The Ohio State men’s basketball team huddles up to regather near the end of the second half against Oakland. The Buckeyes won 79-73 at Value City Arena Monday.
Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes will face their first ranked opponent Friday when they take on No. 15 Texas A&M. The game will take place at home in Value City Arena and will mark both teams’ second game of the year.
Ohio State (1-0) is coming off of a nail-biter win 79-73 against Oakland. The Buckeyes trailed by one at the end of the first half but were able to make enough runs in the second to hold off a tough Oakland team, who made 14 3-pointers.
Ohio State was led to its first win by guard Roddy Gayle Jr, guard Bruce Thornton and forward Zed Key, who all scored 17 points apiece. Gayle made big shots in the second half, Thornton went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and Key was efficient coming off of the bench.
Texas A&M (1-0) took care of business in their first game at home against Texas A&M-Commerce with a 78-46 win. The Aggies are led by their backcourt of Preseason SEC Player of the Year Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford, who was All-SEC Second Team last season.
The Aggies are coming off a 25-10 record last season, where they finished as the runners-up in the SEC Championship game. Last season marked their best win percentage since 2015-16 when they went 28-9 and made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament.
Texas A&M is returning the majority of last year’s team, including four of their five starters, who won seven of 11 games on the road last season. Despite a successful season, the Aggies were upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament by 10th-seeded Penn State.
Ohio State did not qualify for the NCAA tournament last season but has a deeper team this year as it rebuilt through the transfer portal and freshman class. The Buckeyes will rely on their depth to compete with Texas A&M.
The transfers include graduate forward Jamison Battle from Minnesota, graduate guard Dale Bonner from Baylor and sophomore transfer forward Evan Mahaffey from Penn State, who all played in the Buckeyes’ first game. Battle and Mahaffey started, while Bonner contributed off the bench.
The freshmen who played in Ohio State’s first game were forward Scotty Middleton and Devin Royal, who each came off the bench. Middleton had an impressive first game, where he scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Royal recorded a block and two rebounds, as well.
A matchup to watch at Friday’s game is between Thorton and Taylor. Both guards run their teams’ respective offenses, and each led their teams in assists and steals last season.
Thornton scored 17 points and added two assists against Oakland. The sophomore guard is coming off a strong freshman season where he averaged 10.6 points per game and shot 37.5 percent from three.
Taylor went off for 16 points and six assists in his season opener and averaged 16.3 points per game and 3.9 assists last season as a sophomore, where he made the All-SEC first team. For Ohio State to win this matchup, it will need to keep Taylor at bay.
The matchup is significant for the Buckeyes, as it can steer their season in the right direction with a win over a ranked opponent.
The Buckeyes will tip off against Texas A&M at 7 p.m. at home on Peacock.
