The final home tune-up of the nonconference season-opening homestand has arrived for the Ohio State men’s basketball team.
That’s not how Buckeyes coach Jake Diebler looks at it, but his team’s Nov. 25 game against Mount St. Mary’s is its penultimate buy game of the 2025-26 season. After playing the Mountaineers, Ohio State won’t play another mid-major team until Grambling State comes to the Jerome Schottenstein Center on Dec. 23. In between, five straight games against high-major teams await, starting with a Nov. 28 date at the University of Pittsburgh.
First, though, it’s a date with Mount St. Mary’s, which comes to town ranked No. 281 nationally at KenPom.com.
Follow along with all the live action at our Dispatch game blog below.
Significant run sends Ohio State into half comfortably ahead of Mount St. Mary’s
Ohio State is doubling up the visitors at the break after a 21-3 run. Mount St. Mary’s was within 31-23 on a runner from Ariandus Keyes with 7:37 left, but Ohio State outscored the Mountaineers 21-3 the rest of the way to take a 52-26 lead into halftime.
Ohio State is 17 for 29 (58.6%) from the field and 7 for 16 (43.8%) from 3. Mount St. Mary’s is 10 for 30 (33.3%) from the field and 4 for 18 (22.2%) from 3.
John Mobley Jr. leads all scorers with 13 points.
Buckeyes closing out first half with big lead
Ohio State has led by as many as 18 points and is ahead 41-25 with 3:46 to play in the first half. The Buckeyes are shooting 58.3% from the floor.
Top Mount St. Mary’s player picks up third foul
Mountaineers guard Arlandus Keyes entered the game averaging a team-best 13.5 points per game, but he picked up his third foul with 6:54 left in the first half and has 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Ohio State is on an 8-0 run, forcing a Mount St. Mary’s timeout with 6:09 left and the Buckeyes ahead 39-23.
Mount St. Mary’s cutting into Ohio State’s lead
Ohio State led 29-15 on a Christoph Tilly, but Mount St. Mary’s has scored on five straight possessions as part of a 12-5 run that has the Mountaineers within 31-23 with 7:24 left.
Mount St. Mary’s has hit its last three shots and is getting plenty of open looks against Ohio State’s defense, which is struggling to locate shooters.
Ohio State offense rolling near midpoint of first half
The Buckeyes have scored on seven straight possessions and have the ball after this under-12 media timeout with a 24-13 lead.
Sophomore guard John Mobley Jr. is perfect on four shots from the floor and has a rebound and an assists to go with 9 points to lead the Buckeyes. Senior Bruce Thornton, Ohio State’s leading scorer this season, didn’t attempt a shot until the 13:14 mark, when he scored in the paint.
Mount St. Mary’s is willing and able to fire from 3-point range, and the Mountaineers have gotten a few easy looks at the rim but are 5 for 15 (33.3%) overall and 3 for 10 (30.0%) from deep.
Ohio State leads at the first media timeout
John Mobley Jr. scored the first five points of the game, and it’s a 10-8 Ohio State lead with 15:10 left in the half.
Tough start for Christoph Tilly. The Ohio State center has two turnovers, had a shot blocked and has missed two 3-point attempts. He’s matched up with Luke McEldon, his teammate at Santa Clara for the last two seasons, and each has forced a turnover.
The Mountaineers have three offensive rebounds already.
Starting lineups posted for Ohio State-Mount St. Mary’s
Here are tonight’s starters.
Ohio State: Bruce Thornton, John Mobley Jr., Devin Royal, Brandon Noel, Christoph Tilly
Mount St. Mary’s: Luke McEldon, Xavier Lipscomb, Mason So, Arlandus Keyes, Anastasios Rozakeas
Video: Ohio State-Mount St. Mary’s pregame thoughts
Ohio State is at full health
No Buckeyes are on the official availability report published by the Big Ten three hours before tipoff.
Ohio State vs Mount St. Mary’s score updates
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Ohio State vs. Mount St. Mary’s time today
The Ohio State vs Mount St. Mary’s game starts at 6:30 p.m. from the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
What channel is Ohio State vs. Mount St. Mary’s on today?
Ohio State vs. Mount St. Mary’s will stream nationally on the Big Ten Network in the sixth game of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season for the Buckeyes. Jack Kizer and former Ohio State captain Joey Lane will call the game from the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Streaming options for the game include Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Stream Ohio State vs. Mount St. Mary’s
Ohio State vs Mount St. Mary’s history
Ohio State vs Mount St. Mary’s predictions, picks, odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Tuesday, Nov. 25
Moneyline: Ohio State (-10000); Mount St. Mary’s (+3300)
Spread: Ohio State by 27.5
Over/under: 148.5
Ohio State men’s basketball schedule
Buy Ohio State vs. Mount St. Mary’s men’s basketball tickets
Ohio State Buckeyes news
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State doubling up Mount St. Mary’s as second half begins: Live
Reporting by Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
