The Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off the 2023-24 campaign with a 79-73 victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

On a night when the 4th ranked Michigan State Spartans were upset by James Madison, the Buckeyes were able to stave off a solid Oakland squad. The first half was anything but pretty, with Oakland taking a 35-34 lead to the break. This strong start for the away team persisted well into the 2nd half, with the Buckeyes finally taking a lead 53-52 lead with 8:30 remaining. They would hold this lead until the final buzzer.

Overall, the Buckeyes finished with a shooting percentage of 46%. However, that didn’t come without struggles beyond the arc, where they only converted 7 of their 25 shots. This is certainly an area Coach Holtmann would like to see improve.

Top Performers:

Roddy Gayle- The Sophomore guard struggled in the early going, but was able to finish with 17 points. He even threw down a big-time alley-oop from fellow Sophomore Thornton. He also grabbed 7 boards and 5 assists.

Bruce Thornton- He is another guy who struggled early but finished with 17 points. He was able to knock down 3 deep balls and earn 8 free throws.

Zed Key- One of the few vets on this team, showed off the impact of his off-season slim down. He powered his way to 17 points and 8 boards.

Scotty Middleton- The talented freshman made a huge splash in his Buckeye debut. He scored 13 and grabbed 8 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive.

Overall, we saw some big-time performances in the 2nd half by Sophomores Gayle and Thornton. Their continued development and production will drive this team. Especially when Felix Okpara finds himself in foul trouble like last night. The Buckeyes could have easily been discouraged and let things spiral out of control as Oakland played them tough, but they battled their way to a win. This is a promising start and a big confidence boost as they look ahead to a big-time matchup with Texas A&M later this week.