Everything You Need to Know for Auburn vs Ohio State

The Auburn Tigers take on Ohio State as part of Holiday Hoopsgiving on Saturday afternoon. Here is everything you need to know about the game

Here's what you need to know for Auburn vs Ohio State / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The No. 2 Auburn Tigers take on the Ohio State Buckeyes as part of Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. 

Auburn earned a 98-54 win over Richmond at home on Sunday, bouncing back from the loss to Duke to improve to 8-1. 

Ohio State comes into this contest after picking up an 80-66 win over Rutgers last time out.

On that note, here’s everything you need to know for the game. 

How to watch the Auburn Tigers take on the Ohio State Buckeyes

The television broadcast for the game can be found on ESPN2, Dave O’Brien and Jay Williams will have the call. Tip-off is set for 12:00 a.m. CT. 

How to listen to the Auburn Tigers take on the Ohio State Buckeyes

The Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be heard locally on 94.3 FM, on affiliate stations throughout the Southeast, or streamed anywhere on the Auburn Tigers app or on AuburnTigers.com.

Andy Burcham, Randall Dickey and Brad Law will have the radio call.

Series history between the Auburn Tigers and the Ohio State Buckeyes

This is the second-ever meeting between the two programs. The first came in the Sweet 16 of the 1999 NCAA Tournament and Ohio State won 72-64.

Key Players to Watch 

Star Auburn big man Johni Broome continues to dominate early in the season. The trio of Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford are shooting a combined 46.2% from beyond the arc so far this season.

6-foot-2 junior guard Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes in points and assists per game, averaging 16.2 and 5.4 respectively.

John Mobley Jr. is averaging 12.9 points per game and is shooting 49.3% from the field and 55.6% from three-point range. 

Betting Odds

Auburn is favored to pick up the win over Ohio State according to ESPN Bet. Here is the spread, money lines and over/under as of Wednesday morning.

Spread: Auburn (-11.5)

Moneylines: Auburn (-750), Ohio State (+475)

O/U: 152.5

» For the fifth-straight year, No. 2 Auburn (8-1) will participate in Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. In this year’s edition, the Tigers will take on Ohio State (6-3) on Saturday at noon (CT) / 1 p.m. (ET).

» The Tigers are 3-1 all-time in the event: 2020 – Auburn 74, Memphis 71; 2021 – Auburn 99, Nebraska 68; 2022 – Memphis 82, Auburn 73 and 2023 – Auburn 104, Indiana 76. This is the third time in five Holiday Hoopsgiving appearances to face a Big Ten Conference opponent.

» Auburn is the only school that has participated in all five years of the event. The Tigers have a large number of alumni living in Atlanta and expect a big turnout of “Road Witnesses” at State Farm Arena as in year’s past.

» Florida will tangle with Arizona State and Georgia meets Grand Canyon in the other two Holiday Hoopsgiving games.

» This is the first of two games for Auburn against Big Ten opponents this season and in its next three games before the holiday break. The Tigers will play No. 11 Purdue as part of a sold-out Battle in Birmingham game on Dec. 21 at Legacy Arena.

» Auburn remains No. 1 in the latest KenPom ratings with the nation’s No. 1 offensive rating.

» For the first time in SEC history, the league has five teams ranked in the Top 10 (No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Florida).

» Auburn is second in the SEC with a .730 winning percentage and 178 wins since the start of the 2017-18 season.

» As a team, the Tigers have taken care of the ball and are currently No. 2 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.07) behind Gonzaga (2.17).

OHIO STATE AT-A-GLANCE

» This is the second all-time meeting between Auburn and Ohio and the first since the fourth-seeded Buckeyes beat No. 1 seed Auburn, 72-64, in the 1999 NCAA Sweet 16 in Knoxville, Tenn. OSU’s win was later vacated by the NCAA.

» Auburn is the third of four SEC opponents Ohio State plays this season. The Buckeyes beat No. 19 Texas in Las Vegas to open the season, lost 78-74 at No. 23 Texas A&M and plays Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in NYC on Dec. 21.

» Ohio State ranks No. 4 in the country shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range.

» Ohio State is led by preseason All-Big Ten selection Bruce Thornton, who is averaging 16.2 points, shooting 53.1 percent from 3-point range and is third in the country with a 5.1 assist-turnover ratio (51 assists to 10 turnovers).

» Ohio State has four players shooting at least 35 percent from 3-point range on more than 30 attempts including Thornton (53.1%) and freshman guard John Mobley Jr., who is second in the country (55.6%).

» Senior guard Meechie Johnson Jr., who transferred from South Carolina, averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in three games against Auburn for the Gamecocks over the last two seasons.

» Ohio State has seven players averaging at least 20 minutes and four double-figure scorers.

AGAINST THE BIG TEN

» Auburn is 13-15 all-time against the 2024-25 members of the Big Ten Conference.

» The Tigers are 7-2 against the current configuration of the Big Ten under head coach Bruce Pearl winning their last four games against these teams – USC (1-1) and Washington (2-0) were members of the Pac-12 when Auburn last played the Trojans and Huskies.

» Saturday’s contest is the first between Bruce Pearl and Jake Diebler, who is in his first full season as head coach at Ohio State.

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET

» Auburn has as many players shooting 90 percent from the free throw line as the rest of the SEC combined. Denver Jones ranks third at 93.3 percent (28-of-30) and Chad Baker-Mazara is fourth at 90.3 percent (28-of-31). CBM has made 20-straight free throws including 19-of-19 over the last five games. As a team, Auburn is third in the SEC shooting 75.0 percent from the free throw line.

» AU is No. 6 in the country shooting 51.1 percent from the floor this season. The Tigers have shot over 50 percent four times this season including a season-best 61.9 percent against North Alabama on Nov. 18.

» Auburn, UMass Lowell and Texas Tech are the only teams in the country shooting at least 50 percent from the floor, 37 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the foul line.

» The Tigers have recorded at least 23 assists in a game four times this season including exactly 23 assists in two of the last three games.

ATLANTA CONNECTION

» All six of Auburn’s NBA draft picks under Coach Pearl – Chuma Okeke, Isaac Okoro, Jabari Smith Jr., Walker Kessler, Sharife Cooper and JT Thor – are from the state of Georgia, particularly the Atlanta area.

» Other players during Pearl’s tenure such as Bryce Brown, Jared Harper and K.D. Johnson are also from the Atlanta area. On this year’s roster, Dylan Cardwell is from Augusta, Miles Kelly hails from Stone Mountain and Ja’Heim Hudson is from Hinesville. Hudson attended Wheeler High School in nearby Marietta, Ga., and Kelly his first three years at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga.

THREE AMIGOS

» The trio of Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford is shooting 46.2 percent (60-of-132) from 3-point range this season. They have been particularly hot from deep over the last two games going 19-of-31 (61.3 percent). All three are shooting at least 42 percent from distance on the year as Kelly is shooting 49.0 percent (24-of-49), Baker-Mazara 47.1 percent (16-of-34) and Pettiford 42.6 percent (20-of-47).

» This includes the trio going 10-of-15 from long range at Duke on Dec. 4. Kelly ranks third in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, while Baker-Mazara and Pettiford lack the necessary attempts to qualify among the league leaders. However, if they qualified, Baker-Mazara would rank fifth and Pettiford seventh.

RIGHT ON TARGET

» As a team, Auburn has made 23 three-pointers in its last two games – 10 at Duke and 13 versus Richmond.

» If the Tigers make double-digit 3-pointers against Ohio State, it will be the first time the Tigers have made at least 10 three-point field goals in three-straight games since the 2021-22 season when they did so in four-straight games against Syracuse, UCF, Yale and Nebraska from Nov. 26-Dec. 11, 2021.

» Auburn is 4-1 this season when making double-digit 3-pointers and the Tigers are 25-3 when hitting the mark over the last four seasons.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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