Before every Ohio State men’s basketball game, Connor Lemons gets you ready for that day’s action with key stats, players to know, and prevalent storylines for that day’s game on the “Good Hoops Morning” podcast.
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Ohio State Buckeyes (-22.5) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne | over/under 163.5
Game Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Columbus, Ohio
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: 97.1 FM/ 971thefan.com
While the final score
clearly indicated Ohio State won their season opener over IU Indy on Monday night, the fact that they gave up a whooping 102 points to a Horizon League opponent hung over the fanbase like a thick, stinky fog. Fans are eager to see this Ohio State offense get back to work on Friday, but also to see if they can shore things up defensively to alleviate those concerns.
Their first chance to do so comes tonight, with another Horizon League opponent — the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons — coming to town. PFW is another fast-paced team, so expect another high scoring contest, but perhaps not in the 100’s on both sides like we saw on Monday. The Mastodons gave up 90 points to Grand Canyon, so the Buckeyes creeping towards 100 once again doesn’t seem impossible.
I expect Ohio State to run up the points on Friday night, and to shore up some of the defensive communication mishaps that caused them to allow so many wide-open looks on Monday against IU Indy. This Buckeye team may not be elite defensively, but I do think there’s more there than what we saw on Monday.
Connor’s prediction: Ohio State 96, Purdue Fort Wayne 74
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
