Happy TBT week, everyone. Summer basketball is back, and reigning champion Carmen’s Crew tips off Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on YouTube. Their first round game is against Go Time Green Machine, which includes former Indiana guard Rob Phinisee and former St. Bonaventure guard Courtney Stockard.
To get you fired up for The Basketball Tournament, don’t forget to check out Jeff Gibbs’ interview on the Bucketheads Podcast this week.
Last week, Connor and Justin did a ‘this vs. that’ debate, arguing
about whether Christoph Tilly or Brandon Noel will average more points per game this season. Both guys are expected to start and reinforce a big weakness of Ohio State last season, the frontcourt. 57% of readers sided with Connor, who picked Tilly. The remaining 43% picked Noel, which was Justin’s side.
After 213 weeks:
Connor- 97
Justin- 90
Other- 20
(There have been six ties)
This week, Connor and Justin are debating which non-conference game (that’s been confirmed) is going to be the most challenging for Ohio State this year. The Buckeyes aren’t running an SEC gauntlet this year, but they do currently have five high-major opponents on the schedule — including four ACC teams.
Ohio State has yet to announce its non-conference schedule officially, but we know that the Buckeyes will face Pitt, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Unless you think that one of the cupcake “buy games” will be the toughest game on the schedule, the answer will be one of those five. None of them are Auburn, but navigating those five games before the Big Ten schedule won’t be easy.
This week’s question: What is Ohio State’s toughest non-conference game?
Connor: North Carolina
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Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesTruth be told, Ohio State’s non-conference schedule this season is a pretty subtantial step down from last season. Virginia and West Virginia will both be breaking in first-year head coaches after missing the NCAA Tournament last season. Additionally, both of those games will be neutral site contests, so while they won’t be easy, they won’t be true road games.
The only true road game in the non-conference so far is Ohio State’s trip to Pitt in November, returning the back end of the home-and-home that starting last season. If you recall, Pitt’s Zack Austin hit a game-winning three-pointer in Columbus last year as the clock expired, getting the Panthers a 91-90 overtime victory.
Now, Ohio State has to go play at Pitt. However, most experts are picking the Panthers to finish in the bottom-four of the ACC after losing a ton from last year’s team, including Austin, Jaland Lowe, and Ishmael Leggett — three of the team’s top four scorers.
Notre Dame should be improved from a season ago, but the Fighting Irish are still coming off of a 15-18 season that included a home loss to Elon and a very close call against Buffalo. Plus, the game is in Columbus.
That really leaves us with North Carolina. The Tar Heels are the only team that Ohio State has never beaten in the CBS Sports Classic, but they will get their chance in Atlanta on Dec. 20. Carolina kept Seth Trimble (11.6 PPG) around, and added Colorado State NCAA Tournament star Kyan Evans to the backcourt as well. Former Alabama big man Jarin Stevenson transferred to Chapel Hill, too, as well as former Arizona center Henri Veesaar.
Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes will have an opportunity to knock off North Carolina in this event for the first time, but I still think the Tar Heels are going to be the most challening opponent they will face in the non-conference this fall.
Justin: Virginia
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Robert Deutsch-Imagn ImagesAfter Tony Bennett retired in mid-October and longtime assistant coach Ron Sanchez took over for Virginia, the Cavaliers had a tough season and were irrelevant on a national scale. Now, in year one of Ryan Odom, they should be back.
Odom is a proven winner with a career .636 winning percentage over more than a decade of coaching mid-major programs. Virginia went 15-17 last season, and Odom was hired from in-state VCU, reportedly given a $10 million-plus roster budget for the upcoming season.
Between his great coaching record, NIL backing and an average conference, everything sets up well for Odom to succeed.
Virginia will be led BYU transfer Dallin Hall, who averaged 6.8 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game for the Cougars. He was a former WCC All-Freshman selection, and should slot in on this roster nicely. Former Kansas State forward Ugonna Onyenso also joins Virginia, with the 6-foot-11 forward expected to take a huge jump for the Cavaliers.
The additions of three high-level mid-major scorers will also slide in well for Virginia.
Malik Thomas, who averaged 19.9 points per game at San Francisco, Jacari White, who averaged 17.1 points per game at North Dakota State, and Sam Lewis, who averaged 16.2 points per game at Toledo, are all elite, three-level scorers.
One of the more underrated players in the ACC will be forward Thijs De Ridder out of Belgium, who comes to campus with two years of professional experience in Spain underneath his belt. The 6-foot-8 combo forward put up 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 39.1% from 3 in one of the best Euro leagues.
More from landgrantholyland.com:
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- Ohio State offers QB already committed to Big Ten foe
- In 2017, Ohio State’s Johnathan Hankins was a top NFL free agent; then why isn’t he signed yet in 2018?
