No. 13 Ohio State Travels To No. 8 Kansas – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 1999
No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes
Probable Starters (4-1)
G 12-Scoonie Penn, 5-10, Sr.
G 22-Michael Redd, 6-6, Jr.
G 13-Brian Brown, 6-3, So.
C 32-Ken Johnson, 6-11, Sr.
F 40-George Reese, 6-7, Sr.
No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks
Probable Starters (7-1)
G 20-Kenny Gregory, 6-5, Jr.
G 13-Jeff Boschee, 6-1, So.
C 44-Eric Chenowith, 7-1, Jr.
F 4-Nick Collison, 6-9, Fr.
F 31-Nick Bradford, 6-7, Sr.
Buckeyes 49-50 in road openers
The Buckeyes have an overall record of 49-50 in its first game on the road over its 100 seasons. Ohio State did not play a road game during the 1900-01 season (1-3). Ohio State fell in the road opener last year Nov. 28, 1998 to Vanderbilt, 92-86.
Ohio State 48-98 vs. teams ranked in AP Top 10
Since Feb. 5, 1949, a 48-39 win over No. 5 Minnesota, the Buckeyes have a 48-98 win over teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 10. The Buckeyes downed back-to-back Top 10 teams last year in the South Regional semifinals and finals. OSU defeated No. 4 Auburn (71-64) and No. 9 St. John’s (77-74). OSU then lost to No. 3 Connecticut in the national semifinals (64-58). Ohio State last defeated a Top 10 team on its home court Jan. 2, 1997 when the Buckeyes edged No. 8 Michigan 73-71.
Buckeyes prevail despite record shooting night for Chanticleers
It didn’t take Coastal Carolina long to realize it couldn’t compete inside with Ohio State. But the Chanticleers more than competed on the perimeter. Hitting an arena-record 14 3-pointers, Coastal Carolina kept the heat on the Buckeyes throughout before Ohio State escaped with an 83-75 victory. Brian Brown scored 15 of his career-high 18 points in the second half as Ohio State won by dominating close to the basket. The Buckeyes held a 44-25 advantage on the boards. Because of an off shooting night from the perimeter, the Buckeyes continually pounded the ball inside to 6-foot-11 Ken Johnson and 6-7 George Reese, forcing Coastal Carolina — whose tallest starter was 6-6 — to foul. The Buckeyes hit 29 of 37 free throws to the Chanticleers’ nine out of 10. Brown hit all 10 of his free throws in the second half. Scoonie Penn led the Buckeyes with 21 points, and Michael Redd had 16. Reese added 13 points. Matt Gladieux, an Ohio native, scored 27 points for Coastal Carolina. Todd Shannon added 18 points, and Steve Miles had 14. Noting the win over Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina hit a Value City Arena-record 14 3-pointgoals, breaking Florida Atlantic’s record of 13, set lastseason (12/17/98). The 14 treys are the fifth-most ever by an OSUopponent, two short of the record of 16, set by three teams.Coastal’s 30 attempted 3-pointers also are the fifth-mostby an OSU opponent. Coastal Carolina’s 75 points are themost by an opponent at Value City Arena. The previous high was 71,set by Iowa last season (1/12/98). The Chanticleers are the firstteam to score more than 60 points vs. OSU this year. Ohio State hasnow drilled at least one 3-point field goal attempt over the last225 games. Michael Redd extended the streak with a 3-pointer earlyat the 18:15 mark of the first half. George Reese has scored indouble figures in three-consecutive games this season – Duquesne(15), Florida A&M (16) and Coastal Carolina (13). Coming intothis season, Reese had accumulated four double-figure scoringcontests, but none consecutively. Brown Brown tallied a career-high18 points, marking the second-consecutive game he has broken hishigh. He also has notched consecutive double-figure scoring outputsfor the first time after tallying 18 vs. Coastal Carolina and 14vs. Florida A&M. He came into the season with two double-figurescoring games. Brown also drilled 11 of 12 from the free throwline. With his 16-point performance, Michael Redd has scored indouble figures in all but two of his 71 career games. Redd movedinto 16th place on the all-time career points list with 1,439points, moving past Paul Ebert (1,436). Redd stands two pointsbehind 15th-place Bill Hosket (1,441). Redd also drilled his lonefree throw attempt and is perfect this season (16 of 16) from thecharity stripe. Scoonie Penn scored a season-high 21 points in thewin. It marks the first time a Buckeye has eclipsed the 20-pointbarrier this season. Ken Johnson blocked six shots in the contest,giving him 25 through five games this season and 183 for hiscareer. He stands four blocked shots behind second-place BradSellers (187) on the all-time OSU blocked shots chart. OSU hit aseason-high 29 free throws in 37 attempts, which was good for 78.4percent – the Buckeyes’ second-best performance thisseason. Ohio State out-rebounded the Chanticleers 44-25 and are 4-0this season when outrebounding the opponent.
Redd/Penn closing in on 1,500 points
The Ohio State guard tandem of senior Scoonie Penn and junior Michael Redd are each closing in on career point 1,500. Redd has 1,439 career points, good for 16th on the OSU career list, leaving him 61 points shy of 1,500. Penn, who spent two seasons at Boston College, has scored 1,425 career points. Penn tallied 737 while at BC and has 688 at Ohio State.
Numerically noting the Buckeyes
Scoonie Penn: Penn is closing in on 100 career starts…he has97 including 41 at Ohio State…With a pair of 3-pointers vs.Coastal Carolina, Penn has 202 for career, 98 at OSU..Penn isclosing in on 400 career assists…with 26 this year, his careertotal is 367, 180 coming at OSU…500 career field goals will bereached with 28 more this season, Penn has 472 in his career, 229at Ohio State. Michael Redd: Redd has started all 71 games of hiscareer…he needs two made 3-pointers to reach 100 (98-304)…heneeds two points to claim 15th on the OSU career scoringlist…Redd has 1,439 career points…Bill Hosket (15th, 1966-68)scored 1,441 …Redd is 16 of 16 from the foul line this year.George Reese: Reese has nearly doubled his offensive output from ayear ago…he averaged 5.5 points last season and is third on theteam this year at 12.2 ppg…Reese needs two FGs to reach 100(98-224) and five rebounds to reach 200 at OSU (195, 4.8 rpg.). KenJohnson: Johnson has started the last 42 games at center…Johnsonhas 183 career blocks and is averaging 5.0 bpg. (25) thisseason…Johnson is a career 52 percent shooter from the field(192-373) and is connecting on 65 percent this season (15-23). WillDudley: Dudley is a career 67 percent shooter from the field…hehas connected on 24-36 shots from the field in 19 career games.
Blocks, steals excels OSU defense
Ohio State, led by senior center Ken Johnson’s 25 blocks, has rejected 30 shots this season while foes have just eight. Senior guard Scoonie Penn leads the team with 10 steals. OSU leads opponents 30-18 in thefts.
No DQs are Ok with OSU
Ohio State has not had a player foul out this season and has not had a player disqualified since Jason Singleton fouled out in the Big Ten Tournament loss to Illinois last season (March 6, 1999). OSU has gone 10-consecutive games without a disqualification. OSU guard Scoonie Penn has not fouled out of a game in his last 46 contests (last vs. Villanova 2/27/96 while at Boston College). The OSU starting five (Redd (1), Penn (0), Johnson (1), Reese (1) and Brown (1)) have combined for just four ejections in the last two seasons.
Buckeyes spend last 16 weeks in AP poll
Ohio State spent the final 10 weeks of the 1998-99 season and the first six weeks of 1999-00 ranked among the Top 25 teams nationally in the Associated Press Poll. The Buckeyes finished 1998-99 No. 14 in the AP and No. 4 in the ESPN/USA Today polls. OSU is currently 12th in the AP and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today polls (12/6/99)
Buckeyes hit the boards early on with Columbus connection
Ohio State is averaging 43.8 rebounds a contest, which is nearly 12 more than opponents (32.2) after the first five games of the season. Senior George Reese and junior Michael Redd, both of Columbus, lead the way with 7.8 rpg.
Centers click for Buckeyes
The OSU center position, made up of senior Ken Johnson and sophomore Will Dudley, has combined to shoot 25 of 38 (.659) from the field so far this season. Johnson is 15-23 (.652) and Dudley is 10-15 (.667) from the floor in 1999-00. Both, by the way, play the piano.
Jayhawks out to 7-1 start
Kansas has a 7-1 record entering the game with the Buckeyes with the only loss to Michigan State (66-54, Dec. 7). KU has wins over Fairfield (97-71), Georgia (88-78), Xavier (111-70), Georgia Tech (84-70), Pepperdine (76-61), Middle Tennessee State (97-77) and Pittsburgh State (96-71). The win over Georgia Tech earned the Jayhawks the Great Alaska Shootout. KU will play two other Big Ten teams this season-Illinois (12/18 in Chicago) and at Iowa (Feb. 2).
Gorillas stay close but fall 96-71 to Jayhawks
After going 1-for-7 and fouling out in the 66-54 loss to Michigan State, Kansas forward Nick Collison vowed to redeem himself. Against Division II Pittsburg State last Saturday, the 6-foot-9 freshman still fouled out. But he also scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Jayhawks subdued the pesky Gorillas 96-71 with a strong second-half effort. The Gorillas (5-3) might not be the best team on the Jayhawks’ schedule, but they did not look like the worst, either. Behind guard Brandon Pate’s 29 points, they stayed within 10 points until Collison triggered a take-charge spurt in the second half. Pate, a 5-foot-11 senior, had 16 points in the first half. Kansas struggled to take a 13-point halftime lead over the smaller, slower Gorillas, who cut it to 54-44 early in the second half. Then Collison’s 8-footer ignited a 15-2 run that brought the sellout crowd to its feet and put the game away. Collison scored 10 points in the spurt. Kansas outrebounded Pittsburg State 53-31 in what has become a tradition of playing one Division II team each season from within the state.
Kansas and Ohio State tied 3-3 all-time
Ohio State and Kansas have met six times previously with each team winning three. The teams last met in Hawaii, Dec. 28, 1997 in the Rainbow Classic. Kansas, ranked No. 2, won that game 69-65 to break an OSU three-game winning streak. Ohio State last played in Lawrence Jan. 2, 1983, a 64-61 Buckeye victory. Each team is 1-1 on its home court and 1-1 in neutral locations. Each of the last two meetings were in the Rainbow Classic. Ohio State won 79-78 over No. 13 Kansas Dec. 29, 1986.
Nebraska the last Big XII member to fall to Buckeyes
Ohio State has not defeated a team representing the Big XII Conference since March 20, 1989 when the Buckeyes downed Nebraska, 85-74 in the second round of the NIT. The Huskers were members of the Big Eight Conference at the time. The Big XII began play in 1996.
Columbus native Kenny Gregory leads Jayhawks
Kenny Gregory, a 6-5, junior guard from Columbus, leads Kansas in scoring with a 16.4 scoring average. He has led KU in scoring in five of the eight games this season, including a season-high 22 vs. Middle Tennessee State (a 97-77 Jayhawk victory). Freshman Drew Gooden is next at 11.3 ppg., followed by junior center Eric Chenowith (10.9 ppg.), Texas transfer Luke Axtell (10.0 ppg.) and sophomore guard Jeff Boschee (9.9 ppg.). Gooden is the team’s leading rebounder at 8.0 rpg.
Williams in 12th year at Kansas
Roy Williams has been at the helm of the Kansas Jayhawks for the last 12 seasons and has compiled a record of 312-73, including a 7-1 record this year. He has guided the Jayhawks to 10-consecutive NCAA Tournaments,
Ohio State 19-19 vs. the Big XII
The game against Kansas will break a 19-19 tie in games won and lost for Ohio State against teams representing the Big XII Conference. Ohio State has not played Baylor, Colorado or Texas Tech. Kansas State (0-2) and Oklahoma State (0-2) are the only teams the Buckeyes have not defeated. Ohio State has played Missouri the most (9 times, 4-5).
Baylor n/a Colorado n/a Iowa State 3-0 Kansas 3-3 Kansas State 0-2 Missouri 4-5 Nebraska 4-2 Oklahoma 3-4 Oklahoma State 0-2 Texas 1-0 Texas A&M 1-1 Texas Tech n/a Totals 19-19
Redd leads Big Ten teams in free throw shooting
Ohio State junior Michael Redd has connected on all 16 of his free throws this season. He leads all Big Ten players from the foul line with a perfect shooting percentage. He is a career 63 percent foul shooter (281-447). As a team, the Buckeyes are shooting 70 percent (88-126) from the line this season.
OSU 3-point field goal streak extended to 225
Ohio State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal attempt over the last 225 games. Junior Michael Redd extended the streak with a trey early in the first half against Coastal Carolina. The last time an OSU team missed all attempts from 3-point range was Feb. 2, 1992 when the Buckeyes went 0 for 5 in a 68-58 OSU win over Michigan. Buckeye opponents have a streak of 217-consecutive games with at least one 3-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 3-pointer.
OSU defense holding down opposing offenses
None of the three OSU opponents heading into the game with Coastal Carolina has been able to score 60 or more points. The Chants then scored a Value City Arena opponent record 75 points. The Buckeyes fell in the season opener to Notre Dame 59-57 on a buzzer beater. OSU held Vermont to just 51 points in a 74-51 victory and Duquesne to 55 points in an 87-55 win. The Buckeyes kept the streak alive with a 99-47 win over Florida A&M (12/11). Opponents are shooting just 34 percent from the field. Foes are connecting better from 3-point range (.39 pct.) than from the field (34 pct.).
Home Sweet Home
Ohio State will play nine of its first 10 games at home, including 7 of 8 contests in December. The only road trip before Big Ten play begins Jan. 6 on the road at Illinois is the matchup at Kansas.
1999 Final Four banner unveiled
A banner celebrating the 1999 Final Four appearance by the Ohio State men’s basketball team was unveiled in a pregame ceremony Nov. 29 vs. Vermont. The banner will hang at Value City Arena throughout the 1999-00 season and then will be moved to the Ohio State practice facility. The banner was raised by 1998-99 captains Neshaun Coleman and Jason Singleton.
Lucas named to SI All-Century Team
Ohio State basketball legend Jerry Lucas (1960-62) was selected to the Sports Illustrated All-Century Team, one of only five players to be so honored. Lucas is joined on the team by Bill Bradley (Princeton, 1963-65), David Thompson (N.C. State, 1973-75), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati 1958-60) and Lew Alcindor (UCLA, 1967-69). Lucas averaged 24.3 points a game in his OSU career and an astounding 17.2 rebounds a contest. He was a three-time All-America selection and the Big Ten’s only three-time player of the year. Lucas’ 1,411 career rebounds stands as the career record. His 17.2 average also is a career record. He averaged 17.8 rebounds as a senior, which stands as the OSU single season record.
Penn named 1st Team AP All-American
Senior guard Scoonie Penn was named to the Associated Press Preseason First Team All-America team. Penn joins Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State, Terence Morris, Maryland, Chris Porter, Auburn and Quentin Richardson, DePaul.
VCA sold out for 1999-00 Big Ten season
The entire 1999-00 home Big Ten men’s basketball season at Value City Arena is sold out. All 19,100 seats are sold this year, including 4,000 student season tickets. A total of 10,000 student season ticket applications were submitted for the 4,000 available seats. Split season tickets were distributed to 8,000 students who submitted applications this year. Last season 650 student season tickets were sold. The Buckeyes averaged 17,228 fans last season. Ohio State was 14-1 in its first season a VCA.
Buckeyes sign three for 2000-01
Jim O’Brien, Ohio State head men’s basketball coach, announced the signing of three highly recruited players to be added to the Buckeye program. Matt Marinchick (Hudson, Ohio), Velimir Radinovic (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and Zach Williams (Middle Village, N.Y.) all signed letters of intent Nov. 11.
Marinchick (Ma-RIN-chick), a 6-10 center from Hudson (Ohio) H.S. is ranked No. 20 nationally at his position by Athlons Sports. He led his high school team with 12.8 points per game as a junior.
Radinovic (VEL-ah-mere Ra-DIN-o-vich) is a 7-0 center/forward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Last season, he averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds at T.A. Blakelock High School in Toronto.
Williams, a 6-6 power forward comes to Ohio State as the No. 4-ranked player in New York. Williams, of Christ the King High School, averaged 15 pts. and 8 rebs on his high school team that was ranked No. 3 in the nation last season
Penn, Redd earn preseason Big Ten recognition by both coaches and media
Ohio State senior guard Scoonie Penn (Salem, Mass./Salem) was selected as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by the league coaches during the conference-sponsored media day.
Michigan State senior Mateen Cleaves was selected by the Big Ten media as its preseason player of the year candidate. Ironically, the coaches tabbed Cleaves the Big Ten Player of the Year at the conclusion of last season while the media selected Penn. Penn along with OSU junior Michael Redd (Columbus, Ohio/West) were both selected as first team all-conference members by both the media and coaches.
The coaches also added Cleaves and Morris Peterson of Michigan State to the first team along with A.J. Guyton of Indiana. The media selected a similar first team but replaced Guyton with Cory Bradford of Illinois. League coaches picked Michigan State to win the conference this year followed by Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. The media picked MSU, Ohio State and Illinois as its top three.
Redd, Penn named OSU captains
Senior Scoonie Penn and junior Michael Redd were named team captains during preseason camp. It will be the second season Penn has served in that capacity at Ohio State. He along with seniors Neshaun Coleman and Jason Singleton served last season. Redd will be serving his first season as an OSU captain.
Both Buckeye captains named to Wooden Awards watch list
Scoonie Penn along with running mate Michael Redd were named Wooden Award preseason All-Americans. The OSU guard tandem is among the 25 of the nation’s elite players to be considered for the award.
Penn, Redd listed on several preseason All-America lists
Buckeye senior Scoonie Penn is listed on several first team All-America teams. Some of the publications or preseason pollsters who have deemed Penn among the nation’s best include: Sport Magazine, Athlon Sports, Basketball Times, Street & Smith’s and Blue Ribbon. Lindy’s picks Penn and junior Michael Redd as First Team all-Big Ten Conference selections. Redd has been consistently deemed a second team nomination in most of the preseason publications.
Seats available for remaining December schedule
About 2,000 seats, including many in the lower bowl of Value City Arena, are available for the game against Coastal Carolina (8 p.m., Dec. 13). The remainder of the OSU men’s basketball schedule in December also have seats available. Games against Eastern Kentucky (2 p.m., Dec. 19), Toledo (8 p.m., Dec. 22), Oakland (8 p.m., Dec. 27) and American (8 p.m., Dec. 29) also have seats available. For more information contact the OSU Athletics Tickets Office at 1-800-GO-BUCKS or (614 ) 292-2624.
