine team. They've won at Boston College, it was a tight game in the second half against Nebraska, and we know Nebraska's had some really impressive wins this year," Holtmann said. "So it's a good team. Their NET ranking I think validates that. Got the older, stronger guys, well-coached. Good team. So we'll need to have a couple good days of prep.”
Having already equaled their 2021-22 win total in the first 11 games under first-year head coach Chris Markwood, the Black Bears rank 299th overall in KenPom with the No. 297 offense and No. 286 defense in the nation. Maine ranks higher in the NET rating system, at No. 235, and that’s only after it dropped 47 spots following a 32-point loss to Akron on Monday.
But Nebraska beat Maine by only 13 points in the season opener, and the Black Bears already have a high-major win on their résumé after beating Boston College in mid-November. With the odds stacked against them, Markwood and company will try to add another tally to that column Wednesday night.
What to watch for
Scoring struggles against D-I opponents
Maine has failed to crack 60 points in each of its last two games, including an 87-55 blowout loss to Akron on Monday and a 50-47 win over Merrimack on Dec. 11. Ohio State has just the 76th-most efficient defense in the country, per KenPom, but that’s still well above the ratings held by the Black Bears’ two latest opponents with Akron at No. 101 and Merrimack at No. 189. Maine has struggled to score in general against Division I opposition this season, with an average of 65.5 points per game in nine D-I matchups. The only D-I team to allow more than 69 points to the Black Bears was Columbia, which ranks 275th in defensive efficiency. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have limited every team they’ve played at the Schottenstein Center to 66 points or fewer in 2022-23.
11 international players
Felix Okpara is the lone player on the Buckeye roster whose hometown (Lagos, Nigeria) is outside the United States. Maine, however, has a roster made up mostly of international talent. Out of 17 Black Bears, 11 are from international locations, with six coming from Canada alone. Six players are native to America, but all seven of Maine’s top scorers this season hail from beyond the U.S.
Eugene Brown sighting?
Fans might finally see Brown in action for the first time all season on Wednesday, as Holtmann issued the most positive health update about the junior guard all season on Monday. Holtmann didn’t outright say Brown would be available, but said he’s returned to full-contact work in practice and that he expects Brown’s return “shortly.” After missing the first 10 games of the season with a concussion, Ohio State’s final two non-conference games of the regular season may be the best time to begin getting Brown reacclimated before Big Ten resumes on the road at Northwestern on New Year’s Day – even if it’s in a limited capacity minutes-wise.
“I think our team needs him. I don't think, I know our team needs him, and we’re excited to get him back when we can,” Holtmann said.
Three Important Black Bears
Kellen Tynes
In his first year with Maine after two seasons at Montana State, the Dartmouth, Canada, native is leading the way for the Black Bears with an average of 15.1 points per game on nearly 57% shooting. In November, Tynes had a three-game stretch in which he scored at least 21 points against Columbia, Central Connecticut and Brown consecutively. Not much of a 3-point shooter, Tynes has been extremely efficient scoring the ball inside the arc this season, and he’s also averaging 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.4 steals per game for Maine.
Gedi Juozapaitis
| Player | Position | Height | Season Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| JADEN CLAYTON | G | 6-1 | 7.1 PPG, 4.4 APG |
| KELLEN TYNES | G | 6-3 | 15.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG |
| JA'SHONTE WRIGHT-MCLEISH | G | 6-4 | 8.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG |
| GEDI JUOZAPAITIS | G | 6-4 | 13.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG |
| ATA TURGUT | F | 6-9 | 4.1 PPG, 2.0 RPG |
Another first-year Black Bear after previous stops at Flagler College and Georgia Southern, the 6-foot-4 London native is Maine’s second-leading scorer thus far with an average of 13.7 points per game. Juozapaitis has been a dead-eye 3-point shooter this season, knocking down 45.3% of his attempts from distance, and he hit six of his seven 3-point tries in the season opener against Nebraska. Juozapaitis has connected on multiple threes in all but four games through the first 11 contests.
Peter Filipovity
Averaging 11.3 points per game off the bench as Maine’s third-leading scorer, Filipovity has upped his scoring output by nearly seven points from year one to year two. The 6-foot-7 forward is hitting 49.4% of his field goals and 84.4% of his free throws, and he’s also the Black Bears’ most productive rebounder with an average of 6.2 per game.
How it Plays Out
Ohio State hasn’t beaten a mid-major opponent by fewer than 22 points this season, and I don’t see Maine bucking that trend on Wednesday on the heels of a 32-point thrashing at Akron.
Prediction: Ohio State 80, Maine 57
