The (#13) Ohio State Buckeyes face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a road, Big Ten matchup on BTN at 8:00 pm ET from Pinnacle Bank Arena.

For the 8-2 Buckeyes this will be their first game in nearly a month, following three cancellations due to COVID-19 issues as part of the recent pandemic surge. The cancelled games were all non-conference matchups featuring Kentucky, UT Martin, and New Orleans. The Buckeyes were hopeful to play against New Orleans, even with a potentially limited roster, but their opponent ended up having COVID issues of their own. This final cancellation allowed for the Buckeyes to get their full roster out of testing protocols and put together nearly a full week of practice leading up to their resume in play. For the Buckeyes, shaking off the inevitable rust from the layoff will be key, along with load management as conditioning could also be an issue.

The 6-7 Nebraska Cornhuskers currently sit last in the Big Ten and are the worst rated Big Ten team according to KenPom.com at 140th nationally. None of their wins have come against opponents in major conferences and they have lost their two Big Ten matchups by a combined 48 points (to Indiana and Michigan). The Huskers are led in scoring by guards Bryce McGowens and Alonzo Verge averaging 15.6 and 16.4 PPG respectively. The Huskers may be one of the worst teams in the conference and possibly the country, but play with one of quickest paces. They will look to keep the Buckeyes off balance early with this pace and test their conditioning following the layoff.

The Buckeyes are a nine-point favorite, despite the almost month layoff and playing on the road. They will need to get back to their bread and butter of stout defending and feeding EJ Liddell as they look to resume action with a win.

Score Prediction: 72-58, Ohio State

Catch all the action on BTN at 8:00 pm ET

Featured image: Joseph Maiorana, USA Today