No. 19 Ohio State Set For Big Ten Breather Against IUPUI

The No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes host the IUPUI Jaguars at 7:00 pm ET on BTN, live from Value City Arena.

Ohio State is now 11-4 following their gritty win over Penn State on Sunday. The shooting woes continued for the Buckeyes as they shot 25% from long distance and 39% overall, however their opponent had the same issue. The Buckeyes had a bounce back performance on defense forcing multiple shot clock violations and limiting Penn State’s quality shots. However, even without their leading scorer Seth Lundy, the Nittany Lions hung around until the final buzzer. EJ Liddell and Zed Key led the way in points for the Buckeyes with 19 and 10 respectively.

The IUPUI Jaguars sit at 1-14 on the season, with their only win coming against D3 school, Spalding. Most of the Jaguars losses have been blowouts, as they are statistically one of the worst teams in the country. In fact, they average the lowest points per game and made field goal attempts in the country, two staggering numbers that won’t bode well against an already tough defensive opponent. The leading scorer for the Jaguars is 7th year guard, B.J. Maxwell, sitting at 11.6 points per game. There are no other Jaguars who average double digits in scoring.

For the Jaguars, a miraculous performance would need to occur for them to hang with the Buckeyes, who are their toughest opponent yet. For the Buckeyes, a rare break in Big Ten play is an opportunity to clean up some flaws, as the Buckeyes added this game last week in response to several games being cancelled due to COVID-19. A blowout and improved shooting performance should be in the works for a team that should dominate every aspect of the game.

The Buckeyes are favored by 33.5 points on their home floor.

Score Prediction: 90-58, Ohio State

Catch all the action on BTN at 7:00 pm ET.

Featured Image: Joseph Maiorana, USA TODAY Sports