It's time for Ohio State to once again see where it stacks up against high-major competition.
The Buckeyes opened the season with a neutral-site win against No. 19 Texas, then took a physical road loss to No. 23 Texas A&M two games later. Otherwise, the Buckeyes have won four games against mid-major opponents and are currently enjoying a three-game winning streak after beating Evansville, Campbell and Green Bay by a combined 127 points.
Now the schedule shifts. Friday afternoon, the University of Pittsburgh comes to Value City Arena in the first matchup between the programs since Dec. 18, 2002. The Panthers are ranked No. 14 nationally at KenPom.com, three spots ahead of Ohio State, and both programs are receiving votes in the most recent Associated Press poll.
It's the first of four straight games against high-major competition for Ohio State, a stretch that concludes Dec. 14 with a game in Atlanta against Auburn, which is currently the No. 1 team in the nation at KenPom.
Ohio State Buckeyes:Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy
First, the Buckeyes and Panthers will face off. Follow along with all of the action here with the Dispatch live game blog.
Pitt beats Ohio State in overtime
The Buckeyes held a 12-point lead at one point and had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Pitt's Zack Austin sunk a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to hand Ohio State a 91-90 loss.
The Buckeyes led 87-85 with 16.2 seconds left when John Mobley Jr. was fouled to stop the clock. He missed the first free throw but hit the second, giving Ohio State an 89-85 lead. Pitt's Jaland Lowe then faked a 3 and got Ohio State's Evan Mahaffey in the air, leaning into him on his attempt and drawing the three-shot foul.
He hit both with 7.0 seconds left, pulling within 89-88. Ohio State's Micah Parrish then threw a full-court pass to get Devin Royal the ball, but after he was fouled with 6.6 seconds left the sophomore missed the first but hit the second free throw to put the lead at two points and set up the final shot.
Austin's shot was officially with 0.4 seconds left.
Junior guard Bruce Thornton led Ohio State (5-2) with 24 points and nine assists, Devin Royal added 18 points and Micah Parrish finished with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Jaland Lowe's 28 points led Pitt (7-1).
Pitt's Ishmael Leggett fouls out thanks to Bruce Thornton effort play
Ishmael Leggett leads the visitors with 21 points and 10 rebounds, but he just fouled out thanks to a hustle play by Bruce Thornton. After Leggett missed a corner 3, Thornton charged for the long rebound and nabbed it as Leggett collided with him.
It was his fifth foul. Ohio State leads 86-80.
Pitt's Papa Amadou Kante fouls out
The Panthers hold a 34-26 edge in rebounding in part because 6-10, 235-pound Papa Amadou Kante has four on the offensive end. He just picked up his fifth foul with 2:07 left in overtime, though, and Ohio State leads 84-80.
Ohio State, Pitt going to overtime
Bruce Thornton's shot with about three seconds left didn't fall and Ohio State and Pitt will play five more minutes after ending regulation tied at 77.
The Buckeyes led by 12 points at 39-27 but went 7:17 without scoring during the second half. This is the first overtime game of the season for Ohio State.
Ohio State leads Pitt at final media timeout, but barely
The Panthers put together a 17-1 run to take a 63-58 lead with about nine minutes to play, but Ohio State now leads 71-66 with 3:39 to play after a Micah Parrish 3-pointer from the right corner.
The Buckeyes have seven second-half turnovers, three from Meechie Johnson Jr. and two from Bruce Thornton.
Ohio State goes more than seven minutes without scoring
The Buckeyes led the Panthers by 12 points early in the second half, but a scoreless stretch of 7:17 allowed Pitt to take control, climb out of that deficit and build a 61-57 lead with a 15-0 run during which the Buckeyes turned it over six times.
Pitt leads Ohio State 66-64 with 6:02 to play.
Pitt pulls within one of Ohio State
Bruce Thornton's lob to Sean Stewart put Ohio State ahead 57-46, but Pitt has dug in and put together a 10-0 run to pull within 57-56. Ohio State coach Jake Diebler called timeout after an Ishmael Leggett 3-pointer.
After the play, Meechie Johnson Jr. limped off the court and to the locker room. Royal has returned and is back on the bench.
Devin Royal goes to the locker room
Bruce Thornton threw a lob to Devin Royal with the Buckeyes ahead 55-43 early in the second half, but as the sophomore forward leaped in the air he came up short on the attempt and landed holding the back side of his right leg.
Royal limped up the court and was subbed out a few seconds later. He is now in the locker room.
Ohio State still leads Pitt 57-46 with 15:54 left after a highlight-reel Sean Stewart dunk off a Bruce Thornton lob. Thornton is on double-double watch: he's got 13 points and seven assists already.
Watch the halftime corgi race
Halftime thoughts from Ohio State-Pitt
- Ohio State has handled Pitt's size pretty well. The Panthers have done most of their damage on drives from the perimeter, mostly coming with Sean Stewart and Micah Parrish both sidelined two two fouls.
- Pitt is dominating the glass. The Panthers hold a 14-7 rebounding advantage, but that number is affected by the fact that Ohio State shot a blistering 69.0% from the floor (20 for 29) and didn't have many offensive rebounding opportunities.
- Stewart is the only Buckeye with more than one rebound, and he has two in six minutes of playing time.
Ohio State leads Pitt at halftime
The Buckeyes trailed briefly in the opening minutes but have led for the majority of the game. They take a 48-39 lead into the break.
Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes with 11 points and five assists.
Ohio State offense clicking as first half winds down
Austin Parks scored on a layup with about 13 minutes to play in the first half, giving Ohio State a 14-13 lead. It also started a run of nine out of 10 possessions where the Buckeyes have scored against a defense ranked No. 19 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com.
It's likely about to be more. Bruce Thornton has two free throws after this timeout with Ohio State leading 32-25 and 6:58 to play.
John Mobley Jr. hits one from Mentor, Ohio
Center court at Value City Arena features an outline of the state of Ohio. With Ohio State ahead 23-18, freshman John Mobley Jr. clapped repeatedly for the ball and did not hesitate when it came to him.
Mobley jumped from roughly where Mentor is located on the map and buried the 3 for his first points of the game, giving Ohio State a 26-18 lead.
Early fouls piling up for Ohio State
Only 6:37 into the game, Ohio State has been called for seven fouls to put Pitt in the bonus for the rest of the half. Sean Stewart picked up his second foul with 13:32 left, and when he was replaced by Austin Parks the sophomore center was called for a foul nine seconds later.
Ohio State leads 16-13 with about 12 minutes to play.
Ohio State has early lead on Pitt
The Buckeyes hold a 10-9 lead at the first media timeout, but they have some early foul trouble. Against a Pitt lineup with three starters at 6-8 or taller, Ohio State center Sean Stewart picked up an early foul and wing Micah Parrish has two.
Parrish is one of Ohio State's primary defenders. He has been replaced by Evan Mahaffey.
Who is starting for Ohio State and Pitt today?
Here are the starters for today's game.
Ohio State: Bruce Thornton, Meechie Johnson Jr., Micah Parrish, Devin Royal, Sean Stewart
Pitt: Ishmael Leggett, Jaland Lowe, Amsal Delalic, Cameron Corhen, Guillermo Diaz Graham
Could 3-point shooting be the difference today?
Here are a few numbers worth looking at as Ohio State prepares to host Pitt. The Panthers will likely start 6-10 forward Cameron Corhen (13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds per game) and 7-0 center Guillermo Diaz Graham (8.6 points, 7.4 rebounds per game).
They figure to have a clear size advantage on the Buckeyes, who are likely to start 6-9 Sean Stewart at center. Where Ohio State is likely to be able to counter is on the perimeter.
The Buckeyes are shooting 43.4% as a team, good for fourth-best nationally. The Panthers are shooting 33.9%, which ranks 155th nationally. Against high-major opponents, Pitt is only shooting 29.7% (22 for 74) from deep. Teams are only shooting 24.8% from 3 against the Buckeyes this year.
Video: Ohio State-Pitt pregame thoughts
Here are a few keys to the game.
Colin White added to list of inactives for Ohio State
Ohio State's official availability report again includes Aaron Bradshaw, who is being investigated for a domestic incident and is not participating in team activities.
Two new names are on the unavailable list for the Buckeyes against Pitt. Sixth-year transfer guard Ques Glover will miss his fourth straight game with an ankle injury that he suffered Nov. 15 at Texas A&M, while freshman wing Colin White is also out for the game against the Panthers.
Glover was listed as questionable for the last two games. White has appeared in four games and is averaging 3.3 points while playing 8.7 minutes per game.
White is wearing a walking boot on his left leg after spraining his ankle on a hard foul late in Monday's game against Green Bay.
Ohio State Buckeyes news
- Ohio State's Aaron Bradshaw being investigated for domestic incident
- After loss, Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb impressed by Ohio State's defense, physicality
- Ohio State's Colin White makes impression with first career points against Evansville
- What does Ohio State need to focus on as Evansville begins stretch of home games?
- Bruce Thornton hopes for winning season, at last
- How does Ohio State's 2025 class fit into the changing college basketball landscape?
- Jake Diebler opens up about the path to his first season as Ohio State's head coach
- With rebuilt staff, roster, Jake Diebler hopes to return winning culture to Ohio State
- Did you see our Ohio State preseason power rankings?
- Ohio State's Meechie Johnson aiming for storybook ending to emotional career
- A kid at heart: Ohio State's Devin Royal gives back to Pickerington
- On 'back nine' of career, Dave Dickerson returns to Ohio State with emotional purpose
Ohio State vs Pitt betting odds
Odds courtesy ofBetMGMas of Thursday, Nov. 28
ODDS: Ohio State -2.5
O/U: 147.5
Moneyline: Ohio State (-160) | Pitt (+135)
Ohio State vs Pittsburgh history
- Series record: Ohio State leads, 15-11
- Ohio State's last win: Dec. 6, 1961 (99-79)
- Pittsburgh's last win: Dec. 18, 2002 (69-49)
Ohio State Buckeyes 2024-25 schedule, record
Here's a look at the Buckeyes' schedule, along with start times, television, and radio information of upcoming games:
- Monday, Nov. 4: Ohio State 80, Texas 72 (takeaways)
- Monday, Nov. 11: Ohio State 81, Youngstown State 47 (takeaways)
- Friday, Nov. 15: Texas A&M 78, Ohio State 64 (takeaways)
- Tuesday, Nov. 19: Ohio State 80, Evansville 30 (takeaways)
- Friday, Nov. 22: Ohio State 104, Campbell 60 (takeaways)
- Monday, Nov. 25: Ohio State 102, Green Bay 69 (takeaways)
- Friday, Nov. 29: Ohio State vs Pittsburgh | 2:30 p.m. | Peacock | 97.1 FM
- November Record: 5-1
Ohio State Buckeyes vs Pitt Panthers records
- Records: Ohio State 5-1; Pittsburgh 6-1
How can I watch/listen to the Ohio State Buckeyes vs Pittsburgh Panthers?
- Streaming: Peacock
- Radio: 97.1 FM
Ohio State Buckeyes vs Pitt start time
Date: Friday, Nov. 29
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
ajardy@dispatch.com
