Jake Diebler and his staff have been very firm over the last year — they want to schedule good teams at home, even if that means they need to go play at that team’s house, too. The Buckeyes thought they had a pretty strong home-and-home lined up with Pitt last year, but so far this season the Panthers are looking to be closer than a resume anchor for Ohio State than a resume builder.
Last season, Pitt came to Columbus on the weekend of the Ohio State-Michigan football game and beat Ohio State 91-90 in overtime on a long buzzer-beating three from Zack Austin. That improved Pitt’s record to 7-1 on the season, and they were No. 14 in KenPom at the time as well.
Things didn’t go great after that for Pitt, finishing 10-14 over the final 24 games of the season and missing the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State finished with an identical 17-15 record and also did not make the NCAA Tournament.
Pitt’s roster from last year was plundered by the transfer portal and graduations, and thus far the Panthers aren’t looking like they’re going to be a factor in the ACC. They’re 4-3 so far this year, with losses to West Virginia, UCF, and Quinnipiac.
If Ohio State can win, the victory won’t be the shiny resume badge that we may have thought it would be when this home-and-home was announced last year.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated if Diebler’s recent recruiting success will have any impact on his long-term job security.
Connor said that yes, whatever you thought the “bar” was for him to meet this year and next, you can probably scoot it back a bit, because Ross Bjork will allow Diebler to coach the 2026 and 2027 freshmen to see how quickly they speed up the process of becoming a Big Ten contender. Justin said that even if Ohio State misses the tournament this year, getting those recruiting commitment might buy Diebler another year.
Back to Pitt: is Friday’s game a trap game? Or are the Panthers closer to the Western Michigan’s and Appalachian State’s of the world, and will this game not even really be close?
This week’s question: Is this week’s game against Pitt a trap game for Ohio State?
Connor: Yes
Yes, I think this game qualifies as a trap game because even though the Buckeyes are favored and Pitt has not been very good this season, the Panthers could absolutely win this game at home. The Panthers aren’t good, but they’re better than every team Ohio State has played this year, save for Notre Dame (who they beat by one point).
Senior forward Cameron Corhen is a “prime time player” as Dickie V. would say, averaging 14.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. If Pitt was smart, they’d run through offense through him as much as possible, since Ohio State does not block shots (356th in block percentage) and have been pretty vulnerable guarding that area.
Aside from Corhen, Pitt also gets double-digit points per game from guards Brandin Cummings and DeMarco Minor. Cummings did not play in Pitt’s last game with a “lower body” injury, and his status for Friday likely won’t be known until a few hours before the game.
It also just has not been in Ohio State’s DNA to go on the road and beat anyone — regardless of how good they are. The Buckeyes are 3-5 over the last two seasons on the road against teams that were outside the KenPom top 50, and two of those three (USC and Minnesota) were tight games until the end.
It’s becoming more and more difficult for me to see Ohio State dribbling out a 14-point win on the road. Instead, I see this game still being a one-possession game with two or three minutes left in the game.
Pitt is currently not a good team — they’re No. 98 in KenPom, and have a loss on the resume (Quinnipiac) that could single-handedly sink their NCAA Tournament changes if they were to clean things up and get into that conversation. They average 72.1 points per game — which is is 17th in the ACC and a full 20 points lower than Ohio State’s per game average.
Losing this game would not sink Ohio State’s at-large resume, since this will likely end up being a Quad-2 loss later on. But regardless of what the betting line is on Friday night, I fully believe this game will turn into a tight, one-possession game in the final minute.
Ohio State (and Buckeye fans) should respect this opponent.
Justin: No
This is as much of a must-win a game you can possibly have in November. Pittsburgh is currently the No. 98 team in KenPom, ranked No. 109 in offensive efficiency, and No. 96 on defensive efficiency.
They are 4-3 this season, losing to West Virginia (71-49), UCF (77-67) and Quinnipiac (83-75). West Virginia is ranked No. 75 in KenPom, UCF is ranked No. 68 in KenPom and Quinnipiac is ranked No. 175 in KenPom.
Ohio State should be favored against West Virginia in two weeks in Cleveland, and the Mountaineers beat this Pittsburgh team by almost 25 points. Last season, the Buckeyes lost to Pittsburgh 91-90 in overtime in
a game where they lead by 12 in the second half.
This Ohio State team is better, this Pittsburgh team is worse, and it took a Buckeye breakdown late in the game for the Panthers to win last season.
Not to mention, the Panthers second leading scorer Brandin Cummings missed their last game with a lower body injury, and he is questionable for this one. So even if he plays, he might not be 100%.
Ohio State wins 82-66. No trap game.
