UConn men’s basketball hosts Ohio State on Friday night at PeoplesBank Arena, their second Big Ten opponent of this young season after dispatching Michigan last Friday.
Despite a commanding win over Wagner on Monday, the Huskies’ hopes for a sterling non-conference run took a huge dip as Nik Khamenia went down with an injury in the first half and did not return. After the game, head coach Dan Hurley indicated that Colben Landrew and Egor Amosov are likely to see more time if Khamenia’s absence is extended.
On Thursday, UConn announced that the sophomore Duke transfer has suffered a foot injury and will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks. So we’ll be seeing a lot more of Landrew and Amosov for at least six weeks, which would be around Christmas.
With the Buckeyes, Hurley said the opponent is similar to the Texas game they played last year as their final non-conference game. The Longhorns were not a premier team but still made the Sweet 16 after upsets over BYU and Gonzaga.
“They weren't ranked, but they were really good, and they ended up being a Sweet 16 team,” Hurley said, making his comparison. “I think Ohio State is an incredibly well-coached, very talented team... They'll come in unranked, but they've got the potential, definitely a tournament team and a team that can win and get to the second weekend.”
Led by third-year head coach Jake Diebler, OSU is 2-1 after a season-opening loss to BYU, a big win over Youngstown State, and a 10-point win over Marshall. They’re ranked 21st in offensive efficiency and 49th in defensive efficiency, with strength in getting to the free-throw line and defensive rebounding.
KenPom projects a 79-70 win for UConn, which is ranked ninth in overall efficiency (23rd Offense, 7th Defense), with strengths in opponent shooting measured by eFG% and turnover rate (both top-15 in the country). But those projections don’t factor in the key player out injured for the Huskies.
Point guard John Mobley Jr. is Ohio State’s driving force, leading the team in scoring and assists with 19 and 5 per game while shooting 53% from the field, including 37% from three. He runs the backcourt with Justin Pippen, a transfer from Cal who started his career at Michigan. He averaged 14 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Golden Bears last season.
Mobley Jr. and Pippen are both juniors, and Pippen is 6-foot-4 while Mobley is 6-foot-2. The Husky guards will be tested here, but Silas Demary Jr. has been lethal on both ends of the floor this season. Expect a big night out of the senior. Braylon Mullins and Jayden Ross will be all over these people and have a size advantage as well.
Down low, 6-foot-11 Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavic is their center, averaging 15 points and seven rebounds per game, and 6-foot-8 forward Amare Bynum is the player Khamenia would have been matched up against. He’s averaging 15 points with 5.7 rebounds per game. The Class of 2025 top-75 recruit finished his freshman season for the Buckeyes averaging nearly 10 and 5.
Colben Landrew will likely be defending Bynum to start the game. The freshman had an off night against Wagner, according to Hurley, making some defensive mistakes. Still, he was the Huskies’ third-leading scorer off the bench against Michigan, and his impact is expected to grow with his playing time.
The Husky big men will also be tasked with stepping up, or at least avoiding foul trouble better so they can stay on the court. Khamenia offered size in the lineup outside of the center position that will be in shorter supply going forward.
Buckeye freshman Anthony Thompson was a top-10 recruit. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 5.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG so far this season and could be a factor tonight. Duquesne transfer Jimmie Williams, a senior guard who started his career in junior college, rounds out their rotation, which does not appear to be super deep. Josh Ojianwuna is their backup big man, a 6-foot-10 transfer from Baylor who averaged 7.4 PPG and 6.4 RPG last season.
The Huskies’ non-conference gauntlet ratchets up from here. After Ohio State, they visit Arizona (12th in KenPom) on Wednesday, and their next game is the big showdown against Duke (2nd) in Las Vegas. The next week, they face Illinois (6th) in Chicago before hosting Kansas (4th) and meeting Virginia (10th) at MSG to wrap up non-league play on Dec. 20th.
Tonight, a solidly competitive, high-major team visits Hartford, while the Huskies have their own additional challenge to deal with in their first game without Khamenia.
“You have a vague awareness that you've got a really difficult schedule coming up,” Hurley said after the Wagner game. “Just three-day, lock-in prep, deal with the health issue with Nik, and just lock in on Ohio State.”
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. on TNT.
