West Virginia @ Ohio St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 23, 2010 ) Ohio St. 65, West Virginia 71

Second-ranked Ohio State certainly isn't easing its way out of the non-conference portion of its schedule. The Buckeyes will play their second straight game against a Top 25 opponent Sunday in a matchup with No. 23 West Virginia at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

Before breaking for the Christmas holiday, Ohio State took down No. 19 Kentucky 71-65 on Dec. 21 in Las Vegas. "It's unique to be able to play as quality of competition as we've played before and after Christmas here with West Virginia," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said at a Friday press conference. "Certainly the most challenging game I've ever competed in after Christmas." West Virginia has bounced back from a subpar 2018-19 season and lost only at St. John's in its first 11 games, but its schedule hasn't been as challenging as Ohio State's. That's about to change with Sunday's matchup against the Buckeyes and a visit to No. 5 Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 4.

TV: Noon ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (10-1): The Mountaineers resemble a typical Bob Huggins-coached team that likes to play pressure defense and force turnovers, but they also have some size on the inside that could be problematic for Ohio State. They're outrebounding opponents by nine per game, led by the tandem of 6-foot-9 freshman Oscar Tshiebwe (9.3 per game) and 6-10 sophomore Derek Culver (9.4), who are also the team's leading scorers at 12.9 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. West Virginia has limited opponents to 62.3 points per game, 36.2 percent shooting from the field and 24.6 percent on 3-pointers (No. 4 nationally entering Saturday), and forced 14.5 turnovers per game.

ABOUT OHIO STATE (11-1): Kaleb Wesson, a 6-9 forward who leads the Buckeyes in scoring (13.9 points per game) and rebounding (9.0), "will be really important in this particular game" against a West Virginia lineup that includes four players who stand 6-7 or taller, Holtmann told reporters. Ohio State's ability to handle West Virginia's defense will be another key and freshman guard D.J. Carton showed against Kentucky that he's capable of coping with the pressure by scoring a team-leading 15 points to boost his season average to 11.1 per game, tied for second best on the team with Duane Washington Jr. Also a key factor could be Ohio State's ability to knock down 3-pointers (eighth nationally at 40.9 percent) when contested by West Virginia's perimeter defense.

TIP-INS

1. Ohio State was 10th nationally in points allowed at 57.4 per game while holding nine opponents to 57 or fewer points.

2. Ohio State leads the country in scoring margin, beating its opponents by an average of 21.8 points per game.

3. West Virginia has allowed only two opponents to score more than 70 points this season.

PREDICTION: Ohio State 74, West Virginia 68