By Danielle Daniels

Ohio State vs. Merrimack
Date: November 15, 2023
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Value City Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Watch: BTN

Game Notes: Ohio State | Merrimack
Rosters:Ohio State | Merrimack
Season Stats:Ohio State | Merrimack

TICKETS: Season, single-game, group and mini plans are available men’s basketball games this season. Visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com or call the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center at 1-800-GOBUCKS.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will conclude its opening homestretch with a pair of games this week, starting with Merrimack on Wednesday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. tip and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Jeff Levering and Dane Fife will call the action.

• The Buckeyes and Warriors will be meeting for the first time on the hardwood on Wednesday.
• Ohio State has played eight games against teams currently in the Northeast Conference and is a perfect 8-0 in those games. The most recent game was a 96-59 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) last year on Dec. 3 at the Schottenstein Center.
• The Buckeyes went 1-1 in the opening week of the season. They defeated Oakland 79-73 in the opener last Monday and then fell in a back-and-forth game with No. 15 Texas A&M 73-66 on Friday. The game vs. A&M featured 19 lead changes as the Aggies were able to pull away late.
• Point guard Bruce Thornton scored a career-high 24 points against Texas A&M while also dishing-out five assists. Thornton has seven assists and just one turnover on the season and his 7.00 assist-to-turnover ratio is tied for tops in the Big Ten.
• Roddy Gayle Jr. has pulled-down a career-high seven rebounds in each of the first two games. He had a career-high five assists in the opener and then topped that mark with six against Texas A&M. He also averaged 13.0 points over the first two games.
• Zed Key has tied for the team lead in rebounding each of the first two games, snatching eight vs. Oakland and seven against Texas A&M. He is also 9-of-12 from the floor and is averaging 12.5 ppg.
• Fellow big man Felix Okpara blocked four of Ohio State’s 10 shots vs. Texas A&M. The 10 blocks were the most in a game for the Buckeyes since swatting 10 at Wisconsin on Jan. 12, 2017.
• Merrimack comes into the game at 2-1 on the season. The Warriors lost to Vermont in the opener but then rebounded with wins over Worcester State and Maine. Jordan Derkack leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 16.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Merrimack, which is in its first full DI season won the NEC Tournament last year, beating Fairleigh Dickinson in the title game. But the Warriors were not eligible for the NCAA Tournament as they were completing their transition to DI.