Ohio State finished the mid-major portion of the regular season schedule by drilling visiting New Orleans in the Schott, 78-36. The Buckeyes, who were without the services of Coach Chris Holtmann and starting center Felix Okpara, both out with the flu, moved to 10-2 with the win, while the loss dropped the Privateers to 5-7. After a slow start, Ohio State shook off the late December blues, pulling away late in the first half and piled on in the second half to cruise past New Orleans for the easy win. The Buckeyes rebounded from that slow start to shoot 44% from the field, assisting on 16 of 26 made field goals, while shooting 35% from long rang and despite the slow start offensively, the defense came to play, holding the Privateers, who came into the night averaging 80 points per game to a season low 36 while shooting just 25% including 1 of 11 from beyond the arc and stymying the nation’s 4th leading scorer Jordan Johnson to just one field goal on 10 attempts and a team leading 8 points. Ohio State was led by Jamison Battle’s 17 points and 9 rebounds and Zed Key added 16. Bruce Thornton, who left midway through the second half with an injury, but jogged back out of the locker room and seemed to be ok but did not return, added 11 and Dale Bonner chipped in 10. Despite playing short handed on the interior, Ohio State out rebounded the Privateers 49-28, in\cluding 14 of the offensive variety leading to a 20-3 margin in second chance points keying the comfortable win. 

Offense was at a premium in the opening minutes as neither team was able to find their shooting stroke. The Privateers opened the scoring with a bucket on their opening possession but failed to score again prior to the first media timeout, but Ohio State wasn’t much better with their lone hoop coming from a Jamison Battle 15 foot pull up jumper. Zed Key’s two free throws gave Ohio State a 4-2 lead that they held at the media break with 15:26 to play in the first half. The offenses got going a bit out of the timeout. New Orleans went back in front briefly, hitting a three from the right wing, but off a Scotty Middleton dribble drive and kick, Bruce Thornton banged in a three of his own from the top of the key. After a Privateer bucket tied it, Roddy Gayle scored mid lane with a short pull up. Key caught the ball in the post on Ohio State’s last possession prior to the under 12 and scored through contact to send the team’s to their respective benches with Ohio State leading 11-7. Key completed the old-fashioned three point play, hitting the free throw out of the timeout to extend the lead, but a pair of New Orleans free throws trimmed the lead back to 3. A Key offensive rebound led to a second opportunity for the Buckeyes and Evan Mahaffey was the benefactor, pumping from the left post and with one dribble, he flushed it home to put Ohio State up 5. A questionable hook and hold foul call on Zed Key led to a pair of New Orleans free throws and with neither team able to generate additional offense over the next couple minutes, the under 8 media timeout hit with Ohio State leading an ugly game with no pace, 14-11. The Privateers scored 4 in a row out of the timeout to grab a lead that immediately changed hands on the other end when Dale Bonner grabbed an offensive rebound and scored off the window.  Bonner split a pair of  free throws, extending a lead that grew by an additional 3 when Battle drilled a triple from the left corner. Another Battle triple forced New Orleans to take a timeout as a 9-0 Ohio State run put the Buckeyes on top 23-15 with 3:38 to go in the first half. A Privateer bucket stopped the Buckeye run, but Thornton hit a pull up 12 footer to answer. Ohio State added on in transition as Thornton fired a pass to Mahaffey in the paint of a dunk. The Buckeyes again scored in transition off a New Orleans miss as Bonner got to the rim and scored, changing hands mid air and scoring off the window. Ohio State’s lead grew to 14 when Thornton got to the rim off the bounce and scored off the glass to end the first half scoring with Ohio State taking a 31-17 lead into the locker room, finishing the half on a 17-2 run over the final 5 ⅓ minutes. Ohio State shot it poorly in the first half overall despite holding the commanding lead, hitting just 36% of their shot attempts, including just 3 of 12 from long range, while New Orleans was worse. The Privateers were harassed by the Buckeye defense in the half court, holding New Orleans to just 23% shooting and just 1 of 9 from long range. The Buckeyes out rebounded New Orleans 27-16 despite playing without Felix Okpara and for much of the half without Zed Key. Jamison Battle led Ohio State with 8 points and 7 rebounds, while Bruce Thornton added 7. New Orleans’ leading scorer in the first half was Khaleb Wilson-Rouse with 5.

Thornton found Mahaffey for a dunk to open the second half scoring and after New Orleans split a pair of free throws, Key scored with a jump hook in the lane. The Privateers split a pair of free throws and scored on a jumper to cut into the lead, but Mahaffey got to the rim left of the lane with a dribble drive and scored off the glass. Ohio State extended the lead when Battle got into the lane off the bounce and dropped off a pass to Key for a dunk and at the under 16 media timeout, Ohio State was enjoying a 39-21 lead. The lead bumped to 20 when Thornton drove baseline from the left and finished with a reverse lay in. New Orleans scored quickly the other way, but on the other end, a pair of free throws by Thornton and one by Devin Royal extended the Buckeye lead. After Thornton rolled his ankle, and had to leave the game and go back to the locker room, New Orleans scored the other way, but a Bonner triple and a Royal steal and dunk in transition forced the Privateers to take a timeout with 11:35 left in the game and Ohio State leading 49-25. After Royal grabbed an offensive rebound, Gayle flipped to Key at the left block for a dunk as he was fouled and Key completed an old-fashioned three point play, hitting the ensuing free throw as Ohio State kept piling on. After a New Orleans deuce, Gayle drilled a pair of free throws on the other end. An offensive rebound and score by the Privateers was answered on the other end with a Key dunk. New Orleans hit a pair of freebies on their next possession, but once again Ohio State answered with a Key dunk, created by a pair of offensive rebounds and at the under 8 media timeout, Ohio State led 58-31. Ohio State extended the lead to 30 when Gayle found Battle in the right corner for three. Bonner hit a pair of free throws and Royal split a pair on consecutive possessions as the Buckeyes were rolling. A pair of New Orleans free throws halted the Buckeye 8-0 run, but a Battle triple on the other end answered. Another Battle triple, his 5th of the game ballooned the lead to 70-33 at the final media timeout of the game. On Ohio State’s first possession out of the timeout, Austin Parks split a pair of free throws for his first point of his collegiate career and after a New Orleans turnover, Colby Baumann dropped in two free throws. New Orleans banked in a short jumper from the left block and after a Buckeye turnover, split a pair of free throws. Two more Bauman free throws and a Bowen Hardman triple completed the scoring in the decisive Buckeye victory. 

For those fans who despise mid major games in November and December, good news, they are done. Although every team plays a number of mid majors, with varying success in some cases, fans aren’t necessarily fond of them in Columbus as evidenced by the attendance at these games. However, they are extremely important development games for young teams especially and Ohio State is no different, They not only took care of business in all of their mid major games, but they also gained some valuable experience for the newcomers and allowed the coaching staff to mix and match lineups to help get a better feel of their team with the lights on. The Buckeyes are playing good basketball heading into the final game of 2023, but there is certainly improvement that needs to be made in some areas as they continue to build and prepare for the Big Ten grind to hopefully peak by March. We are seeing a young backcourt blossom before our eyes and a front court that when fully healthy, can defend at a high level and change shots in the paint. Tonight, the outside shooting stroke caught fire, namely from Jamison Battle, hitting 5 of them from beyond the arc. Ohio State’s athleticism completely outclassed the Privateers and once the Buckeyes got rolling, they could not be stopped and they will hit the break feeling pretty good sitting at 10-2 and on the precipice of the Top 25. The Buckeyes will take a few days off to enjoy Christmas with their families before getting back in the gym the middle of next week to prepare for a trip to Cleveland next Saturday to take on West Virginia. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Buckeye fans.

The Buckeyes will complete the non-conference regular season by heading to Cleveland to play in the Legends of Basketball Showcase to play West Virginia for a 7PM tip and airing on FOX.

-Jason Harris

Photo courtesy of Land Grant Holy Grant