It’s almost that time again.

While it feels odd that we are nearing the start of high school basketball season in Ohio due to the fact that the football Buckeyes just kicked off the season last weekend, we are only a little over a month away from the tip off of the 2020-21 season.

We are 79 days away from the 19th annual Premier Health Flyin’ To The Hoop Invitational at Trent Arena in Kettering, Ohio, as event Founder and President Eric Horstman and company released this year’s schedule on Tuesday at 11 A.M. via a virtual livestream from SUVtv.

This year’s event will feature 37 different teams from around the country in 19 games over the span of four days. As always, there are a handful of Buckeye targets/commits playing in the event, so let’s take a look at some of the matchups.

The first game featuring a Buckeye target will tip off early Sunday afternoon when Chris Livingston and Buchtel get set to take on Archbishop Alter out of Dayton.

Livingston, the No.3 ranked prospect in the 2022 Rivals150, was supposed to play in the event last season, however, Buchtel was removed from the list of teams when he decided to spend the season at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson (OH).

However, we will get to see Chris and the Griffins in this year’s slate of games as he and his brother Cordell Livingston have both made their return to the program. The Buckeyes offered Livingston way back before he even played a high school game on August 19th, 2018 and have been in contact with him ever since.

While Livingston will be far and away the best player on the floor and should dominate this matchup individually, Alter has a chance to keep it close and possibly pull out a win if they receive a big game from junior Jacob Conner, who broke out this summer, is their best player and holds nearly 10 mid-major offers.

In what is arguably the best matchup of the day on Sunday, Ohio State commit Malaki Branham and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s will take on west coast powerhouse prep school Dream City Christian (AZ) at 4:45 in the afternoon.

Branham is no stranger to the event, as the 6-foot-5 wing put on the best performance of any player over the weekend last year, exploding for a 42 point outing in a dominant win over former Division II state champion Trotwood Madison.

Despite losing their Flyin’ To The Hoop matchup with Pickerington Central (OH) last season in a rather disappointing effort, Dream City Christian is no slouch, as the Arizona prep school will give St. V’s all that they have got in this matchup.

Branham will have his hands full on the wing, as both Arizona State commit Demari Williams and top 100 junior Shaedon Sharpe will likely match up with him. However, I expect Branham and Ohio State target Sencire Harris to get the job done in this matchup if the Irish can control 6-foot-11 Dream City Christian big Birima Seck on the interior.

The nightcap on Sunday will be the only time all weekend that we see two Buckeye targets go head-to-head, as Gahanna junior Sean Jones and Wayne sophomore Lawrent Rice will duel it out in what is bound to be a fantastic matchup individually.

While the 6-foot-3 Rice has three or four inches on Jones in terms of height, Jones is simply as good as they come with the ball in his hands, as he can create shots for all of his teammates and get to the rim or create space for a jumpshot virtually whenever he wants.

While they haven’t been a dominant program over the last couple of years like we have seen in the past, Rice and Wayne will give the Lions all that they’ve got in this matchup as they are poised to win a hefty number of games this season with Rice as more of a number one option.

Gahanna is coming off of a 24-2 season and return all but about two contributors from last year’s squad, as they are presumably the early season favorite to make it out of Columbus in March and advance to the state final four.

While this has the potential to be the best matchup of the day in terms of legitimately just being a great game, it will be very entertaining nonetheless as the two Buckeye targets will go at each other all game from the lead guard spot.

In the finale of 19 games over the four day weekend, 2023 Buckeye target Rayvon Griffith and Cincinnati Taft will take on Kettering Fairmont, whose gym, Trent Arena, is used every year during the event.

Griffith, who is the only 2023 prospect the Buckeyes have offered in the entire country, has a chance to absolutely dominate this matchup on both ends of the floor.

Kettering Fairmont has nobody on their roster who can match the athleticism and frame of Griffith, and the fact that he always plays with his motor at 110% won’t make the matchup any easier for the Firebirds.

Taft had a great season last year as they were one of the best Division III programs in the entire state throughout the season. If Griffith shows up this day and plays the way that he knows how, I don’t see the Senators having any issues in this matchup.