The Merrimack Warriors and the Ohio State Buckeyes meet in college basketball action from the Value City Arena on Wednesday night.
Merrimack Takes Out Maine
The Merrimack Warriors come into this one looking to build on their 71-65 win over Maine in their last matchup. Jordan Derkack leads the Warriors in scoring and rebounding with 16.3 PPG in addition to 7.3 RPG while Adam Clark has 13.3 PPG along with 3.3 RPG and a team-high 4 APG as the only other double-digit scorer for Merrimack so far this season. Samba Diallo also has 9.7 PPG with 5.7 RPG and Devon Savage has 8 PPG with 6 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Merrimack is averaging 73 PPG on 46.8% shooting from the field, 21.2% from three and 63.4% from the foul line this season.
Ohio State Falls To Texas A&M
The Ohio State Buckeyes come into this one looking to rebound from a 73-66 loss to Texas A&M in their last matchup. Bruce Thornton leads Ohio State in scoring with 20.5 PPG along with 3.5 APG while Roddy Gayle Jr. has 13 PPG with 7 RPG and a team-high 5.5 APG to lead the Buckeyes in the assist department. Zed Key has 12.5 PPG with a team-high 7.5 RPG to lead the Buckeyes on the glass and to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Ohio State up to this point in the year. Jamison Battle also has 9.5 PPG with 5.5 RPG as well on the season. As a team, Ohio State is averaging 72.5 PPG on 43.9% shooting from the field, 25% from three and 72.3% from the foul line this season.
Chris’ Pick
I’m leaning towards Merrimack here. I do think Ohio State wins this game fairly comfortably, but I simply think it’s a case of too many points. Ohio State had a hard time pulling away from Oakland in the opener, and while Merrimack doesn’t instill a ton of fear in their opponents, I can see the Warriors doing enough to sneak in the backdoor late. Give me Merrimack and the points here.
