Nearly 100 years passed before Ohio State and Cincinnati met in a revival of their in-state matchup last season.
There was no mystery to Chris Holtmann and his coaching staff about what Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin and his players wanted to do, though. None at all. His teams had built reputations as tough, physical, defensive-minded groups. So when the Buckeyes headed west to take on the Bearcats in their first game at the newly renovated Fifth Third Arena, they knew what to expect, executed and returned to Columbus that night with a 64-56 win.
Just one year later, it would stand to reason that preparing for the exact same team would be even easier.