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Ohio State @ Cincinnati, Wednesday Nov. 7 @ 6:00 PM, ESPN2

YOUNG OHIO STATE TEAM SHOWS RESILIENCE IN 64-56 SEASON-OPENING WIN VERSUS CINCINNATI

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Chris Holtmann knew a few things heading into Ohio State’s season opener Wednesday night.

He knew Cincinnati could give the Buckeyes a rough, uncomfortable welcome to the 2018-19 season. He knew the Bearcats would make the game an ugly game that would force his team to hustle on every possession and play soundly on defense. He knew Cincinnati wouldn’t allow Ohio State to get anything going on offense without a struggle.

He also knew very little about his own team.

Sure, the Buckeyes practiced for over a month leading up to the season, but over and over Holtmann said neither he nor the three assistant coaches would know too much without seeing his team in a regular-season game. They’re such a young, inexperienced group.

Ohio State lost the Big Ten Player of the Year, added four freshmen, landed a graduate transfer and returned just two players – Kaleb Wesson and C.J. Jackson – who averaged more than three points per game last season. Holtmann went with two first-time starters, including a freshman, in his opening five to begin the game.

“Nobody respects us like they did last year,” Wesson said. “So, I tell everybody to just get real disrespectful in your preparation.”

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...in-64-56-season-opening-win-versus-cincinnati


OHIO STATE'S FRESHMEN GUARDS PLAY WELL BEYOND THEIR YEARS IN EMOTIONAL WIN OVER CINCINNATI

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During his press conference after the Ohio State basketball recruiting class of 2018 signed their letters of intent, Chris Holtmann had some strong words regarding guards Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington.

“Duane is a prolific shooter,” Holtmann said about Washington. “He’s a very capable shooter. He’s high level when it comes to that. He can make plays with the ball in his hands, and he can facilitate for others.”

Holtmann also had something to add on Muhammad. “Luther’s versatility defensively is terrific. I really believe he can guard three positions for sure. [Muhammad and Washington] complement each other very well I think, because we obviously anticipate playing the two of them together quite a bit."

The two guards were at the epicenter of the action on Wednesday night, when Ohio State traveled the 90 minutes down I-71 and defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 64-56.

Of course, this was not an ordinary game. Cincinnati was opening the remodeled Fifth Third Arena, and the arena was at full capacity for what was the first matchup between these schools on a campus since 1920.

Cincinnati, despite losing three of their top four scorers from a year ago, still came into the season with lofty expectations, with AAC coaches predicting the Bearcats to finish second in the conference.

In addition, Ohio State came in to the game as 5.5 point underdogs, according to Vegas Insider.

It makes it all the more impressive then to learn that Muhammad and Washington combined for 48 minutes with just one turnover.

Muhammad was Ohio State's most highly touted 2018 recruit, and he didn't disappoint in his debut, recording 11 points and playing phenomenal tight defense.

One play, however, showed just the kind of competitor that Muhammad is: after Cincinnati's Jarron Cumberland hit a three-pointer in Muhammad's face, Muhammad raced down to the other end and made one himself. After the play, Muhammad said to Cumberland, "right back at you," and gave Cumberland a staredown. Muhammad earned a technical foul for his efforts.

Chris Holtmann, although not pleased with the technical, praised Muhammad's work overall. "He was great. Luther is a tremendous competitor. That's why we recruited him, because he brings a competitive spirit."

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...-their-years-in-emotional-win-over-cincinnati

Buckeyes Christen UC’s Fifth-Third Arena With 64-56 Win Over Bearcats

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Not since Rick James scuffed his muddy boots all over Eddie Murphy’s couch has a guest been as rude as the Buckeyes in Wednesday night’s 64-56 season-opening win at Cincinnati’s revamped Fifth-Third Arena.

Ohio State, led by 15 points from sophomore center Kaleb Wesson, moves to 1-0 on the season. Cincinnati falls to 0-1.

The Buckeyes led for nearly 35 minutes on the night, withstanding a pair of runs late in the second half from Cincinnati. Each time, however, Ohio State was able to handle the momentum, the crowd, and some very questionable calls from a trio of referees who appeared to be new to the sport.

Scoring was slow for both teams in the early going, with OSU holding a 4-3 lead with nearly six minutes gone in the first half. Back-to-back threes from freshman guards Duane Washington, Jr. and Luther Muhammad gave the Buckeyes a 10-6 lead with 12:35 to play. Ohio State would never trail again the rest of the game.

A three-pointer by senior point guard C.J. Jackson gave Ohio State their biggest lead of the first half at 27-17 with 1:29 remaining in the first half. The lead would continue to grow in the second half.

A three-pointer from junior forward Andre Wesson made it 38-22 OSU with just five minutes gone in the second half. Cincinnati cut that lead down to nine points, but a layup and a free throw by sophomore forward Kyle Young, as well as a pair of free throws by Kaleb Wesson, built the lead back up again.

Luther Muhammad made it a 16-point game again with a three-pointer with just 5:23 to play in the game. Muhammad scored 11 points on the night in 29 minutes. His +/- of +16 was the best number on the team.

Cincinnati guard Jarron Cumberland cut the lead to seven points with a pair of free throws with just over two minutes to play. Cumberland then made it a four-point game with a three-pointer with 1:00 to play.

C.J. Jackson went on to score the final four points of the game, dropping in a layup and then hitting a pair of free throws to make the score 64-56.

The Wesson brothers spent quite a bit of time in foul trouble, but the Ohio State defense allowed the Buckeyes to withstand every obstacle they came up against. The Bearcats shot just 17-62 (.274) from the field and 6-26 (.231) from three-point territory.

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2018/11/buckeyes-christen-win-bearcats/

 
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There were issues (game was ugly--partly because of the atrocious refs, partly because both teams struggled shooting the ball--and we gave up 20 offensive rebounds to Cincy which is just, like... how did we win that game?) but overall you have to be happy with a young team like ours with lots of question marks going into an environment like that and spoiling Cincy's new arena christening party for their season opener.

Gritty team win that had to fight through UC's energy and the refs' one-sided sadism. I was frustrated with Andre early on but he came around and I have to say that everyone made positive contributions, and some guys even slightly surprised me at how well they played (specifically Luther and Kyle).

I pegged Woods as an outside shooter first and foremost and maybe even last for us going into this season... and the funny thing is he only did a bit of scoring for us last night but he really showed how his experience and savvy makes our backcourt rotation a lot more versatile. I figured we'd need him as a ballhandler but he also lead the team in assists last night with 5 (no one else had more than 1). He was basically the guy that brought us some ball movement when he came in.

Aside from Cumberland, UC really did not look good in this game, so I'm not going to try to make more of it than it is. It could end up being a resume win if UC improves this season or it could be a drop in the bucket if they don't, but either way our Buckeyes have a lot of work to do (the TOs were better last night but the rebounding needs to get a lot better--hopefully Ledee can find a way into the rotation because I think he can help with that). That said, winning the opener under those conditions does give me a lot of hope for the spirit and grit of our team. I am a bit more optimistic about what this team might be able to accomplish this season.
 
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Damn, the juggalos really are in full meltdown mode. Those two national championships have really warped their juggalo minds like tainted Faygo, and they think that their program should perform like Kansas or Kentucky. A more realistic indicator of their program is not those two championships that happened almost 60 years ago; it's that their program has been to exactly ONE Final Four since then.
 
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Okay, now that the game is over, let me offer the opinion that the one-sided refs actually did the Buckeyes a huge favor -- by allowing them to demonstrate incredible toughness and resiliency when the game got close late. Lead whittled down to 4; no problem. Just play smart hoop and do the fundamental things right. Very proud of this team.

Very impressed with Kyle Young, and what a winner CJ Jackson is. I never thought he would turn out to become one of the very best guards in the Big Ten, but that's exactly what he's done. And Holtmann just continues to demonstrate that he's an elite basketball coach.

I don't think the refs were as one-sided as they were incompetent. 41 fouls in 40 minutes (22 of them on tOSU), some of them were ridiculous phantom calls, and they missed multiple out of bounds calls. Six eyes and they can't see the ball? Watching them go to the monitor to check for a flagrant when the dude flopped was just comically bad.

But, as you said, it'll toughen the Bucks up for the B1G refs who have taken incompetence to master levels.
 
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God bless Youtube, got to watch the game with no commercials. Great win and some first impressions (will kind of go in order of the game):

1. Woods is a great addition. Looks like a natural shooter, feeds the ball well, and has a big spark and personality. I like him.

2. Kaleb Wesson had a really nice game, but really interested to see how this experiment works out. Definitely looks more athletic in the post and I think the extra step will help cut down on fouls. But not sure if we are trying to fit a round peg in a square hole on the offensive side.

3. Kyle Young can scrap and we need him to with Potter bailing. Really need Kyle to keep coming along and I like what I see. Kid battles.

4. Generally, this team has a lot of question marks, but I am impressed with how guys just picked up when they needed to and stayed mentally tough in a hostile environment. Of course a huge credit to CH and the staff, but the players handled themselves.

5. Muhammad is going to be a guy that improves a little each game and by the end of the year, he'll be one of the best players on the team. Very good game and everything is there for a big career here. As excited about him as I was when he was being recruited. Got the T late and no idea why, but that is not his character even if it was warranted on what he said. Kid will be a gamer.

6. Thought Jeff Cumberland would be a great tight end here. Instead, he plays football for Illinois and then lights up in basketball. Go figure.

7. CJ Jackson...already started loving him last year and he just keeps being a stone-cold performer. Awesome to have him back.

8. Tons of great defense on both sides, but those refs really wanted to be the stars of the game. Wow.

- Great win on the road and it will be interesting to see how Cincy plays out the rest of the year. But whether this a huge win for March or inconsequential, I love the team's grit and I will always take a win over the damn Juggalos. Great win Bucks.
 
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- Great win on the road and it will be interesting to see how Cincy plays out the rest of the year. But whether this a huge win for March or inconsequential, I love the team's grit and I will always take a win over the damn Juggalos. Great win Bucks.

Yeah, I have no idea how consequential and telling this win might be. I just know that having them beat Ohio State in anything would make their seething little brother complex all the more intolerable. Given the direction that Holtmann has this program headed, I'm not too worried about that happening at home next year. After that, it'll be "run along juggalos; we'll call you again in a century."
 
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Ord, agree with you. Cincy has always been the Avis to tOSU's Hertz. First scheduled game for 98 years? Our Nat Cmpship was in 1960 (?), against Cal. The next two were lost to Cincy (61 & 62). Which leads to my observation.....put coke-bottle glasses on Cincy's Brooks, and maybe the haircut, but he reminded me of Paul Hogue. He was massive and burly. Not sure which one was Moe Thacker, there were several options......guess I'm getting old. Go Bucks. AND our 'diaper dandies'.
 
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Yeah, I have no idea how consequential and telling this win might be. I just know that having them beat Ohio State in anything would make their seething little brother complex all the more intolerable. Given the direction that Holtmann has this program headed, I'm not too worried about that happening at home next year. After that, it'll be "run along juggalos; we'll call you again in a century."

Agreed 100%, the win is big for our program for many reasons even if it is not directly consequential come March. Beating UC in basketball is big for the program long term. That being said, I think this team can have a great season once they start gelling and developing, and I will keep an eye on how UC's season goes.
 
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I believe Cincy was picked 2nd in the AAC preseason. They should probably get to the tournament. Definitely not as good as last year, but should still end up looking like a decent road win at the end of the year.

I agree. I think they're a solid 6-9 seed type team depending on how their close games pan out. The juggalos are just overreacting because A) a subset of them have always been after Cronin's head because he's not Huggins and B) many had too much emotionally invested in this game as their big chance to stick it to evil old O$U.
 
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I agree. I think they're a solid 6-9 seed type team depending on how their close games pan out. The juggalos are just overreacting because A) a subset of them have always been after Cronin's head because he's not Huggins and B) many had too much emotionally invested in this game as their big chance to stick it to evil old O$U.

Even though it is us who should have something against them for the way Cronin snaked us back in the day
 
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