Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State reportedly will open 2024-25 season against Texas in Las Vegas
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Ohio State reportedly will open 2024-25 season against Texas in Las Vegas
Ohio State is headed to Las Vegas to kick off the 2024-25 college basketball season against Texas, according to CBS Sports’ and College Hoops Today’s Jon Rothstein.
Rothstein reported that the neutral site game will take place in T-Mobile Arena, the home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, on Nov. 4.
Texas is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances under head coach Rodney Terry, but the Longhorns have watched their third- and fourth-leading scorers — guard Tyrese Hunter and forward Dillon Mitchell, respectively — enter the transfer portal. That said, they signed a 2024 class that clocked out eighth in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. That class is headlined by the No. 5 overall prospect in this year’s cycle, shooting guard Tre Johnson.
Ohio State and Texas have met only once before, and that was in a second-round NIT game on March 17, 1986. That day, the Buckeyes beat the Longhorns, 71-65, in St. John Arena.
Notably, Ohio State will also complete its home-and-home with Texas A&M next season. The Aggies came to Columbus and defeated the Buckeyes, 73-66, on Nov. 10. Now, Jake Diebler and his squad will head to College Station.
But the first full season of the Diebler era will reportedly start in Vegas.
Jacy Sheldon, Celeste Taylor picked in WNBA Draft
For just the third time ever, Ohio State had two players selected in the same WNBA Draft. Guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor both attended the draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and they both heard their names called.
Sheldon went No. 5 overall to the Dallas Wings, while Taylor was taken No. 15 overall by the Indiana Fever, who also grabbed Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick.
For more on Sheldon, go here.
For more on Taylor, go here.
Kentucky transfer forward Ajae Petty joins Buckeyes women
Ohio State got better on the glass and in the post Monday with the transfer addition of former Kentucky forward Ajae Petty, who averaged 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in a breakout 2023-24 campaign with the Wildcats.
Petty spent the first two seasons of her career at LSU and then transferred to Kentucky for the following two seasons. She finally made her way into the starting lineup this past season.
Petty rounded out the year with 18 double-doubles, including a 33-and-15 game against Tennessee Tech on Dec. 3 and a 23-and-21 game against Vanderbilt on Jan. 11.
Get the full rundown on Petty here.
Kentucky transfer center Aaron Bradshaw joins Buckeyes men
The men’s team also added a frontcourt transfer from Kentucky Monday. Aaron Bradshaw committed to the Buckeyes out of the portal after just one season with the Wildcats.
At 7-foot-1, 226-pounds Bradshaw averaged 4.9 points, 3.3. rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 13.8 minutes per game while shooting 57.6% from the field as a freshman in 2023-24.
The On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 4 overall prospect in the 2023 class, Bradshaw will now join Ohio State starting center Felix Okpara, who stands 6-foot-11, 235 pounds and is preparing for a critical junior year.
For more on Bradshaw, head on over here.
Counting Down
Buckeyes vs. Akron: 138 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 229 days
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