WVU Basketball: A Look Ahead to Matchup with Ohio State

Can the West Virginia Mountaineers break the cycle and pick up a win against Ohio State in Cleveland on Saturday night? West Virginia currently sits at 8-3, and the Mountaineers have yet to add anything remotely close to a signature win this season. As a matter of fact, over the last stretch of games, West Virginia has won the games that they were “supposed to” win and have lost the games in which they took a step up in terms of the quality of competition they were facing. West Virginia’s 3 losses this season have come against power conference opponents in Clemson, Xavier, and Wake Forest. The only power conference team that WVU has beaten is Pitt in a 22-point victory in the Backyard Brawl on November 13th. After falling in consecutive games (Clemson, Xavier), West Virginia won back-to-games against Mercyhurst and Coppin State in blowout fashion. They then fell to Wake Forest by 9 points last Saturday before following that up with a blowout win over Little Rock at the Hope Coliseum. Now, on Saturday evening, West Virginia will square off with the Buckeyes of Ohio State as part of the Cleveland Hoops Showdown. Let’s get familiar with this Ohio State squad ahead of the matchup with West Virginia, as the Mountaineers look to break the cycle and collect a win against a quality Big 10 opponent.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State (7-2) will be entering the matchup coming off a loss to Illinois in its second Big 10 Conference game. The Buckeyes' only other loss this season came on the road at Pitt in a 67-66 contest. Pitt’s Damarco Minor hit a game-winning 3-point shot as time expired to give the Panthers the victory.

The Buckeyes have picked up wins over IU Indianapolis, Purdue Fort Wayne, Appalachian State, Notre Dame, Western Michigan, Mount St. Mary’s, and Northwestern.

Tuesday night’s loss to Illinois came at home in an 88-80 contest.

Numbers to Know

Ohio State ranks 5th in the Big Ten in scoring with 87.4 points per game while making 52% of their shots, good for 2nd in the conference and 12th in the nation. Ohio State has the best 3-point defense in the Big Ten this season, holding opponents to just 28.5% shooting from beyond the arc.

Players to Know

Ohio State is led by standout guard Bruce Thornton, who is in his 4th year as a starter for the Buckeyes. The senior guard is putting up sensational numbers this season, scoring over 21 points per game, collecting 5 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists. After shooting over 42% from downtown last season, through 9 games this season, he is making 55% (the 3rd-highest percentage in the nation) of his threes on 5 attempts per game. Thornton is having an All-American caliber start to the season. Thornton scored 34 points on an efficient 13-of-17 (6-9 3pt) shooting in the loss to Illinois.

Christoph Tilly is a 7-foot senior transfer from Santa Clara who is adjusting well to being a Buckeye. Through 9 games, Tilly is averaging nearly 14 points and 5 rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. is picking up right where he left off in an impressive freshman campaign with the Buckeyes. Mobley is another Buckeye averaging double-figures in scoring with 13.7 points per game while shooting 35% from downtown.

6’6 junior forward Devin Royal is the 4th Buckeye in double figures this season, averaging 13.6 points per game and is knocking down nearly 40% of his 3-point shots.

West Virginia vs Ohio State

Tip-off between the Mountaineers and the Buckeyes is set for 8pm ET on ESPNU.