The Ohio State Buckeyes travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M on the hardwood in an early Top 25 showdown.

The Ohio State basketball team, fresh off a strong performance against Youngstown State, is on the road for their second game against a team from Texas. No. 21 Ohio State faces No. 23 Texas A&M tonight at 9:00 pm ET, with coverage on the SEC Network live from Reed Arena in College Station.

Texas A&M Aggies:

The Aggies are 2-1 with wins over Lamar and Texas A&M Commerce, following a loss to UCF in their opener.

Projected Lineup:

Pharrel Payne – F, #21

Solomon Washington – F, #9

Zhuric Phelps – G, #1

Jace Carter – G, #0

Wade Taylor – G, #4

This Aggies group led by Buzz Williams prides themselves on offensive rebounding. In fact Ohio State HC Jake Diebler was quoted saying, “one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country”. This success has been spearheaded by the return of SEC leading rebounder, Andersson Garcia. Henry Coleman III and Minnesota transfer, Pharrel Payne, also offer significant contributions in this aspect. In terms of scoring, the guards Phelps and Taylor led the way with 17.2 and 12.7 PPG respectively. This matchup will be a great test and opportunity for the Aggies to prove their unranked loss to UCF won’t define their season.

Ohio State Buckeyes:

The 2-0 Buckeyes will look to continue to show they are an underrated group, that could make noise in March.

Projected Starters:

Sean Stewart – F, #13

Aaron Bradshaw – C, #4

Micah Parrish – F, #8

Bruce Thornton – G, #2

Meechie Johnson – G, #1

The biggest takeaway from game 1 to game 2 is that Sean Stewart and Aaron Bradshaw are immensely talented and their success will likely determine this team’s trajectory. Bradshaw bounced back from a tough game against Texas and provided 16 points, 8 boards, 2 blocks and a steal. While Stewart added 10 points, 7 rebounds and a block of his own. These two will be the key to slowing A&M’s front court and controlling the glass.

Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson both provided double figure scoring. But it was Juni Mobley who continued to live up to his nickname, Sniper, knocking down 3 3-pointers and finishing with 16 points.

Two undeniable facts about this Buckeye team are that they will play tenacious defense and shoot at will. This brand of basketball should continue to excite Ohio State fans and lead to long term success.

Prediction:

Ohio State lost at home last season to the Aggies 73-66. However, they are just a 5.5 point underdog on the road this evening. I expect the Buckeyes to hang tough the whole contest, in fact I think they’ll get to the finish with a win.

Score: Ohio State 80, Texas A&M 77

 

 

Featured image: Ethan Miller, Getty Images