The No. 16  Ohio State Buckeyes travel to “The Barn”, Williams Arena, to take on the Minnesota Gophers today on ESPN at 8:00 pm ET.

The Buckeyes enter today’s contest with an overall record of 12-4 after a solid 5-2 start to conference play. However, the last time they took the court was nine days ago, when they defeated the IUPUI Jaguars, due to the postponement of a matchup with Nebraska as the Cornhuskers dealt with COVID issues within their program.

The game against IUPUI was a tale of two halves for the Buckeyes, who only led by 13 points at the half but would eventually win by 46. In the early going, the Jaguars were shooting a 47% clip from the field and hanging with a Buckeyes team that just couldn’t pull away due to their early inconsistencies. The defense was the focal point of the half for Holtmann and his team, who would hold their opponent to 19% shooting in the second frame.

A big, yet necessary surprise for the Buckeyes was sophomore Eugene Brown emerging as a scoring threat. Earning the second-half start over Justin Ahrens, Brown was able to finish with 14 points, proving that his increase in minutes was well-deserved. E.J. Liddell had another solid game in his own right, adding 13 points and 10 boards, extending his double-figures streak to 27 games. The Buckeyes will look to build off this convincing victory but could be short-handed tonight as guards Meechie Johnson and Jamari Wheeler are both game-time decisions.

The Minnesota Gophers sit at 11-5 on the season, they snapped a four-game skid in conference play after defeating Rutgers 68-65 on Saturday. Payton Willis led the Gophers to victory with 32 points, an important performance, and win for a team that was missing three starters including leading scorer Jamison Battle. The good news for the Gophers is that all three missing starters could be back for tonight’s contest, although their availability has not been confirmed. The health of the Gophers will be the deciding factor in tonight’s game, who can’t afford to again play without Stephens and Battle.

For the Buckeyes a conference, road win would be a huge moment boost as they prepare for the second half of their season and the toughest part of their conference schedule. However, the potential absence of Johnson and Wheeler could test the backcourt depth of the Buckeyes and force bench players to step up. The Gophers also need some luck in the form of availability as relying on another lights-out performance from Willis isn’t exactly what head coach Ben Johnson would want against a tough Buckeyes’ team.

Important Milestones:

• A win tonight would give Holtmann his 100^th as head coach at Ohio State
• EJ Liddell needs just 12 points to hit the 1,000 point mark as a Buckeye

The Buckeyes are currently a 6.5 point favorite despite being on the road and potentially playing shorthanded. However, the motivation to earn Holtmann his 100^th win and Liddell’s potential to eclipse 1,000 points could be huge factors as well.

Score Prediction: 71-68, Ohio State

Catch all the action tonight on ESPN at 8:00 pm ET.

Featured Image: Joseph Maiorana, USA Today Sports