Scarlet Sunrise: Chris Holtmann has made Ohio State basketball fun again

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise! Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Ohio State football, recruiting, basketball and more. 

Big win for Ohio State hoops

Ohio State picked up another crucial road win on Thursday, ending the game on a 13-0 run to beat Creighton 69-60 in the Gavitt Tipoff Games pairing Big Ten teams against Big East teams.

Keyshawn Woods scored 19 points for the Buckeyes and was brilliant, but the Buckeyes also scored key contributions down the stretch from a pair of freshmen. Down by four with two and a half minutes to go, Duane Washington confidently buried a 3-pointer to get the Buckeyes within one. Shortly after, defensive star Luther Muhammad harassed Davion Mintz into a horrendous turnover.

Paired with a road win against Cincinnati in the opener, Ohio State’s 3-0 start includes a couple of huge wins that could pay off come March. Just a few years removed from the Amir Williams and Marc Loving show, this team is watchable, likable and — most importantly — getting it done in the win column.

Here’s Lettermen Row contributor John Brice’s Three Points analysis from the win.

Reid Fragel on the OL

There is still room to grow for the Buckeyes, even at this late juncture in the season. And with that potential for improvement, it’s been fair to wonder at times if personnel changes should be considered along with the schematic adjustments the coaching staff appears to be making to put the linemen in better position to impact the game.

With both of those thing in mind, former Ohio State offensive lineman Reid Fragel returned to the Lettermen Row film lab to take a look at the work going on up front, what differences he’s seen lately and any potential tweaks that may needed in the latest episode of BuckIQ. With some tests remaining for the Buckeyes, there’s no time to waste.

WATCH: Reid Fragel analyzes Ohio State’s offensive line

No. 1 kicker hearing from Ohio State 

It’s still early, but Ohio State has already started targeting Jake Seibert, a 6-foot, 170-pound kicker from Cincinnati who is in the class of 2020.

“Not too long ago Taver Johnson came into my school and asked me to come up to Columbus for a game,” the Cincinnati La Salle junior told Lettermen Row. “It was about two weeks ago, but I’ve been texting him. He came in and said they were looking for a kicker and that my coach was telling him to come in and talk to me, then he invited me to the game.”

Right now Seibert, ranked by ChrisSailerKicking.com as the country’s No. 1 kicker in 2020, has no scholarship offers. He visited Georgia last weekend, and the Bulldogs are very high on him. But if the Buckeyes come through with an offer, they may be hard to beat.

“I’m just hoping [Ohio State’s need for a kicker] lines up,” he said. “And that they think I’ll be able to help them out in the future.”

Beanie and The Boom

This week on the Beanie and The Boom Podcast, three time All-American James Laurinaitis calls in to give his thoughts on the Ohio State defense. The 97.1 The Fan and Big Ten Network analyst also breaks down the college football landscape.

The guys give their perspective on the Brett McMurphy report and Ohio State’s swift response. Beanie, Boom and Antonio Pittman debate what they would have done if they were in that situation while in college.

Counting down

• Ohio State at Maryland: 1 day
• The Game: 8 days

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