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2015-2016 Ohio State Men's Basketball (Official Thread)

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Dryden

Dryden

Sober as Sarkisian
Staff member
Tech Admin
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/107247/looking-ahead-ohio-state-buckeyes

Looking ahead: Ohio State Buckeyes
Eamonn Brennan, College Basketball Reporter

...

What the immediate future holds: The 2014-15 season offered two unexpected turns: First that Russell was so good, and later, that his team wasn't better. It's hard to imagine 2015-16 matching those surprises, mostly because it's so hard to be surprised about a team you know so little about.

Put more simply, Ohio State has a lot of new dudes. Russell is off to June's NBA draft (where he has a legitimate chance of being the best pro among a group that includes Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns). All four remaining members of Matta's 2011 class -- Scott, Thompson, forward Amir Williams (who never quite matched his hype as an incoming freshman in 2011) and career reserve Trey McDonald -- have graduated. Returners include lights-out wing shooter Marc Loving and three talented, intriguing sophomores (Jae'Sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop and Kam Williams) who were nonetheless mere role players a season ago. As usual, Matta has a stocked, five-player class of incomers, all of whom rate as four-star players, none of whom is obviously a star and most of whom will be expected to contribute immediately. How good are Austin Grandstaff, Daniel Giddens, A.J. Harris and Mickey Mitchell? How good is Virginia Tech transferTrevor Thompson, who scored just five points in Blacksburg as a freshman in 2013-14, but whose promise earned him interest from a swath of elite programs before he settled on OSU?

Most of all: How good is JaQuan Lyle? The former Oregon signee chose Ohio State as his fallback plan after a credit issue kept him from enrolling last year. Is he an immediate star? A project with a bright future? A four-year rotation guy?

...
 
Not sure about calling OSU a "fallback plan" for Lyle, that would be more appropriate language to use to refer to IMG Academy for him. OSU doesn't take a backseat to Oregon in hoops, Lyle came out ahead by having to delay enrolling a year.

But it is a very interesting season, one which when it's over fans should be optimistic about the future since basically all of these guys should be back again for the next season. I will say though it's a crossroads season for Kam Williams, it's his time to step up and assert himself, I don't think this team will be very successful if he shoots as poorly as he did in B1G play last year, he's the one guy coming back that I look at and wonder whether he will be able to step up into the role that he needs to fill. I think Tate, Loving and Bates-Diop will all be solid and fairly decent contributors, they all had some good games against quality teams last year.

Sidenote: what a waste of half the column talking about Russell. He's gone, he has nothing to do with "looking ahead" to this OSU team. Bad job, Brennan.
 
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This is a pretty good schedule with the only drawback being that we do not play any of the big dogs in Columbus next year. I know that we play some cupcakes again but we have to play some old games.
I do not think that the B1G unbalanced schedule will ever please me or probably anyone else until we go to a full round-robin during the season and that is probably never going to happen.

Schedule courtesy of http://www.landgrantholyland.com/20...hedule-northern-illinois-south-carolina-state

2015-2016 Ohio State basketball schedule
Nov. 15 Mount St. Mary's

Nov. 27 Memphis (in Miami)

Dec. 1 Virginia

Dec. 5 or Dec. 6 VMI

Dec. 8 Air Force

Dec. 12 at UConn

Dec. 16 Northern Illinois

Dec. 19 Kentucky (in Brooklyn)

Dec. 22 Mercer

Dec. 27 South Carolina State

TBA Grambling

TBA UT Arlington

TBA Louisiana Tech

Big Ten home single plays
Dates TBA: Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Penn State

Big Ten road single plays
Dates TBA: Indiana, Wisconsin, Purdue, Nebraska

Big Ten home-and-homes
Dates TBA: Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers, Northwestern, Michigan State
 
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Overall, you have to like the way the non-conference schedule was upgraded. Four "major" programs on the schedule, and several strong mid-major programs. This is the way to enhance the strength of schedule/RPI that is used so much in tournament seeding. Now, OSU must actually win some of these games to make it actually matter, but I see a strong schedule with many chances to impress the selection committee - something that was definitely lacking last year.
 
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I like going to 4 marquee nonconference games instead of 3, hope that trend continues, but really 5 I think is the right number for a program of OSU's stature. I can't say I'm a big fan of college hoops having such a disproportionate amount of their big nonconference games at neutral sites, I understand why you have the Maui Invitational and preseason NIT games and things similar to that, but we're at a point now where having half of your big nonconference games at neutral sites is becoming standard, which I don't like. Why not play a home & home with Memphis, what is the point in playing them in Miami? I just don't agree with doing it that way to that degree.
 
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77700bf1682d20baaae63d7a55207d50_bigger.jpeg
OSU BASKETBALL‏@OhioStateHoops
Move-in day for new freshmen @DGOOD__ @MickeyMitchell0 @FAMOUS_AMOS12 @AustinGstaff_3 @JMamba5 #GoBucks


12:35 PM - 14 Jun 2015

The 2015 freshman class arrived on campus in mid-June, and the Ohio State training staff is already preparing them for the season.

Point guard A.J. Harris can attest to that:

nmPwpM1R_bigger.jpg
AJHARRIS12 @FAMOUS_AMOS12
My body sore as hell
1f614.png


12:49 PM - 29 Jun 2015

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...notebook-funderburks-busy-summer-osu-still-in
 
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but I thought the bball team didn't work out or didn't seem to get stronger? I mean that's what some OSU "fans" have been crying about...that and matta sucks
 
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OHIO STATE RELEASES 2015-16 BIG TEN BASKETBALL SCHEDULE


2015-16 OHIO STATE BIG TEN SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT
DEC. 30 MINNESOTA
JAN. 3 ILLINOIS
JAN. 6 AT NORTHWESTERN
JAN. 10 AT INDIANA
JAN. 13 RUTGERS
JAN. 16 AT MARYLAND
JAN. 21 AT PURDUE
JAN. 25 PENN STATE
JAN. 28 AT ILLINOIS
JAN. 31 MARYLAND
FEB. 4 AT WISCONSIN
FEB. 9 NORTHWESTERN
FEB. 13 AT RUTGERS
FEB. 16 MICHIGAN
FEB. 20 OR 21 AT NEBRASKA
FEB. 23 MICHIGAN STATE
FEB. 27 OR 28 IOWA
MARCH 5 OR 6 AT MICHIGAN STATE

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...-releases-2015-16-big-ten-basketball-schedule
 
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio State basketball team will be offering an early glimpse at the Buckeyes during an open practice at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Value City Arena.

Doors will open at 4 p.m., and the practice will run until 6 p.m., before the football team plays Penn State in an 8 p.m. kickoff in Ohio Stadium. No word on if the basketball team will be wearing black jerseys during the practice.

more at Ohio State basketball holding open practice on Saturday before football game against Penn State
 
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CHICAGO — When coaches determine which players they are going to send to Big Ten media day, more often than not it’s a senior or high-profile player. Sometimes those players are both of those things.

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta was in a bit of a different boat this season, though. He has no seniors and, right now, he probably doesn’t know who his best player is.

So Matta opted to send junior forward Marc Loving — the Buckeyes’ oldest scholarship player on the roster — and sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate, who is the team’s lone returning starter to Chicago this year for the league's annual event. Frankly, he didn't have many other options, as Ohio State is one of the most inexperienced teams not only in the Big Ten, but in all of college basketball.

That inexperience, though, has caused both Tate and Loving’s role on this year’s team to grow significantly. Matta is relying on both not only on the court, but off it as well.

More at http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...e-of-marc-loving-jaesean-tate-both-on-and-off
 
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I'm really looking forward to seeing this young team play. My expectations are low for early-season tilts, but I think they'll be a dangerous team by the end of the season. Mickey Mitchell should be a blast.
 
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