Opponent: Lipscomb University

Where: Value City Arena (19,049) in Columbus

Date, Time: Nov. 24, 7 p.m. Eastern

TV: Big Ten Network (announcers Dave Revsine and Bill Hosket)

Rankings, Records: Lipscomb 0-3; No. 17 Ohio State 3-1

Key Players: Lipscomb – 6-9 C Adnan Hodzic 22.7 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, 63.8 FG pct.; 6-3 G Josh Slater 18.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 6.0 assists per game, 2.7 steals per game; 6-7 F Brandon Brown 16.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 59.4 FG pct., 77.8 FT pct.; 6-5 F Michael Teller 9.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg; 6-3 G Jordan Burgason 7.5 ppg; 6-6 F Brian Wright 4.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg; 6-8 C Justin Glenn 3.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg. Ohio State – 6-7 G/F Evan Turner 21.8 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 6.0 apg, 1.0 blocks per game, 58.3 FG pct.; 6-6 G Jon Diebler 15.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 44.8 3-pt. pct.; 6-5 G William Buford 12.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg; G/F David Lighty 11.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg; 6-2 G Jeremie Simmons 7.3 ppg, 41.7 3-pt. pct.; 6-3 G Walter Offutt 5.5 ppg; 6-8 C Dallas Lauderdale 4.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.0 bpg; 6-9 C Kyle Madsen 3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg.

Quality Of Opponent: Not as bad as you think. The Bisons won 17 games last year and posted a 12-8 record in the Atlantic Sun. They tried a new point guard in Johnny Lee, who transferred in from George Washington, but he was 0 for 6 from the field in the first two games and gave way to Zach Brown. The other four starters are returning to the same roles as last season. This team knocked off Indiana in Bloomington last season, so it knows what is involved in playing in a Big Ten arena.

Key Matchup: Lauderdale vs. Hodzic.

Hodzic began the season with a 26-point effort and hasn’t let up. He maneuvers well in the lane and can knock down face-up jumpers. He and Mercer guard James Florence are the most polished scorers in the Atlantic Sun.

Lauderdale, meanwhile, hasn’t looked to score much since missing the opener and returning from a broken ring finger in his right hand. However, he’s been a force defensively and was downright dominating in the paint in Friday’s win over Cal with several alterations and seven blocked shots, which matches his career high.

That left Ohio State coach Thad Matta thirsting for even more production from his starting center.

“We’ve got to continue to bring him along on both ends of the floor,” Matta said. “Is he going to average seven blocks a game? Probably not, but he’s got good timing. He had a block against Cal where he blocked it back inbounds, which is a huge step. I actually saw his eyes and he realized he could block it and he deflected it back to us. Those are little things that hopefully we can continue to expand on. Getting him finishing around the basket is something that’s going to be huge for us.”

Chess Game: There isn’t much call for the Buckeyes to worry about anything other than their own play here, but Matta does have a to-do list for this week.

“Continuing to build our defense, both man and zone,” he said. “I think the offensive efficiency is something that I want us to continue to hone in on. I think for the most part we’re doing a decent job of taking care of the basketball. I like our unselfishness.”

The Buckeyes need to get Buford going again after he struggled mightily with his shot in New York.

Fun Facts: The Buckeyes are coming off a week in which they lost 77-73 to No. 6 North Carolina at Madison Square Garden in New York City and then beat No. 13 California 76-70 the next day in the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. … Lipscomb is a private, Christian-oriented university in Nashville, Tenn., with a total enrollment of just under 3,500 students. The school colors are purple and gold and the mascot is Lu the Bison. … Lipscomb has given up more than 90 points in all three losses and fell 95-73 at Vanderbilt on. Nov. 16. … This is the first-ever meeting between Ohio State and Lipscomb in men’s basketball. Ohio State is 9-0 all-time vs. teams representing the Atlantic Sun Conference, the last being an 81-68 victory over Jacksonville Dec. 17, 2008 at Value City Arena. … Turner collected his second-consecutive Big Ten player of the week award on Monday. He had a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds against North Carolina and logged 26 points and 14 rebounds vs. Cal. … Turner has opened the season with four consecutive double-doubles for the first time since Clark Kellogg did so in 1980-81. Kellogg began that season with five straight double-doubles.

What’s At Stake: Not much, except a loss obviously would be derailing to the Buckeyes. Since that’s not at all likely, the aim here is to continue to define roles and build momentum to the next week’s showdown with Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The Buckeyes Say: Matta on the notion after the North Carolina game that the experiment of having Turner play point guard is over: “That’s probably why I don’t read anything or listen to anything. I really believe this with Evan” I believe he has grown with regard to his mental capacity to weather storms better. I think he’s getting better at getting on to the next play. Evan is more of a gambler and a risk-taker. As long as I’m on the same page with that, I’m OK with it.”

Matta on not playing Offutt and reserve center Zisis Sarikopoulos in the two games in New York City last week: “I probably made a mistake. I needed to get more guys into the game. I got a little (concentrated) on wanting some guys to play while they were tired. We definitely have to get our depth in there.”

Diebler on what the team is working on now: “I think a big part of it is offensive execution. I think in New York we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be offensively, especially against North Carolina, and again it started showing up in the Cal game when they started making a comeback. Taking goods shots and playing at our own pace on offense and doing what we want to do, I think that’s something we’ve really emphasized.”

Lauderdale on swatting away Cal: “I didn’t want to go home 0-2. None of us wanted to go 0-2. So it was whatever I had to do, and that was my part, blocking shots that night.”

Next On The Docket: The Buckeyes host St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday (5:30 p.m. Eastern, Big Ten Network). The Red Flash is off to a 1-3 start and is expected to be the doormat of the Northeast Conference. The team was just 6-23 last season including 3-15 in the conference. Still, St. Francis features a formidable scoring duo in swingman Devin Sweeney and center Mislav Jukic, who are both seniors. After that the pickings are slim on a roster filled with freshmen and transfers. Coach Don Friday probably is going to wish this game were on Friday – so it would be over before it started.