A second top-five litmus test for Jake Diebler's first Ohio State basketball team awaits on Saturday.
The Buckeyes take a trip to Madison Square Garden in New York City to face No. 4 Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. on CBS as part of the CBS Sports Classic. It's the penultimate non-conference game of the season for Ohio State, which plays Indiana State on Dec. 29 before jumping into Big Ten play full-time.
Diebler and star point guard Bruce Thornton met with the media on Thursday ahead of their matchup with the Wildcats. The head coach kicked off his interview with an update on the availability front, as Ohio State was without starting center Aaron Bradshaw, starting guard Meechie Johnson Jr., forward Colin White and guard Ques Glover in its 95-73 win over Valparaiso on Tuesday.
While each of those players is still under evaluation, Diebler said there's a chance a piece or two could return to the floor against Kentucky. Johnson, who missed his first game of the year against the Beacons for a personal matter, has yet to return to practice.
"We're still trying to figure that out, we'll see how practice goes the next couple of days," Diebler said. "Meechie is still working through his personal stuff, but got word that we may have a couple more guys doing some things in practice. So that's gonna be a day-to-day thing."
Diebler added that it's "hard to see" whether Bradshaw will be back to face his former team after the five-star prospect transferred from Kentucky to Ohio State this past offseason. The 7-footer has missed the last seven games after being removed from team activities while under investigation for the first five, and he's since been going through a return-to-play procedure.
Jake Diebler
“We can play with more size by moving Evan Mahaffey to the perimeter, gives us a little more size, and this is a game we may have to get more creative with lineups to match some of that.”– Jake Diebler on dealing with Kentucky's size
Frontcourt mismatches and being undersized overall were a big reason why Ohio State lost so lopsidedly in its other game against a top-five team. No. 2 Auburn demolished the Buckeyes 91-53 for Ohio State’s largest margin of defeat in any game sine 1994. The Tigers blocked 13 shots and outrebounded the Scarlet and Gray 49-28.
Kentucky poses a similar threat, particularly if Bradshaw can't go. Starting forwards Andrew Carr and Amari Williams stand 6-9 and 6-10 with a capable 6-11 center coming off the bench in Brandon Garrison. Lineup shakeups might be the answer Diebler is looking for right now, but if enough players don't come back, Ohio State will be hurting for depth. He added that the Buckeyes have to be more "physical" for rebounds when shots go up.
“I think the age of their team has played a factor. They have a great deal of experience where you can see that experience come out in moments of a game.”– Jake Diebler on why Kentucky's transfers have Jelled so quickly
Each of Kentucky's top nine scorers and all five of its starters are transfer portal acquisitions. First-year Wildcat head coach Mark Pope built his roster on experienced talent from elsewhere and has seen sublime success with it, mounting a 10-1 record with wins over No. 5 Duke and No. 13 Gonzaga.
Bruce Thornton
“I feel like he's capable of doing it. I feel like he's been capable of doing it, and he's going to show the World what he's capable of doing.”– Bruce Thornton on John Mobley Jr. playing extended minutes
Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. made his first career start and played a career-high 34 minutes against Valparaiso, scoring nine points and dishing out five assists. With how thin the Buckeyes could be at guard without Johnson, Glover and Taison Chatman, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, Mobley could see similar or even more usage vs. the Wildcats. Thornton is confident in his teammate, however.
