How to watch or stream Duke vs Ohio State college basketball game on Wednesday
Eight games into its college basketball season, No. 17 Duke’s inability to score like Blue Devils teams are accustomed to jumps out as a major issue.
Entering Wednesday night’s game with No. 25 Ohio State, the Blue Devils are among the nation’s poorest shooting teams, particularly behind the 3-point line.
Duke is shooting 41.7% from the field for the season, No. 275 among 352 Division I teams nationally. On 3-pointers, the Blue Devils’ 29.1% accuracy is No. 306. The only ACC team shooting worse on 3-pointers is Boston College.
Looking at analytics, Duke’s points per possession rate of 0.876 is No. 224 nationally, according to Synergy Sports.
The Blue Devils (6-2) have been such a strong defensive team they’ve made up for their struggles offensively, for the most part. But against better teams, like when Duke lost, 75-56, to No. 5 Purdue (6-0) last Sunday, that lack of consistent scoring is detrimental. Duke scored just one point over the final nine minutes of that game and Purdue ended the game on a 12-0 run.
Two freshman players Duke expected to be major contributors on both ends of the court haven’t been at full strength.
Dereck Lively II, a 7-1 center, is averaging 2.7 points per game after missing a month of practice with a strained right calf. Dariq Whitehead, a 6-7 forward, is averaging 5.2 points per game after a fractured right foot required August surgery and sidelined him through the middle of November.
Graduate transfer Jacob Grandison, a 41% 3-point shooter the past two seasons at Illinois, is shooting 33% (7 of 21) thus far.
The season is still young, of course. So Duke coach Jon Scheyer is confident the team will improve.
“Now we’ve had a few experiences being here,” Scheyer said following the loss to Purdue on Sunday in Portland, Oregon. You know, every game that we’ve played, I think we’ve learned something from. You need to make a team like that really work and break them down on defense and that’s the next step that we need to get to.”
Duke will have to show improvement while facing its third ranked team, and second such foe in a row, in Ohio State. After opening ACC play at home with Boston College on Saturday, the Blue Devils play Iowa in the Jimmy V Classic at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
The Hawkeyes (5-1) fell out of the top 25 after losing, 79-66, to Texas Christian last Saturday night.
Duke junior point guard Jeremy Roach suffered a right toe injury during the loss to Purdue that twice had him limping uncomfortably the bench for treatment. But Scheyer said Wednesday Roach is in good shape to play against Ohio State.
“Jeremy is in a good spot,” Scheyer said on “The Duke Basketball Report” team update posted on the school’s website, GoDuke.com. “A toe can be a difficult thing. The soreness wasn’t too bad yesterday. I feel like he’s in a good place moving forward for the game.”
Tipoff time + TV channel for Wednesday’s game
The game will start at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday and will air on ESPN, which is available on major cable and satellite services, like Spectrum, Dish Network and DirecTV.
How to stream Duke vs Ohio State game online
Are you a cord-cutter?
If your preferred method of watching games involves streaming, there are options for that, too.
ESPN is available on Sling, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and YouTubeTV streaming services.
Game day details: Duke vs. Ohio State
Teams: Duke Blue Devils vs Ohio State Buckeyes
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 30
Time: 7:15 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Betting line: Duke is a 4.5-point favorite and the over-under total is 137.5 points.
Series history: Duke and Ohio State have played eight times over the years with each team winning four. The Buckeyes pulled even in the series in last year’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge, knocking off No. 1 Duke, 71-66, in Columbus, Ohio.
Pregame reading
No. 24 Purdue muscles past cold-shooting Duke, 75-56, to win Phil Knight Legacy tournament
What we’ve learned about Duke basketball as the Blue Devils play for the PK Legacy title
Duke basketball reaches Phil Knight Legacy final with 71-64 win over Xavier in Portland
Duke basketball struggles against Oregon State, but Blue Devils pull out 54-51 win
Duke basketball team’s plane diverted after loss to Kansas. Where it went, and why
With deep breath and cold shower, new era begins at Duke with Jon Scheyer’s first win
Jon Scheyer gets 1st win as Duke coach. Blue Devils beat Jacksonville 71-44 in opener
UNC and Duke lead way as ACC looks for stronger start following March resurrection
Jon Scheyer wants Duke’s defense to be great as new era begins for Blue Devils
Duke coach Jon Scheyer on former Blue Devils guard Kyrie Irving and antisemitism
This story was originally published November 30, 2022 at 5:10 AM.