How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: Ohio State Buckeyes at UCLA Bruins
Today, the UCLA Bruins honor the life of Bruin legend Bill Walton as Mick Cronin looks for his 500th career win.
“Throw it down, Big Man!”
This afternoon, UCLA celebrates the life of Bill Walton, the greatest college basketball player of all time. To celebrate, UCLA basketball posted a video of Mick Cronin talking about what Big Red means to UCLA.
Personally, I would have preferred to see UCLA honor Walton at either the Washington game or the Oregon game since both teams were former Pac-12 foes of the Bruins, but, alas, the school has scheduled it against a “truck stop” opponent, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Fittingly, it reminds me of my favorite piece of Walton wisdom. Towards the end of the Ben Howland era, Bill was calling a game and the Bruins weren’t playing particularly well. His play-by-play partner for the game asked Bill how he would fix Bruin basketball.
In typical Walton fashion, Bill refused to take the bait. Instead, all he would say is “I’m not in charge. If I were, things would be different.” Bill, who we know was rarely at a loss for words, especially during a basketball game, didn’t explain how things would be different. Instead, he left that up to the viewers to draw their own conclusions.
The decision to honor Bill’s life at a game against Ohio State is not something I’m in charge of, but if I were, things would be different.
After losing to Minnesota on Tuesday, UCLA coach Mick Cronin was left still looking for career win #500. This afternoon, the Bruins will look to get Cronin to that milestone.
Meanwhile, UCLA sits in sixth place in the Big Ten standings. They are a game behind Wisconsin, Purdue and Maryland who are all tied for third place. So, a Bruin win today is important as it could move them a half game behind those teams. That’s important because the top four teams in the conference standings will receive a double bye in the conference tournament, requiring them to win just three games in three days to win the tournament title, rather than four in four days. With just four games left in the regular season, every game is becoming a must-win for UCLA.
On the other hand, Ohio State sits in a tie for ninth place with Nebraska. So, the Buckeyes could really use a win today to help them get a first round bye, instead of having to win five games in five days to win the conference title.
The fact remains Ohio State is a team UCLA should beat. Then again, they should have beaten Minnesota on Tuesday. If the Bruins cannot finish in at least fourth place, the home loss to the Gophers will certainly have played a significant role.
The Buckeyes are led by head coach Jake Diebler, who’s in his first full season leading Ohio State. Diebler came to Columbus in 2019 as an assistant coach and he was promoted to associate head coach in 2022. When head coach Chris Holtmann was fired following a 2-9 stretch last season, Diebler was named the team’s interim coach and his players responded by winning five of the last six regular season games and they upset Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, resulting in an NIT bid. They won two more games before losing their quarterfinal game to Georgia.
This year has been an up and down year for Ohio State. They’ve gone 4-7 against Top 25 teams. After going 5-2 in November and 4-2 in December, 2025 has not been as kind to the Buckeyes. They went 4-4 in January and are currently 2-4 in February with today’s game against UCLA and another one on Wednesday across town to play.
Right now, it looks like Ohio State could be heading to their eleventh NIT because it’s doubtful they will be selected for the Big Dance.
Let’s look at Diebler’s starting five.
Ohio State’s Starting Five
Diebler will start a lineup with two guards and three forwards. Four of his five starters are averaging in double figures.
The Buckeyes are led by junior guard Bruce Thornton, who averages 17.1 ppg. He also leads the team in steals with 29 and assists with 118, and his 44.5% three-point percentage is the highest of anyone on the team who has tried more than two three-pointers. He’s the only guy to start all of Ohio State’s game this season.
The other starting guard will be freshman John Mobley who is third on the team in scoring with an average of 13.1 ppg. While he’s second on the team in assists with 62, the two areas where he really stands out are three-point shooting and free throw shooting. His 40.5% three-point percentage doesn’t tell the whole story about him from long range. He’s made 66 of the 163 threes he’s attempted. That’s nearly 50% more tries than Thornton and his percentage isn’t much lower than his teammate either. When it comes to shots from the charity stripe, Mobley just doesn’t miss. He’s made 63 of his 69 attempts for a 91.9 free throw percentage.
Sophomore Devin Royal is the team’s highest scoring forward with an average of 13.6 ppg. Royal’s 52.5% shooting percentage also stands out as does the fact that he leads the team in rebounding with an average of 7.0 per game.
Grad transfer Micah Parrish has joined the Buckeyes after starting his career at Oakland and spending the past two seasons at San Diego State. This year, Parrish is averaging 12.5 ppg, making him the final starter averaging in double figures. He’s also second on the team in steals with 28.
The final starter is Duke transfer Sean Stewart. He averages just 5.7 ppg, but he’s second on the team in rebounds with 6.0 per game and in blocks with 24.
Diebler seems to utilize a nine-man rotation with Evan Mahaffey likely to be the first man off the bench. Ques Glover, Aaron Bradshaw, and Ivan Njegovan are the other guys most likely to play today. Bradshaw seems to contribute the most through his 6.6 scoring average.
Analysis
The Bruins have struggled this year against teams where a lot of guys average in double figures. That may not bode well for the results of today’s game since the Buckeyes have four starters who do that.
The other thing UCLA needs to watch out for is definitely sending John Mobley to the line late in the game. Mobley’s insane free throw percentage makes him essentially automatic from the line. It’s imperative that the Bruins not put him on the line in a close game since today’s game is a must-win for UCLA.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Today’s game will be broadcast on CBS with Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery on the call. You can also choose to listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray on the radio or online instead. To listen online, just right-click on the link below so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to today’s game online.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. Ohio State Buckeyes game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game:
UCLA Men’s Basketball (19-8, 10-6)
Opponent: Ohio State Buckeyes (15-12, 7-9)
Series Record: Ohio State leads, 7-6
When: 12:45 pm PT, Sunday, February 23, 2025
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: CBS with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Tiffany Blackmon
Live Stream: CBSSports.com and the Paramount+ app
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: AM 1150 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 372 (UCLA feed)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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I would generously describe this referee crew as “hot garbage” and I think if things continue you might actually see stuff thrown on the court.
Greetings Bruin fam, from inside Pauley today! My first time back for MBB in a loooong time. LFG!!! 💙🏀💛