Micah Parrish, Ohio State Returners Shine in Ranked Win Over Texas

The Ohio State Buckeyes played with a new type of tempo under Jake Diebler in Las Vegas.

Feb 18, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) shoots over Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) during the NCAA men’s basketball game at Value City Arena. Ohio State won 73-69. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Ohio State Buckeyes hope what happened in Vegas Monday night does not stay in Vegas.

Ohio State shot a lights out 50 percent from beyond the arc in the Las Vegas Hall of Fame Classic in an 80-72 win over No. 19 Texas in Jake Diebler’s first game as full-time head coach.

The Buckeyes started and stayed hot from deep the entire first half, connecting on 10-of-17 from downtown. Freshman John Mobley Jr. led the Buckeyes on that end, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Perhaps most impressive, two of those three 3-pointers came from three-plus feet behind the line.

Speaking of impactful freshmen, Texas’ Tre Johnson, the No. 5 recruit in the country, had 15 to lead all scorers in the first. With Tramon Mark — who averaged 16.2 points per game at Arkansas last season — out Monday, Johnson came up very big for the Longhorns.

However, Texas dug itself into a hole midway through the first half, allowing Ohio State to go on a 12-0 run and leaving the Longhorns scoreless for almost six minutes.

Of course, they weren’t done yet.

The Longhorns finished the half on a 13-5 run and trailed by just seven at the break. The Buckeyes’ backcourt duo of Meechie Johnson Jr. and Bruce Thornton each had six points, while San Diego State transfer Micah Parrish added nine.

The teams started off slower in scoring out of the locker room, yet simultaneously played with high tempo. Particularly Ohio State looked incredibly fast in getting down the floor in many situations, but ended up slowing up into half-court sets.

Johnson continued to dominate in the second, however, breaking the Texas freshman record for points in a debut with over nine minutes remaining. That record was previously held by Kevin Durant. Perhaps not surprising — as the Longhorns had trouble finding other sources of scoring — Johnson played 39 minutes Monday night and finished with 29 points.

Cincinnati Bearcats guard-forward Simas Lukošius (41) handles the ball as Ohio State Buckeyes guard Micah Parrish (8) guards him in the first half of a basketball scrimmage between Cincinnati Bearcats and Ohio State Buckeyes at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas Junior guard Chendall Weaver began to contribute more on the offensive end late in the second half with back-to-back buckets, cutting the Buckeyes' lead to five with just under eight minutes remaining.

Parrish took the lead on facilitating in the second half, attacking with a purpose and dishing the ball in a tight paint. With just over six minutes remaining, Parrish had eight points and three assists in the second half.

Ohio State ended up shooting 50 percent from 3-point land as well.

Parrish and sophomore Devin Royal connected on multiple drive-and-dish plays to help Ohio State go on a run and go up 12.

In the end, it was the veterans who had the biggest impacts on the game. The Buckeyes’ trio of Parrish, Royal and Thornton combined for the last 29 Ohio State points and combined for 53 total.

Jake Diebler’s squad hosts its first home game at the Jerome Schottenstein Center Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. against Youngstown State, streaming on Big Ten Network.