Preview: No. 4 UConn men’s basketball vs. Ohio State | 7:30 p.m., TNT

The No. 4 UConn mens basketball team (3-0) is back in action Friday night, hosting the Ohio State Buckeyes. Don’t let the lack of AP number next to Ohio State’s name fool you. While OSU doesn’t have the pedigree of UConn’s other non conference foes, this will be a tougher test than people think.

That’s in part because there’s already some adversity for UConn to overcome. The Huskies will be without sophomore standout Nik Khamenia, after the Duke transfer left the Wagner game in the first half with a left foot injury. Khamenia is expected to miss at least six-to-eight weeks.

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Ohio State is 2-1 on the year, dropping its season opener to BYU but taking care of business versus Marshall and Youngstown State. Head coach Jake Diebler has gone from 14 wins to 21 in his two years in Columbus, with the Buckeyes winning 21 games and making the second round of the NCAA tournament last year. It wouldn’t be crazy to see them improve on that win total again.

OSU is a top 30 team by both Bart Torvik and Haslametics. Their KenPom no. 21 offense sits ahead of UConn’s at no. 23. They’re well-balanced and have high-end talent. Remember the Texas game UConn couldn’t pull away from last year? Folks were upset, but Texas went on to the Sweet 16. We could be looking at a script like that again.

What to Watch For

Silas the Virus

Wednesday night, Elliot Cadeau dominated Marquette to the tune of 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. One night earlier, Jeremy Fears Jr. torched Duke for 18 points and 11 assists. What do those things have in common? They never happened when Silas Demary Jr. was the defender.

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Silas the Virus held Fears to 5-15 shooting in the Sweet 16 last year. He bottled up Cadeau last Friday, forcing the Michigan maestro to 3-11 from the field. He was too hobbled in the title game to make an impact, and what happened? Cadeau lit UConn up.

Ohio State’s best player is 6-foot-2 junior guard John Mobley Jr., averaging 19 points and five assists per game and shooting…

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Publish date : 2026-11-13 12:52:00

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