Men’s Hoops Plays Host to Tennessee Tech – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/24/1998 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
November 24, 1998
Buckeyes go to 5-0 with 86-45 win over Army
Michael Redd scored 14 points and Ohio State held overmatched Army to 28 percent shooting in an 86-45 victory. The Buckeyes (5-0) remained unbeaten in their inaugural season in Value City Arena. The 41-point margin matched Ohio State’s largest since beating Alabama State 81-40 three years ago – also the last time the Buckeyes won their first five games. The contest was Ohio State’s fourth in seven days, including a 70-62 victory over Penn State (11/20) in the earliest Big Ten game ever played. Army (0-3) mustered just 15-of-53 shooting from the field and hit only 1-of-17 three-point attempts. Eleven Buckeyes scored, with freshmen Will Dudley and Boban Savovic coming off the bench to add 11 and 10 points, respectively. No Ohio State starter played more than 20 minutes. With Ohio State substituting heavily, Army still managed just two field goals in the first 9:58 of the second half. The Cadets, coming off a 51-point loss to Vanderbilt and a 64-63 defeat to Quinnipiac, stayed close for only the opening eight minutes. Ahead 17-13, the Buckeyes reeled off a 20-4 spurt. Over a span of just over eight minutes, the Cadets hit 2-of-14 shots from the field and had seven turnovers, while Ohio State was 7-of-13 and turned the ball over four times.
Noting the win over Army
Ohio State now has a 7-1 all-time record against Army and a 14-3 all-time against schools from the Patriot League after the 86-45 win. n Ohio State’s 5-0 start is their best since the 1995-96 season when the Bucks won seven of their first eight contests. Ohio State’s last 6-0 start was during the 1992-93 Big Ten championship season when the Bucks finished 26-6. n Ohio State went on a 23-7 run over the final 10:50 of the first half to open up a four-point lead into a 40-20 halftime bulge. n Ohio State’s defense again was stellar, holding the Cadets to 28.3 percent shooting (15-of-53), including a paltry 27 percent in the second half. The Buckeyes also forced Army into 27 turnovers. Buckeye opponents are averaging 23 turnovers per game this season. Ohio State also held the Cadet offense to 1-of-17 shooting from behind the three-point arc. n Jason Singleton set a career high with five steals, four of which came in the first half. He previously had four steals in a game against Purdue on Jan. 21, 1998. n Freshman Boban Savovic scored his first career field goal in today’s game, as he finished with a career-high 10 points. He also drilled his first career three-point goal. n Freshman Will Dudley notched a career-high 11 points in today’s game. He was perfect from the field on five-of-five shooting and was one-for-two from the charity stripe. n Jon Sanderson set a career high with three steals, breaking his previous high of two set twice last year. n Shamar Herron set a new career high after grabbing seven rebounds in the OSU win. His previous high was six, set against Toledo on Dec. 3, 1997. n OSU kept their streak of consecutive games with three-pointers alive. The Bucks hit five more today and have now hit three-pointers in 189 consecutive games. n Ken Johnson continues to climb up the career blocked shot chart at Ohio State. Johnson blocked three more shots against Army and now has 74 in his career. He sits in seventh place in OSU history, 31 behind sixth-place Perry Carter. n The Buckeyes had 11 of 13 players record at least one assist in the game. Scoonie Penn led both teams with four.
Army had just two assists in the game. The last time an opponent had as few as two assists was against Connecticut (3/21/92) when the Huskies fell 73-55 to No. 3 OSU. UConn had two assists in that game.
Tenn. Tech splits first two contests
Tennessee Tech won its season opener 64-63 before dropping a road game to Alabama, 79-53, last Thursday. Alabama dropped a 78-70 decision to Ohio State last Sunday in Columbus. Against the Crimson Tide, Tennessee Tech fell behind 41-25 in the first half and were outscored in the final 20 minutes, 38-28. The Golden Eagles shot 25 percent (15-60) for the game from the field and 38 percent (8-21) from three-point range. Tech outrebounded Alabama 47-38. Alabama connected on 49 percent (32-66) of its shots and were led by guard Brian Williams with 20 points.
Buckeyes 1-0 against TTU
This will be the second meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Buckeyes. The only previous matchup was at the Maui Invitational Dec. 21, 1993. The Buckeyes prevailed 98-77 in that game before losing to No. 5 Kentucky 100-88 and downing No. 18 Boston College, 69-67.
Ohio Valley 0-3 vs. Ohio State
The Buckeyes have played representatives from the Ohio Valley Conference just three times previously. Ohio State is 1-0 against Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech. Other conference members include Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Middle Tennessee State, Morehead State, Murray State, Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee Martin.
Lebo in first year at Tennessee Tech
Jeff Lebo, an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina and a former Academic All-America player and team captain at the University of North Carolina, is in his first season as men’s head basketball coach at Tennessee Tech. Lebo was announced as the new Golden Eagle coach in March by Dr. David Larimore, Tech vice president and athletics director, following a nationwide search. Lebo came to Tech following six successful seasons as assistant coach at South Carolina under head coach Eddie Fogler. Last season, USC was 21-7 overall and ranked 15th in both the AP and CNN/USA Today polls. The Gamecocks posted an 11-5 record in the Southeastern Conference.
Buckeyes conclude stretch of six games in 12 days
Ohio State is playing its sixth game in 12 days today against Tennessee Tech. The Buckeyes began this difficult stretch against Oakland (11/13). Ohio State concludes with its sixth-consecutive home game before taking to the road for the first time this season Saturday at Vanderbilt (8:30 p.m.)
Buckeyes hitting the offensive glass
Ohio State averaged 12.3 offensive rebounds last season during an 8-22 campaign. This year OSU is off to a 5-0 start and are averaging 16.2 offensive boards.
OSU three-point field goal streak extended to 189
Ohio State has connected on at least one three-point field goal attempt over the last 189 games. Junior Scoonie Penn extended the streak with a trey early in the first half against Army. The last time an OSU team missed all attempts from three-point range was Feb. 2, 1992 when the Bucks went 0 for 5 in a 68-58 OSU win over Michigan. Buckeye opponents have a streak of 181 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer made. Michigan went 0-10 from long range March 3, 1992 in an OSU 75-66 victory, marking the last time an opponent was held without a three-pointer.
OSU defense forcing mistakes
The Buckeye defense has forced the opposition to turn the ball over 20 or more times four times this season. In the last four contests, Ohio State has forced 95 miscues in wins over Alabama (26), Robert Morris (24), Penn State (18) and Army (27). The Buckeyes forced an average of 15.9 turnovers a game last season and 20 or more in seven games. Ohio State foes are averaging 23.0 TOs this season.
OSU 48-39 in Big Ten openers, 55-32 in home conference openers
Ohio State is in its 87th season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes are 48-39 all-time in league openers. OSU has begun the conference season at home 52 times (33-19) and on the road 35 times (15-20). Overall, Ohio State has a record of 55-32 in home league openers.
Ohio State looks for first 6-0 start since 1995-96
The last 6-0 start was during the 1991-92 season when OSU won the Big Ten and finished with a 26-6 record. The Bucks won 10 of the first 11 games that season. The only loss during that stretch was a 79-77 loss to USC on the road (12/21).
Buckeye bits…
Ohio State is averaging 40.2 points in the first half of games, 36.6 in the second…The Buckeyes are outscoring opponents 201-140 (+61) in the first half and 183-147 (+36) in the second…OSU is 5-0 when leading at the half…The Buckeye bench has outscored the opponents in each of the first four games for a total 127-69 advantage…The OSU bench has outscored the visitor reserves in each contest this season…13 Buckeyes have scored in double figures this season, Michael Redd has been in double digits in each game, Scoonie Penn three times…Redd has scored in double figures in 34 of 35 career games, including the last 22…He has four career double-doubles.
Opponents shooting 38 percent
Ohio State held Army to just 28 percent (15-53) shooting from the field and just 6 percent (1-17) from three-point range. Both Robert Morris and Penn State shot 20-59 from the field (.339) in the last two Buckeye home games. Robert Morris scored just 49 points and the Nittany Lions managed just 62 in losses to the Buckeyes. The Colonials connected on 6 of 17 shots from three-point range while Penn State hit home on 7 of 25 threes. For the season, Buckeye opponents have shot just 37.6 percent from the field (102-271) and just 30.1 percent from three-point range (28-93).
Three Buckeyes could reach 1,000
Three Buckeyes could reach 1,000 career points this season. Senior Neshaun Coleman (643) needs 357 points and classmate Jason Singleton (749) is just 251 short. Sophomore Michael Redd (750) is 250 shy after his record-setting freshman campaign (658 pts.). Another Buckeye, junior Scoonie Penn, could reach 1,000 points as well for his career. He tallied 738 during two seasons at Boston College. He has scored 70 at Ohio State leaving him 192 shy of 1,000.
Michael Redd scores first Buckeye basket in Value City Arena
The clock showed 18 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first half when Buckeye sophomore Michael Redd squared and launched a left-handed three-pointer from the right wing. The attempt found the target, giving Ohio State a 3-0 lead, marking the first official basket made at Value City Arena. For Redd, it was just the start of a 29-point effort in leading the Buckeyes to an 89-61 victory. Redd made the first shot in each of the exhibition openers as well.
O’Brien’s second class signed
Brent Darby, a 6-0, 185-pound guard from River Rouge (Mich.) High School, Slobodan Ocokoljic (o-SOAK-o-litch) a 6-8, 210-pound forward >from Yugoslavia and Massillon Washington (Ohio) High School and Aleksandar Radojevic (Rad-A-yev-itch), a 7-3, 245-pound center, from Herceg Novi, Montenegro, Yugoslavia and Barton County (Kan.) Community College all inked letters of intent last week. The three make up a class rated among the Top 10 nationally. Darby is ranked as one of the Top 10 point guards in the country after he averaged 21 points in leading River Rouge to a 27-1 and a state championship last season. Ocokoljic averaged 16.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and connected on 38 percent of his three-pointers as a junior. He also is rated among the Top 75 players nationally. Radojevic is believed to be the No. 1 junior college prospect in the U.S. He is from same hometown as OSU freshman Boban Savovic. Radojevic averaged 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds, 2.9 blocks for Barton County last year for a 29-4 squad that ranked No. 3 in NJCAA Division I.
Redd considered for Wooden Award
Ohio State sophomore Michael Redd is on the preseason watch list as a candidate for the prestigious John R. Wooden Award, given annually to the nation’s top collegiate player. Redd is among 50 players under consideration this season.
Redd preseason all-Big Ten selection
Both the Big Ten coaches and media selected the same five players to their preseason all-Big Ten Teams at the annual media day festivities in Chicago (Oct. 25). Ohio State sophomore Michael Redd earned a selection along with Louis Bullock (Michigan), Mateen Cleaves (Michigan State), Evan Eschmeyer (Northwestern) and A.J. Guyton (Indiana). Cleaves was tabbed as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.
WBNS to televise three games in Puerto Rico
The Buckeyes will have every game on its 1998-99 schedule televised with the addition of the three games in Puerto Rico Dec. 21-23. WBNS (Channel 10) will air the games tape-delayed at 7 p.m. each night of the tournament. Ohio State will open with Alabama-Birmingham Dec. 21 and will play either N.C. State or Middle-Tennessee State Dec. 22. The opener against UAB will begin at 11 a.m. EST. All OSU games will air live on WBNS Radio (AM 1460 and FM 97.1).
Buckeyes Celebrating 100 Years
Ohio State will celebrate 100 years of men’s basketball during the 1998-99 season. The Buckeyes first fielded a team in 1898, posting a record of 12-4. Since then, OSU has compiled a record of 1,264-902 (.584). Since joining the Big Ten, Ohio State has won or tied for 15 conference titles, winning 10 outright. OSU has an overall record in Big Ten games of 610-599 in 87 years of membership. Along the way, the Buckeyes have produced 14 All-Americans, three Associated Press players of the year, 13 NBA first round draft picks, eight members of the National Basketball Hall of Fame, two U.S. Olympians and countless others national, international, conference and local award winners and team members.
