After a doozy of an opening night, Ohio State (2-0) welcomed the Niagara Purple Eagles (0-2) to the Schottenstein Center on Friday night, led by a very familiar face. Third-year head coach Greg Paulus was an Ohio State assistant under Thad Matta from 2011-2017, and made his first trip back to Columbus since the change in regime from Matta to Holtmann.
His Purple Eagles are ranked No. 233 in the country according to Ken Pomeroy, but gave Xavier — who most people consider to be a safe NCAA Tournament team — a battle on Tuesday night.