Tomorrow the Buckeyes will take on the Miami Redhawks in a nice interlude between Thanksgiving and The Game on Saturday. Ohio State, now positioned for the #2 spot in the national rankings, seek to move to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 against teams that have some type of Hawk as a mascot. Let’s take our usual look at what we’re up against in Miami.
| School: | Miami University |
| Location: | Oxford, OH |
| Founded: | 1809 |
| Student Population: | 14,265 |
| School Type: | Public |
| Division: | NCAA |
| Conference: | Mid-American Conference |
| Stadium: | Millett Hall |
| Seating: | 6400 |
| Built: | 1968 |
| Head Coach: | Charlie Coles |
| Year: | 11th |
The Redhawks enter the game with a 2-3 record, having defeated Towson and IUPUI and lost against Duke, Green Bay, and San Diego State. Last year was coach Charlie Coles’ first losing season in the past seven, so this year Miami is seeking to bounce back and regain some of their previous success. The program has only gone to the NCAA Tournament once in the 2000’s (in 2007) despite participating four times throughout the 90’s.
The Hawks do not feature a dominant scorer, or even a clear first option on the team. 6’7 senior forward Nick Winbush has the highest scoring average of all players, netting between 11 and 12 points per game. He is followed by Antonio Ballard and Julian Mavunga at around 10 apiece. The entire Redhawks team is going to need to put forth their best effort consistently in the early-going this season, as their schedule could be one of the most challenging in the country over the first part of the season. In addition to the games against Ohio State, San Diego State, and Duke, the Redhawks will face in-state challengers Xavier, Cincinnati, Dayton, and then travel west to pay a visit to the Kansas Jayhawks.
The Redhawks can definitely put some size on the floor, with five players on the roster listed at 6’8 or taller, although only two of these are upperclassmen. While Miami’s typical style of strong, defense-oriented team play may prove effective against teams with a limited array of scoring options, it is unlikely that they will be able to shut down all of the Buckeyes’ many weapons. Hopefully William Buford will be able to return to the floor for Ohio State, having sat out the last game with back troubles.
The game will be played in the late afternoon at 4:00pm in the Schott, and can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Here is the comparison of projected starting lineups:
| Miami | GP | MIN | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| Nick Winbush | 5 | 33.8 | 11.4 | 6.4 | 1 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.417 | 0.727 | 0.391 |
| Antonio Ballard | 3 | 25 | 10.7 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.611 | 0.667 | 0 |
| Julian Mavunga | 5 | 33.2 | 10 | 6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 1 | 4.2 | 0.351 | 0.667 | 0.235 |
| Orlando Williams | 5 | 28.4 | 6.6 | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.324 | 0.714 | 0.316 |
| Quinten Rollins | 5 | 32 | 5 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1 | 0 | 2.4 | 0.391 | 0.714 | 0.25 |
| Ohio State | GP | MIN | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| Jared Sullinger | 4 | 26.8 | 16 | 10 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 0.634 | 0.667 | 0 |
| David Lighty | 4 | 30.8 | 14.3 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 0 | 2 | 0.488 | 0.632 | 0.294 |
| Jon Diebler | 4 | 32 | 13 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.529 | 1 | 0.483 |
| William Buford | 3 | 27.7 | 13 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.471 | 0.833 | 0.222 |
| Dallas Lauderdale | 4 | 20.5 | 5 | 6.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.714 | 0 | 0 |
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