Pittsburgh at Ohio State: 2024-25 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Both Pittsburgh and Ohio State will be shorthanded when they face off in Columbus. Which current roster has the edge?

TV schedule: Friday, November 29th, 2:30 pm ET. Peacock
Arena: Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio

The Pittsburgh Panthers (6-1) will be facing another Big Ten program, coming off an 81-75 loss to Wisconsin in the Greenbrier Tip-Off. The bigger issue for them is that they lost starting guard Damian Dunn, who suffered a thumb and ankle injury that'll keep him off the floor for over a month.

That puts a lot of pressure on the other two guards, Ishmael Leggett (18.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg), and Jaland Lowe (15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 5.7 apg), one of the better backcourts in the country. However, their opponents, Ohio State (5-1), also have a pair of 15 ppg scorers in Bruce Thornton and John Mobley, one of the best true freshmen in the country.

The Buckeyes have five players averaging double figures, including forwards, Micah Parris, Devin Royal and Meechie Johnson. The next leading scorer was Aaron Bradshaw (7.8 ppg and 4.8 rpg), the team's starting center. However, he's reportedly away from the team due to an investigation off-the-court and is unlikely to play. They don't have a ton of frontcourt depth so that's something Pittsburgh can take advantage, led by their starting big man, Cam Corhen.

This is a game where the x-factors will need to be identified to help separate their respective teams. Pittsburgh freshman Amsal Delalic will get more minutes on the court with Dunn out, along with Brandin Cummings. Meanwhile, Sean Stewart is the new featured forward in the Buckeyes frontcourt and will need to stay on the court.

Based on the mayhem in the top-25 AP poll, the winner of this game could very well be in the next week's rankings. With the game being at home and the Panthers reworking their rotation, look for the Big Ten team to get the win.

Prediction: Ohio State 76, Pittsburgh 67