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.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio
Virginia Cavaliers (-4.5) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes| over/under 148.5
Game Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Nashville, TN
TV: FOX
Radio: 97.1 FM/ 971thefan.com
The Ohio State men’s basketball
team (16-8, 8-6) faces off with the 15th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (21-3, 10-2) Saturday night in a Valentine’s Day, Big Ten-ACC showdown in the Music City. It’s the first time Ohio State has played a non-conference game this late into the season since the 1986-1987 season.
Jake Diebler said in the fall that he wanted to schedule an NCAA Tournament-caliber team in February “to simulate the NCAA Tournament,” for his team. Now, Ohio State has an opportunity to earn its second Quad-1 win of the season, but also forfeited a five-day break they could’ve had in between Big Ten games if they had not scheduled this game.
Virginia enters this game as winners of 10 of its last 11 games. The Cavaliers are holding teams to 67.5 points per game, 29.4% from three-point range, and 45.2% on two-point shots this season. They’re also one of the best shot blocking teams in the ACC, averaging 5.8 blocks per game with two of the ACC’s top-three shot blockers on the team in Johann Grunloh and Ugonna Onyenso.
Connor’s prediction: Ohio State 78, No. 15 Virginia 74
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
