Game Preview: No. 22 Ohio State vs. Cleveland State

Ohio State comes back home after a huge road win at Notre Dame earlier this week. The Buckeyes (4-0) announced they had scheduled Cleveland State (0-2) this past Monday as the team replaced the previously cancelled Alabama A&M game.

Location: Columbus, Ohio
Game Time: 4:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Big Ten Network
Radio Coverage: Ohio State Learfield/IMG College Sports Network (Flagship is 97.1 The Fan)

The victory over the Fighting Irish in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge was Ohio State's best win of the season so far and it was certainly against their best opponent to date. Considering the Irish turned around and beat Kentucky last night in Rupp Arena, perhaps this will be a game OSU looks back on as a great win as the season progresses.

OHIO STATE OVERVIEW

Ohio State is off to a 4-0 start and the Buckeyes have been convincing in their victories.

The season started off with a 94-67 victory over Illinois State. Ohio State had five players in double figures and they beat the Redbirds on the glass by a 43-33 margin. Ohio State hit 26 free throws in the win.

UMass-Lowell was tied with Ohio State 33-33 at the half in game two, but the Buckeyes pulled away and won 74-64. The Buckeyes again got to the free throw line over 30 times, making 26-of-33 from the charity stripe.

Ohio State followed that game by steamrolling Morehead State 77-44, during which all five Buckeye starters reached double figures and the Buckeyes won the rebounding margin by double digit for the third straight game.

The Bucks are coming off a victory over Notre Dame, thanks to a fabulous second half effort. After the break, they scored 56 points, turned it over only twice, hit 16-of-18 free throws and scored 24 points off 13 ND turnovers. E.J. Liddell exploded for the best performance of his career (19 points, 12 rebounds) to lead OSU.

6-7 forward E.J. Liddell leads Ohio State in scoring 15.5 points per game and is grabbing 7.5 boards per contest, but he is not available for the foreseeable future. Chris Holtmann announced this week he is hopeful Liddell won't be out long, but there is no official timetable for his return from a non-CoVID illness.

Cal transfer Justice Sueing is also having a nice start to his Ohio State career, scoring 15.3 points per game. Sueing has hit 63% of his shots, he's grabbed 4.8 rebounds per game to start the season and he leads the team with seven steals.

Junior guard Duane Washington Jr. is averaging 14.3 points per game and has a team-leading 11 3-pointers so far this season. Point guard C.J. Walker is scoring 12.5 points per game and leads the Buckeyes with 4.3 assists per contest. Walker is a remarkable 25-of-26 from the free throw line, which is 14th best in the country among players that have attempted at least 10 foul shots.

CLEVELAND STATE OVERVIEW

Cleveland State comes into the game with two losses to start the season. After opening the year with a 70-61 loss at Toledo, the Vikings traveled to Athens and got smoked by the Ohio Bobcats, 101-46. During that last game, Ohio at one point broke an NCAA DI all-time record by scoring 40 consecutive points over 12 minutes and 47 seconds.

CSU is led by second year head coach and reigning Horizon League co-Coach of the Year Dennis Gates, who played four freshmen in the season-opener at Toledo. That's not a huge surprise, considering Gates brought in the top-ranked recruiting class in the conference, according to Rivals. The Vikings won seven league games last year, their best showing in five seasons. Gates also knows OSU point guard well from their time together at Florida State.

Algevon Eichelberger is Cleveland State's top returning player, but he has not seen the floor yet this season with an ankle injury. Last season in 29 starts, he led the Vikings in points per game (14.5), rebounds (6.4), blocked shots (0.9) and made field goals per contest (5.5). Instead, freshman Jayson Woodrich has been the Vikings' most productive player. He's scored 18 points off the bench, with four 3-pointers, in his first two games wearing the Green and White.

6-9 junior forward Deante Johnson is one of only nine players in NCAA Division I to record 10-or-more rebounds and five-or-more blocks in a single game this season (as of 12/8/20). The Vikings also have a freshman post player that measures 7-foot-2 named Mabor Majak. He played his high school basketball in Indiana, but he hails from South Sudan. Majak played 18 minutes in the team's game against Ohio.

Junior guard Tre Gomillion scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds against Toledo before fouling out. But he only played eight minutes against Ohio last time out.

OHIO STATE KEYS

Here are three keys for the Buckeyes to begin the season 5-0 and keep momentum on their side before opening conference play this week:

1. Someone needs to fill Liddell's void - It's no secret - the Buckeyes need sophomore E.J. Liddell to be a really good player this year if they're going to achieve at the level they hope to achieve. Coach Holtmann's statement on Liddell's absence leaves some lingering questions, perhaps even some questions internally. Hopefully he won't be out long, especially considering how impressive his most recent performance was at Notre Dame.

That said, Liddell showed an impressive ability to play with bigger players on both ends of the floor, while shooting with great touch. His jump shot on Tuesday looked rock solid. It will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes choose to line up on the floor without him.

2. Attack the glass - Ohio State has dominated on the boards so far this season against lesser competition, but they were out-rebounded on Tuesday by the Irish. Although Cleveland State may have a size advantage, Ohio State is considerably more athletic than the Vikings. With the way OSU has shot foul shots so far this year, I think it will be important for the Buckeyes to get to the free throw line early and often on Sunday.

3. Don't give Cleveland State any early hope of an upset - The Vikings are still trying to figure out who they are this year and they're coming off an extremely frustrating game. The Buckeyes have played four games already and while this group doesn't have a ton of experience together, this is a chance for them to really click back on their home floor. The team will be playing in The Schott for the first time since the opener after playing the last two home games at the Covelli Center.

I'd like to see the Buckeyes come out with a ton of confidence and I would expect C.J. Walker to play like the veteran point guard he is.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Cleveland State's Deante Johnson vs. Ohio State's Zed Key - I think this could be a great opportunity early in the season for Zed Key to play against a quality post player. Key hasn't been a starter for the Buckeyes during his freshman year, but I have to think that he'll see some time against Johnson on Sunday. After playing with some really good post players on Tuesday, let's see what Key can apply to Sunday's game.

Considering how strong the Big Ten is inside the paint this year, Key's development will be critical for Ohio State's success.

OHIO STATE ROSTER/STATS

CLEVELAND STATE ROSTER/STATS

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