Following their 89-65 victory vs. the Youngstown State Penguins, the Ohio State Buckeyes are battling the Marshall Thundering Herd, a Sun Belt foe, Monday evening at 6:00 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

The contest with Marshall is Ohio State’s last game before a Friday night trip to The Constitution State to face the Connecticut Huskies. Head coach Jake Diebler’s team can’t look ahead to the Huskies, though. The Thundering Herd have the firepower to compete in Columbus. Here are three things to watch on Monday:

Can Ohio State defend the three-point line?

In the Buckeyes’ season opener, they allowed BYU to connect on 46% (11/24) of its three-point shots. They held Youngstown State to a 29% clip (9/31) in that area.

Marshall has hit double-digit threes in each of its first two games. On the year, the Thundering Herd are shooting 38.9% (21/58) from behind the arc. Three different players – Emmanuel Manyuon, Fazi Oshodi and Bryce Slay – have hit four or more threes in a game for them, already, through two contests.

If Marshall is hitting at a high clip on Monday, head coach Cornelius Jackson’s team could hang around as 25.5-point underdogs, just as the Penguins – who were also 25.5-point underdogs – did Saturday. Ohio State might not limit the Thundering Herd’s three-point attempts, but it must hold them to low-quality looks.

Will the Buckeyes handle business on the glass?

Ohio State outrebounded BYU 33-32 and lost. It outrebounded Youngstown State 46-27 and, after some delay, won handily. Marshall, meanwhile, has controlled the boards in both of its games, pulling down double-digit margins (41-31 vs. Buffalo, 49-38 against Toledo).

Despite being a mid-major team, the Thundering Herd have the size to hold their own, or better, in the paint with the Buckeyes. Ohio State needs an aggressive mentality to keep Marshall from earning second chances and preventing second looks themselves.

Monitor Anthony Thompson’s minutes

Thus far in his collegiate career, Thompson has scored six points in 37 minutes of action. He’s just 1/11 from the floor. Him needing to acclimate to college basketball isn’t a surprise. What was shocking, though, was him getting fewer minutes vs. Youngstown State (17) than he did BYU (20).

These are games where Thompson needs to be on the court, adjusting to the speed and physicality of this sport. Ohio State won’t reach its ceiling without him. The Buckeyes, as a whole, need to build a lead and give coach Diebler an opportunity to give him extended opportunities against the Thundering Herd.