Looking to extend its best start to a season in six years, Ohio State hits the road for the first time to face Pitt on Friday.
Ohio State (6-0) last won its first six games in 2019, when it began the year 9-0. With expectations of ending a three-year NCAA Tournament drought — the program’s longest since 2003-05 — the Buckeyes have a chance to post their second power-conference win. Ohio State edged Notre Dame 64-63 on Nov. 16.
“Our guys deserve a ton of credit because we’ve really pushed them to get back to doing what we do offensively and being able to be ultra-connected and execute scouting reports better defensively,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said after the team’s 113-60 win over Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday. “Give them credit, this team works really hard.”
Led by Bruce Thornton’s 21 points per game and John Mobley Jr.’s 16.8 clip, the Buckeyes will also be out for revenge on Friday. Ohio State fell 91-90 to Pitt on Zack Austin’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime last November in Columbus, Ohio.
“I think there’s an element of that, especially for the guys who were here last year,” Diebler said of avenging last season’s heartbreak. “We’ve got to return the favor and give our absolute best shot.”
Pitt (4-3) will have had five days to mull over one of the program’s worst losses in recent history. The Panthers fell 83-75 at home against Quinnipiac on Sunday, allowing the Bobcats to shoot 57.1% from the field and bury 64.7% (11-for-17) of their 3-point attempts.
“I’m really disappointed in us and it starts with me,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “Really disappointed in our effort, our attention to detail, everything. We were not worthy of winning. It started in shootaround and it carried over and it’s a painful lesson. It’s something we have to learn from.”
In order for the Panthers to earn their first high-major win, Capel needs to see his group play complementary basketball, something it has failed to accomplish for the majority of the season.
“If we do it on defense, it normally carries over to offense for us,” Capel said. “When we’re not guarding the ball, not in our gaps, when our ball-screen defense is not at the level that it needs to be, that normally translates to us being soft, slow and not smart offensively.”
Cameron Corhen’s average of 14.3 points per game leads Pitt, and Brandin Cummings follows at 12.4.
