In case you missed it with all the hubbub of the election cycle and what Ohio State football is doing on the field, we’re here to remind you that the Buckeye basketball team opened the season on Monday night in Vegas.
And it wasn’t just any game. Ohio State was on the Strip playing the No. 19 ranked Texas Longhorns, meaning there wasn’t a lot of time to ease into the season.
Don’t tell that to the Buckeye hoopsters though because they went out and got an impressive win over the Longhorns by jumping out to the lead early and doing enough to keep them at arm’s reach for most of the game, winning by a score of 80-72. In fact Ohio State never trailed in the contest.
The Buckeyes came out of the gate shooting hot from beyond the arc and raced out to an 8-0 lead before Texas even got on the board. Guard John Mobley Jr. pulled the trigger from deep early on, making three, 3-point baskets to set the tone early.
OSU even extended the lead out to 13 points but Texas chipped away the rest of the half. The Buckeyes went into the break thanks to hot shooting up by a score of 38-31 in a fast paced, frenzied type of game that we’ll likely see from this OSU squad this season.
The second half saw the game flow even out with both teams playing pretty evenly. Ohio State’s cushion would hold up with the Longhorns getting as close as thee points but then OSU continuing to answer every min-run with one of its own throughout the second half in route to the victory.
We’ll see if it continues, but the win was orchestrated by going deep into the bench. Ten players got into the game with eight scoring at least one bucket. Guard Bruce Thornton led four Buckeyes in double figures with 20 points. Micah Parrish (17), Devyn Royal (16), and Mobley (14) joined him in chipping in double figures.
Victory Tuesday 😁 pic.twitter.com/cNM9R4kO8q
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) November 5, 2024
Ohio State shot 45.0% from the floor including a blistering 50.0% (14-of-28) from beyond the arc. OSU also out-rebounded the Longhorns 40-38, but offset that a bit by turning the ball over 15 times to just nine for Texas.
Ohio State will next be in action against Youngstown State in its home opener next Monday night.
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