The Ohio State basketball team fell to 3-1 last night, losing to San Diego State 88-77, despite a hard-fought contest. The Buckeyes will look to bounce back in Maui against in-state opponent Cincinnati. Tip-off is set for 5:00 pm ET on ESPN2.

Ohio State Basketball Preview:

The Buckeyes’ first half offensive struggles ended up being the difference. Easy baskets were hard to come by against the stingy SDSU defense, this left them trailing by 11 at half. Despite turning things around on the offensive end, scoring 51 in the 2nd half, SDSU matched them. The Aztecs went bucket for bucket with the Buckeyes, making it impossible to close the gap.

Transfer Sean McNeil had himself a night, he was the leading scorer for the Bucks with 22 points. Brice Sensabaugh again reached double figures, tallying 17 and Bruce Thornton added 13 of his own, these were the only 3 to reach that double figure threshold. Overall, poor offensive nights from Zed Key whose streak of double-doubles ended and Justice Sueing who couldn’t buy a basket made things difficult on the offense.

Even with a tough matchup against a team with Final 4 potential the Buckeyes fought hard. Clearly, they would have liked to tighten things up on the defensive end. However, I think Coach Holtmann can hang his hat on his team’s fight and resiliency despite some struggles.

A Look at the Bearcats:

The Bearcats are 3-2 to open the season, however, they enter on a 2-game losing skid. They have fallen in back-to-back games to Northern Kentucky and Arizona.

The projected lineup:

Jeremiah Davenport (G)

Mika Adams-Woods (G)

David DeJulius (G)

Landers Nolley (F)

Vicktor Lakhin (F)

The Bearcats are led in scoring by Landers Nolley and David DeJulius, averaging 17.8 and 16.4 respectively. Nolley had an excellent game last night against Arizona, he totaled 33 points while making 9-14 attempts from long distance. DeJulius struggled from the field, only scoring 9, however, the other 3 starters all broke double digits making up for his off night.

The Bearcats took a national title contender to the wire, losing narrowly 101-93 to Arizona. So, although they lost, they likely have some confidence coming off a better than expected performance.

Expectations:

The Buckeyes starting lineup should be the same:

Isaac Likekele (G)

Sean McNeil (G)

Bruce Thornton (G)

Justice Sueing (G)

Zed Key (F)

The Bearcats aren’t as defensively talented as the Aztecs who are ranking 65th as compared to 8th. So, the Buckeyes should have a much easier time getting the offense flowing early, especially after Cincy just gave up 101 points. Guys like Zed Key, Tanner Holden, and Justice Sueing need to bounce back after sub-par performances. If the Buckeyes bring the same intensity as last night, coupled with better shooting, a victory should be on tap. Ohio State opened as a 3.5-point favorite, and I think this is an attainable number.

Final: 82-76, Ohio State

The winner of this matchup would be scheduled to play Wednesday against the winner of Louisville and Texas Tech. The loser would draw the loser of that same matchup in the 7th/8th place game.

Featured image: Daryl Oumi, Getty Images