By Danielle Daniels

Ohio State vs. No. 2 Auburn
Date: December 14, 2024
Time: 1 p.m.
Venue: State Farm Arena – Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ESPN2
Listen: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Game Notes: Ohio State | Auburn
Rosters: Ohio State | Auburn
Season Stats: Ohio State | Auburn

TICKETS: Season, single-game, group and mini plans are available for all 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 heads into the heart of SEC country this weekend to take on one of the conference’s best teams in No. 2 Auburn as part of the Holiday Hoopsgiving event. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2. Dave O’Brien and Jay Williams will call the action.

The game can also be heard on the Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield. Paul Keels and former Buckeye captain Ron Stokes are on the call.

• This will be the first meeting all-time between the two schools on the basketball court. In case you were wondering, since it’s still very much football season, the schools have met only twice on the gridiron, tying 0-0 in 1917 (that had to be fun to watch) and then Auburn won 31-14 in the 1990 Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
• This will be the second meeting all-time between the two schools on the basketball court. In case you were wondering, since it’s still very much football season, the schools have also met only twice on the gridiron, tying 0-0 in 1917 (that had to be fun to watch) and then Auburn won 31-14 in the 1990 Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
• The first meeting on the court came in the 1999 Sweet 16 where Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd led the Buckeyes to a 72-64 victory on their way to the Final Four. But that win was later vacated by the NCAA and thus, we can’t officially brag about it. But two teams played a game that night with fans witnessing basketball happening in an arena in Knoxville Tenn.
• The Buckeyes are 45-43 all-time against teams currently in the SEC.
• Ohio State bounced-back with a solid 80-66 victory last Saturday vs. Rutgers to even its Big Ten record at 1-1. Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal led the Buckeyes with 22 points a piece as they held Rutgers to a season-low in points as well as the dynamic freshmen duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey to a season-low 32 combined points.
• Royal has shot over 68 percent over the last six games while averaging 17.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He has a pair of double-doubles on the year and is currently third in the Big Ten in shooting percentage at 61.4 percent overall.
• Thornton is third in the country with a 5.1-to-1 assist the turnover ratio. He is also leading the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game. The Fairburn, Ga., native is excited for his second career game in the Atlanta area.
• Freshman John Mobley Jr. is second in the country in three-point percentage at 55.6 percent. He is averaging nearly three three-point makes per game and is scoring 12.9 ppg.
• Evan Mahaffey is 16-of-20 (80 percent) from the floor in his last five games.
• Auburn has had one of the best starts to the season as the Tigers won the Maui Invitational and are 8-1 on the year. They have wins over Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina and Memphis with the lone loss coming at Duke.

#GoBucks

COURTESY OSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS