Jake Diebler says experience has separated Kentucky while Ohio State awaits availability clarity

Ohio State is putting its pieces together on the fly, missing Aaron Bradshaw (personal) since Evansville on Nov. 17, followed by Meechie Johnson (personal) this week ahead of the team’s win over Valparaiso while Ques Glover (ankle) and Colin White (ankle) both sat out due to injury, as well. That’s a combined 73.5 minutes per game the team has had to replace and make up for elsewhere.

How are things looking for those four ahead of the Buckeyes’ matchup against Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday? The starting-caliber pieces in Bradshaw and Johnson remain very much up in the air while the role additions in Glover and White could be on track to return.

“We’re still trying to figure that out, we’ll see how practice goes the next couple of days,” Jake Diebler said Thursday. “Meechie is still working through his personal stuff, but got word we may have a couple more guys doing some things in practice, so that’s going to be a day-to-day thing. … It’s hard to say yet (if Bradshaw will play). We’ll have to see how (Thursday) goes, (Friday) and things. It’s not a clear answer yet on his availability.”

Freshman sharpshooter John “Juni” Mobley Jr. replaced Johnson in the starting lineup against Valpo while Duke transfer Sean Stewart has stepped up in Bradshaw’s absence in late November and early December.

On one end, Mobley is one of the best shooters in the country, averaging 12.1 points on 53.6 percent shooting from deep with 5.1 attempts per game. He’s made 30 3-pointers on the year with at least one make in every game this season and three or more in seven games. Coming in as a four-star, top-100 recruit out of high school, the 6-1 guard has exceeded early expectations in Columbus and is a name to watch against Kentucky.

“The longer the season has gone on, the more confident Juni has been with the ball in his hands and the more productive he’s been,” Diebler said. “His decision-making is something we believed in from day one. I thought he was really good in ball-screen situations and making reads (in his first start). He’s going to continue to do that for us, it’ll certainly be a big challenge on Saturday. … Certainly he’s earned the other team’s good defenders. … We’ve got to get him different looks.”

As impressive as he’s been, Mobley hasn’t answered any of the team’s ongoing issues with size and physicality. With Bradshaw out, OSU’s starting lineup consists of players standing 6-1, 6-2, 6-6, 6-6 and 6-9. The Buckeyes have thrown 6-6 guard Evan Mahaffey out there — “he gives us more perimeter size,” says Diebler — but they’re still ranked No. 203 nationally on the glass. Austin Parks (6-10) gives Stewart breathers while Ivan Njegovan (7-1) is used sparingly, but no one is arguing the team is undersized as a whole.

That’s problematic against a Kentucky team whose five-man lineup includes players standing 6-2, 6-4, 6-6, 6-11 and 7-0 with core rotation pieces listed at 6-7, 6-7 and 6-10.

“This is a game where we may have to get creative with lineups to match some of that,” Diebler continued. “The biggest thing for us is we have to be more physical when the shot goes up. When the shot goes up, that’s a one-on-one, man-on-man thing. Then we have to provide support from the perimeter when the shot goes up.

“We’ve done some things defensively to keep us out of rotations, that should help us on the glass. But make no mistake, we have another level of physicality we can get to and we have to do it right away.”

Both teams are made up of newcomers with first-year coaches, Kentucky ranked No. 4 nationally and 10-1 overall with Ohio State unranked and 7-4 on the year. What has worked for the Wildcats that hasn’t for the Buckeyes?

“Coach (Pope) has done a great job. I think the age of their team has played a factor,” Diebler said. “They have a great deal of experience where you can see that experience come out in moments of a game. Not all transfers have the same experience, but you look at theirs, they have a great deal of experience they’ve brought in. That’s been really good for them.

“We have to continue as some of our younger guys get more and more experience, we’ll start to see more and more moments in games where we’re benefitting from that.”

A key to the game for Ohio State? Diebler says the offense has fired on all cylinders at times, but only when the ball moves and assist numbers stack. To not only beat Kentucky, but get the train back on the tracks as a competitive team in the Big 10 this year, the Buckeyes have to be more unselfish.

“We’ve got to continue to work together,” he said. “When our assist numbers are over 50 percent, our offense has really been rolling. That’s got to be who we are. It can’t just be one guy having seven, eight, nine assists every night. It’s got to be spread amongst the team.”

Kentucky is rooting for selfishness alongside Ohio State’s glaring size concerns.