What to expect in Ohio State basketball opener tonight
The Ohio State basketball season starts tonight when the Buckeyes welcome in Oakland. The Buckeyes are looking to turn the page on the worst season in the last 25 years when they finished under .500 and missed the NCAA Tournament. This year should be better.
How much better remains to be seen. The Buckeyes have a lot of new faces on the roster this season. There very well could be three new starters on the floor tonight. Bruce Thornton and Zed Key will be the only starters returning from last season.
Key missed about 60% of last season because of a shoulder injury. He had surgery on the shoulder and is now back fully healthy. We saw a little bit of him expanding his shooting range before the injury, so I’ll be interested to see how good of a shooter he ends up being this year.
As for the newcomers, Jamison Battle is likely to start at the power-forward spot. The transfer from Minnesota has shown the ability to score at a high level in the past. He did average over 17 points per game in both ’20-21 and ’21-22. Scoring is something the Buckeyes desperately need.
True freshman Devin Royal could find himself the starting small-forward. The five-star recruit from Pickerington can really put the ball in the hoop and gives the Buckeyes some length on the wing. How well he fits in could determine how far this team goes this year.
Prediction: Ohio State basketball 79 Oakland 64
I don’t think Ohio State will have too much trouble winning tonight. The biggest thing they have to do is figure out who is going to lead the team. Once they decide that, it’s up to the defensive effort of the team to see how successful they will be early on. But Oakland isn’t good and should be an easy first team to beat.
