The No. 2 Auburn Tigers will head to State Farm Arena in Atlanta to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Dec. 14.
This is one of the three matchups headlining the annual Holiday Hoopsgiving event that showcases talent at various age levels.
The Tigers have a record of 8-1 up to this point in the season with wins over No. 3 Iowa State, No. 15 Houston, Memphis and North Carolina. The only loss for Auburn was at the hands of the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
For the Buckeyes, their record sits at 6-3 with wins over Texas and Rutgers. The three losses for Ohio State were to No. 17 Texas A&M, an overtime defeat to Pittsburgh and a blowout loss to Maryland.
According to KenPom, Ohio State is the 29th-ranked team in the country according to adjusted efficiency margin, with the 21st-ranked offense and 39th-ranked defense.
Auburn has the highest rated adjusted efficiency margin in college basketball, making the Tigers the top ranked team in the country. Auburn has the highest offensive rating to go along with the 25th-ranked defense.
Ohio State is led by head coach Jake Diebler who was officially given the role after finding success as the interim coach last season.
Leading the way for the Buckeyes in scoring is junior guard Bruce Thornton with 16.2 points a game to go along with 5.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds. Ohio State also looks to sophomore forward Devin Royal who has jumped up to 14.7 points per game compared to 4.7 his freshman season. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. puts pressure on defenses with his shooting, averaging 55.6% from three.
The Buckeyes have also added many unique players through the portal, including fifth-year senior Micah Parrish who was previously at San Diego State. Fifth-year senior Meechie Johnson Jr. who started his career at Ohio State before transferring to South Carolina for two years. Johnson eventually found his way back to the Buckeyes and is averaging 9.6 points.
Sophomore center Aaron Bradshaw spent his freshman season at Kentucky after a McDonald’s All-American campaign in high school. Sophomore Sean Stewart had his own All-American high school career before eventually committing to Duke. Now Stewart plays 17.1 minutes per game for Ohio State.
Auburn should have the advantage in the post thanks to National Player of the Year contender Johni Broome. Broome is averaging 19.6 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists on 56.6% from the field. To go along with those impressive numbers, Broome also adds 2.8 blocks and 0.7 steals per game.
A key for Ohio State to escape with the upset win will be their ability to shoot the three. The Buckeyes shoot a strong 41.6% from three and will hope to see that number stay true on Saturday.
The Tigers and Buckeyes will tip off at 12:00 p.m. CST inside of State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
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Marshall is a junior majoring in Journalism. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @marshalldow02
