Auburn Tigers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Basketball Preview

After playing well during the first-nine games of the season, The No. 2 Auburn Tigers (8-1) venture to Atlanta, Ga. to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. This is another early-season test for Auburn on Saturday at State Farm Arena.

As part of the Holiday Hoopsgiving trifecta of games, the Tigers and Buckeyes clash. With deserved attention geared towards the Tigers' fast start, what will the Buckeyes offer up in the way of competition?

From a macro perspective, Ohio State could give Auburn all they want and more. Now, let's dig deeper.

Buckeyes Offense

Under second-year head coach Jake Diebler, Ohio State wants to move the ball. More importantly, the team wants to create as many possessions as possible. Now, while they do rank 119th overall in possessions (72.7), the team started to increase that output. Over the last three game, OSU boosted their possessions per game to 74.3.

The Buckeyes remain one of the most unselfish teams that the Tigers will face. Ranking in the top 20% in assists, the team prides itself on taking the best possible shot, eschewing hero ball for the greater good. They average 16.2 assists-per-game, just behind Duke at 16.3.

High percentage shots remain the bread and butter of the offense, as the .503 field goal percentage, good for 14th nationally.

That efficiency and preference for quality shots flows out to the three-point-line. Connecting on a 42% of shots from beyond the arc makes them not only efficient but effective. The lone flaw in the Buckeyes offense, free throw shooting, could play a vital role in this game.

They will need to hit more than 68% from the charity stripe, especially if the game stays close. In late game situations Auburn doesn't need to truly fear opposing free throws as Bruce Thornton and John Mobley, Jr. are the only players hovering around 80%.

As mentioned, unselfishness reigns supreme. No player attempts more than 10 shots per game.

Love the quick trigger from Bruce Thornton coming off the ball screen. 53.1% from three through 9 games. pic.twitter.com/VnQjOtZfTt
— Will Morris (@w_a_morris) December 8, 2024

Rotation

OSU plays with a heavy seven-man rotation, with those seven players logging at least 20 minutes of court time. Thornton is not the tallest at the two spots, but he possesses not only the touch inside the arc (58%), but a competitive jumper from behind it (53%).

Additionally, Thornton, in pure combo guard mode, leads the team in assists (5.7), exhibiting a knack for finding the open man cutting to the basket.

Meechie Johnson runs the offense from the point, but sports less-than-dangerous assist-to-turnover ratio. Auburn, with pressure can force Johnson into poor decisions with the ball. Down in the block, Devin Royal (14.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Sean Stewart (5.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg) will look to operate physically against the Tigers.

🔺 Devin Royal: 22 PTS
🔺 Bruce Thornton: 22 PTS

These two helped @OhioStateHoops to a dominating 80-66 win over Rutgers 😤#B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/VIaXg0j5vd
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 7, 2024

Auburn should look to take advantage of them on the defensive end of the floor. While good rebounders, Royal and Stewart average a combined six fouls per game and will miss extensive time by sitting on the bench.

Aaron Bradshaw, the team's usual starting center will probably not play again, as the school continues to investigate domestic abuse allegations.

Bottom Line

This game boils down to one question: Can Auburn force Ohio State off of its disciplined approach on offense, taking advantage in transition to put the game away?

Basically, the Tigers need to exert their athletic dominance early in the game and make the Buckeyes play their game, not vice versa.

With a win, Auburn notches a quality win on a neutral site against a one-loss opponent. Games like these play well during Selection Sunday as Auburn vies for a No. 1 seed.

Auburn Tigers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Game Notes, Courtesy Auburn University:

#2/2 Auburn Tigers (8-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-3, 0-0 Big Ten)
Holiday Hoopsgiving
December 14, 2024 at Noon (CT) / 1:00 p.m. (ET)
State Farm Arena (16,888) | Atlanta, Ga.

Television: ESPN2
Play-By-Play: Dave O’Brien
Color Analyst: Jay Williams

Radio: Auburn Sports Network
Play-By-Play: Andy Burcham
Color Analyst: Randall Dickey

» For the fifth-straight year, No. 2 Auburn (8-1) will participate in Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. In this year’s edition, the Tigers will take on Ohio State (6-3) on Saturday at noon (CT) / 1 p.m. (ET).

» The Tigers are 3-1 all-time in the event: 2020 – Auburn 74, Memphis 71; 2021 – Auburn 99, Nebraska 68; 2022 – Memphis 82, Auburn 73 and 2023 – Auburn 104, Indiana 76. This is the third time in five Holiday Hoopsgiving appearances to face a Big Ten Conference opponent.

» Auburn is the only school that has participated in all five years of the event. The Tigers have a large number of alumni living in Atlanta and expect a big turnout of “Road Witnesses” at State Farm Arena as in year’s past.

» Florida will tangle with Arizona State and Georgia meets Grand Canyon in the other two Holiday Hoopsgiving games.

» This is the first of two games for Auburn against Big Ten opponents this season and in its next three games before the holiday break. The Tigers will play No. 11 Purdue as part of a sold-out Battle in Birmingham game on Dec. 21 at Legacy Arena.

» Auburn remains No. 1 in the latest KenPom ratings with the nation’s No. 1 offensive rating.

» For the first time in SEC history, the league has five teams ranked in the Top 10 (No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Florida).

» Auburn is second in the SEC with a .730 winning percentage and 178 wins since the start of the 2017-18 season.

» As a team, the Tigers have taken care of the ball and are currently No. 2 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.07) behind Gonzaga (2.17).

OHIO STATE AT-A-GLANCE

» This is the second all-time meeting between Auburn and Ohio and the first since the fourth-seeded Buckeyes beat No. 1 seed Auburn, 72-64, in the 1999 NCAA Sweet 16 in Knoxville, Tenn. OSU’s win was later vacated by the NCAA.

» Auburn is the third of four SEC opponents Ohio State plays this season. The Buckeyes beat No. 19 Texas in Las Vegas to open the season, lost 78-74 at No. 23 Texas A&M and plays Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in NYC on Dec. 21.

» Ohio State ranks No. 4 in the country shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range.

» Ohio State is led by preseason All-Big Ten selection Bruce Thornton, who is averaging 16.2 points, shooting 53.1 percent from 3-point range and is third in the country with a 5.1 assist-turnover ratio (51 assists to 10 turnovers).

» Ohio State has four players shooting at least 35 percent from 3-point range on more than 30 attempts including Thornton (53.1%) and freshman guard John Mobley Jr., who is second in the country (55.6%).

» Senior guard Meechie Johnson Jr., who transferred from South Carolina, averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in three games against Auburn for the Gamecocks over the last two seasons.

» Ohio State has seven players averaging at least 20 minutes and four double-figure scorers.

AGAINST THE BIG TEN

» Auburn is 13-15 all-time against the 2024-25 members of the Big Ten Conference.

» The Tigers are 7-2 against the current configuration of the Big Ten under head coach Bruce Pearl winning their last four games against these teams – USC (1-1) and Washington (2-0) were members of the Pac-12 when Auburn last played the Trojans and Huskies.

» Saturday’s contest is the first between Bruce Pearl and Jake Diebler, who is in his first full season as head coach at Ohio State.

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET

» Auburn has as many players shooting 90 percent from the free throw line as the rest of the SEC combined. Denver Jones ranks third at 93.3 percent (28-of-30) and Chad Baker-Mazara is fourth at 90.3 percent (28-of-31). CBM has made 20-straight free throws including 19-of-19 over the last five games. As a team, Auburn is third in the SEC shooting 75.0 percent from the free throw line.

» AU is No. 6 in the country shooting 51.1 percent from the floor this season. The Tigers have shot over 50 percent four times this season including a season-best 61.9 percent against North Alabama on Nov. 18.

» Auburn, UMass Lowell and Texas Tech are the only teams in the country shooting at least 50 percent from the floor, 37 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the foul line.

» The Tigers have recorded at least 23 assists in a game four times this season including exactly 23 assists in two of the last three games.

ATLANTA CONNECTION

» All six of Auburn’s NBA draft picks under Coach Pearl – Chuma Okeke, Isaac Okoro, Jabari Smith Jr., Walker Kessler, Sharife Cooper and JT Thor – are from the state of Georgia, particularly the Atlanta area.

» Other players during Pearl’s tenure such as Bryce Brown, Jared Harper and K.D. Johnson are also from the Atlanta area. On this year’s roster, Dylan Cardwell is from Augusta, Miles Kelly hails from Stone Mountain and Ja’Heim Hudson is from Hinesville. Hudson attended Wheeler High School in nearby Marietta, Ga., and Kelly his first three years at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga.

THREE AMIGOS

» The trio of Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford is shooting 46.2 percent (60-of-132) from 3-point range this season. They have been particularly hot from deep over the last two games going 19-of-31 (61.3 percent). All three are shooting at least 42 percent from distance on the year as Kelly is shooting 49.0 percent (24-of-49), Baker-Mazara 47.1 percent (16-of-34) and Pettiford 42.6 percent (20-of-47).

» This includes the trio going 10-of-15 from long range at Duke on Dec. 4. Kelly ranks third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, while Baker-Mazara and Pettiford lack the necessary attempts to qualify among the league leaders. However, if they qualified, Baker-Mazara would rank fifth and Pettiford seventh.

RIGHT ON TARGET

» As a team, Auburn has made 23 three-pointers in its last two games – 10 at Duke and 13 versus Richmond.

» If the Tigers make double-digit 3-pointers against Ohio State, it will be the first time the Tigers have made at least 10 three-point field goals in three-straight games since the 2021-22 season when they did so in four-straight games against Syracuse, UCF, Yale and Nebraska from Nov. 26-Dec. 11, 2021.

» Auburn is 4-1 this season when making double-digit 3-pointers and the Tigers are 25-3 when hitting the mark over the last four seasons.