Camels hope to get over hump in clash with Buckeyes

Nov 26, 2014 - 4:28 PM Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - The 16th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue play in the Buckeye Classic when it hosts the Campbell Camels at Value City Arena on Wednesday night.

Based on its previous results, Campbell is not likely to pull off an upset in this one. The Camels did win their home opener against Barber Scotia, a team from outside of NCAA jurisdiction, but they dropped contests with Davidson (86-51) and Colgate (54-48) since. They will be on the road once again on Sunday at Scared Heart.

It was that same Sacred Heart team that Ohio State trampled this past Sunday in a 106-48 final. The Buckeyes have yet to lose in three games overall this season, with a date against James Madison serving as their final warm-up for a showdown with Louisville in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

This bout marks the first meeting between these two programs.

Despite playing on their home floor, the Camels just didn't have enough juice on offense to knock off Colgate. They made only 36 percent of their shots from the field, including a 4-of-13 showing from 3-point range. They did however, outscore Colgate in the paint (22-16), while turning the ball over only seven times. Kyre' Hamer had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Hamer (14 ppg, 8 rpg, 2.5 spg) is part of a tandem of double-digit scorers for the Camels, with D.J. Mason (15.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) the second part of the duo. Hamer is shooting a blistering 63.2 percent from the field in two games played, while Mason is shooting at an elevated rate as well (.538). However, Mason did not look very comfortable against Colgate, finishing with 11 points on just 4-of-15 shooting. Hamer made 5-of-8 shots in the contest. As a team, Campbell is scoring 65.3 points per game.

It was a total team effort for Ohio State in its demolition of Sacred Heart. D'Angelo Russell poured in a game-high 32 points to lead six players in double figures in the 58-point victory. Shannon Scott had an even more historic game, as he set a school record with 16 assists to go with his 11 points. In total, the Buckeyes connected on 56.9 percent or their field goal attempts, while limiting Sacred Heart to 25.4 percent.

The Buckeyes, have not played the most challenging schedule here in the early going, and that has led to some dominant production. They are scoring 90.7 points per game on 60.8 percent shooting, while dishing out 22.3 assists per contest as a team. In addition, they are allowing very few points (55.3 ppg) and a dismal opponent shooting percentage (.366). Russell (18 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg) will be a Player of the Year candidate if he continues to play at such a high level, while Scott (9.3 ppg, 13.7 apg, 2.3 spg) has been a tremendous player at both ends of the court.