Men's College Basketball
Preview
Campbell at Ohio St.
When: 6:00 PM ET, Friday, November 22, 2024
Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio

Fresh off a defensive masterpiece against Evansville, Ohio State will try to impose its will again when it hosts Campbell on Friday in Columbus.

The Buckeyes (3-1) routed visiting Evansville 80-30 on Tuesday, outscoring the Purple Aces 52-16 in the second half.

It was the fewest points allowed by the Buckeyes since a 59-22 home win over Samford on Nov. 29, 2008.

"We were consistently good defensively against a team that I think has some really good players and some good offensive firepower," Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. "I was impressed with that.

"I thought it showed great maturity and connectiveness for our team. There is a lot of newness in the program. But I've been impressed with how connected we have been defensively."

Campbell (3-2) will present its own defensive mindset that resulted in an 86-66 road win over Navy on Sunday.

"The consistent on-ball pressure has a way of keeping teams out of rhythm," Campbell coach Kevin McGeehan.

The Fighting Camels are forcing opponents into 17.8 turnovers per game by going deep into the bench to bring the effort the coach wants.

"There's not much drop-off," McGeehan said. "There's a little bit of a learning curve for us as far as rotation and what's working and how we can use guys in different spots right now, which is natural with any team at the beginning of the year.

"As far as the ability to execute the plan, the ability to bring the defensive fervor and intensity to the situation and establishing our identity defensively, it's a plus."

Campbell will meet three power-conference teams in a season for the first time since 2011-12. The Fighting Camels lost 65-56 at Virginia on Nov. 6 and play at North Carolina on Dec. 29.

McGeehan likes the challenges in facing these programs.

"These teams are all physical and tough, and we want to sharpen ourselves and test ourselves again and again and again so we're the team that is imposing that on someone else when we need it the most," he said.

Jasin Sinani is the only Campell player averaging double figures with 11.6 points per game. He also leads the team with 5.2 rebounds and 28.8 minutes per game.

The Buckeyes have three players averaging double figures: Bruce Thornton (13.8), John Mobley Jr. (13.5) and Devin Royal (10.5). Royal also is pulling down a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game, while Thornton is dishing five assists per contest.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Neutral Day Night Conf
Campbell 3-2 W2 2-1 1-1 0-0 1-1 2-1 0-0
Ohio St. 3-1 W1 2-0 0-1 1-0 0-0 3-1 0-0
Last Meeting
Campbell Ohio St.
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
11/26/14 CAMP 64 OSU 91 64 24 37.7 91 28 60.7
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Campbell A. Ryan 17 55.6 2
Ohio St. D. Russell 22 69.2 0
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Campbell D. Mason 6 4 2
Ohio St. J. Tate 5 3 2
Assists Player  
Campbell R. Days 3
Ohio St. D. Russell 7
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Campbell J. Sinani 58 31.4 22
Ohio St. B. Thornton 55 56.7 16
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Campbell J. Sinani 26 1 25
Ohio St. D. Royal 30 8 22
Assists Player  
Campbell J. Sinani 13
Ohio St. B. Thornton 19
Quickchart Matchup
blue bar Campbell Off vs  red bar Ohio St. Defense
blue bar 68.7 Points For
red bar 56.8 Points Against
blue bar 43.9 FG%
red bar 29.5 FG%
blue bar 27.0 Reb
red bar 28.5 Reb
red bar Ohio St. Off vs  blue bar Campbell Defense
red bar 76.3 Points For
blue bar 65.3 Points Against
red bar 46.3 FG%
blue bar 49.0 FG%
red bar 37.3 Reb
blue bar 28.7 Reb