How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: UCLA Bruins at Ohio State Buckeyes
The Bruins look to complete a sweep of their current road trip when they square off against the Buckeyes.
This morning, the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team will wrap up their current road trip with a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio. Tip-off is set for 10 am PT and today’s game will be broadcast on CBS.
The Buckeyes are coming off a road loss to Washington on Sunday, and they have not lost back-to-back games all season.
Today’s game will be just UCLA’s second visit to Columbus. The last time the Bruins visited Columbus for a men’s basketball game was 1968. That visit featured a Top 15 matchup with #1 UCLA earning an 84-73 victory over #13 Ohio State.
More recently, the Bruins defeated the Buckeyes last season, 69-61, on Bill Walton Day at Pauley Pavilion.
The Buckeyes are coached by Jake Diebler, who is in his third season at the helm in Columbus. He took over as interim head coach from Chris Hoffman in February 2024 and led Ohio State to an 8-3 mark down the stretch. It was good enough that OSU removed his interim tag and made him the permanent head coach a month later. Last season didn’t go quite as well with the Buckeyes finishing the season with a 17-15 record.
This season, Ohio State is 11-5. That record is buoyed by the six straight wins the team had to open the season. The only decent team they beat in that stretch was Notre Dame. Since those first six games, the Buckeyes have gone 5-5.
Let’s look at the Buckeyes’ probable starting five.
Ohio State Buckeyes’ Starting Five
Diebler had started the same lineup for the first ten games of the season with Brandon Noel as one of the two, but since the North Carolina game last month, freshman Amare Bynum has started instead. Noel won’t even be available off the bench today as both he and Josh Ojianwuna are listed as out for today’s game.
The starting guards will be senior Bruce Thornton and sophomore John Mobley, Jr. Thornton is the unequivocal leader of the team. He leads the Buckeyes with an average of 20.5 ppg as well as steals with 19 and assists with 62. He’s also the best three-point shooter among the starters with a 43.8% three-point percentage while he’s third on the team in rebounds with an average of 5.2 rpg. Mobley is another big scoring threat for Ohio State. He’s third on the team in scoring with an average of 13.8 ppg and he’s second in assists with 44. While he actually takes more three-point shots than Thornton, he’s made 40.0% of his shots beyond the arc. So, while he’s still a threat from long-range, he isn’t as accurate as Thornton.
The starting forwards will be junior Devin Royal and Bynum. Royal is ranked second on the Buckeyes in scoring with an average of 13.9 ppg, but this is a bit misleading because he’s started one less game than Mobley, who’s actually scored 12 more points overall. He is the team’s best rebounder, though. He averages 6.0 rpg and his 90 rebounds is more than anyone else on the team.
Bynum has averaged 9.7 ppg this season, which makes him an upgrade from Noel who averages 7.4 ppg, even though Bynum is the only starter not averaging in double figures. He has upped his game since becoming a starter. He has averaged 10.2 ppg in Ohio State’s six conference games, and he started four of them. He leads the team with 14 blocks this season.
Senior transfer Christoph Tilly will start at center. Tilly comes to Ohio State after playing three seasons at Santa Clara. He’s averaging 12.4 ppg and he’s second both in rebounding with an average of 5.4 rpg and in blocks with ten. In eight of the Buckeyes’ last nine games, Tilly was the guy Diebler subbed for first.
Against Oregon, Diebler’s first man off the bench was guard Gabe Cupps while it was Croatian center Ivan Njegovan against Washington. Cupps and Njegovan are the only available players Diebler has today who are averaging more than ten minutes per game. Both players are averaging less than 3.0 ppg.
Analysis
The key to this game is finding a way to shut down Thornton. If the Bruins can play tough defense and keep him from scoring, UCLA should come away with a win. If they are not able to shut him down, then the Buckeyes will probably pick up the win.
UCLA Men’s Basketball (12-5, 4-2)
Opponent: Ohio State Buckeyes (11-5, 3-3)
Series Record: Series tied, 7-7
When: 10:00 am PT, Saturday, January 17, 2026
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH
TV: CBS with Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery
Live Stream: CBSSports.com and the Paramount+ and CBS Sports apps
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: KABC AM 790 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 388 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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