Men’s Basketball To Play Host To The Colonels – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/17/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 1999
No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes
%^$Probable Starters (4-2)
%^$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.
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%^$Eastern Kentucky Colonels
%^$Probable Starters (4-1)
%^$G 11-Whitney Robinson, 5-11, So.
%^$G 24-Lavoris Jerry, 6-3, Jr.
%^$C 21-Chris Garnett, 6-10, Fr.
%^$F 23-Ricardo Thomas, 6-7, Fr.
%^$F 45-Sam Hoskin, 6-8, So.
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%^$Jayhawks go deep in over Buckeyes
%^$Kenny Gregory, a native of Columbus, Ohio, scored 17 points to lead Kansas to a fast-paced 80-67 victory over the Buckeyes. In the game within the game, Michael Redd, Gregory’s buddy from their high school days, had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the first road game of the year for the Buckeyes. Kansas had nine players with 14 or more minutes in the contest while the Buckeyes had five starters with at least 35 minutes. Eric Chenowith had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Kansas. While Ohio State missed its first three shots of the second half, the Jayhawks were going 3-for-3 and building a 43-30 lead. But then Redd canned a 3-pointer and ignited a 12-2 run that melted the lead to 45-42, the closest the Buckeyes had been since Scoonie Penn’s 3-pointer made it 22-20. Back came the Jayhawks. With three freshmen on the floor, they unleashed a 10-3 spree capped by two straight buckets from Nick Collison, and Kansas was up 55-45. Five points from Redd, including a long, uncontested 3-pointer, brought the Buckeyes back within five. But Gregory answered with a quick bucket and a few minutes later the Jayhawks got the lead back to 63-52 and were never threatened. The Jayhawks led by as many as nine points in a fast-paced first half but the Buckeyes trimmed it to 35-29 at halftime on two baskets by George Reese. Kansas guard Jeff Boschee had 15 points in the matchup between Big 10 and Big 12 powers who have combined for 19 Final Four appearances. Penn had 19 points for Ohio State. %^$
%^$Buckeyes 49-51 in road openers
%^$The Buckeyes have an overall record of 49-51 in its first game on the road over its 101 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.%^$
%^$Ohio State 48-99 vs. teams ranked in AP Top 10
%^$Since Feb. 5, 1949, a 48-39 win over No. 5 Minnesota, the Buckeyes have a 48-99 record against 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. %^$
%^$Noting the game with Kansas
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Ohio State is now 19-20 against teams representing the Big 12Conference and 3-4 against the University of Kansas.%^$
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The Buckeyes had five starters with 35 or more minutes playedagainst KU. The last time four starters played that many minuteswas Feb. 28, 1998 in an overtime loss to Penn State at St JohnArena, which was the last game played St. John. Neshaun Coleman(35), Jon Sanderson (43), Carlos Davis (43) and Michael Redd (45)all saw at least 35 minutes of court time in the 89-85 loss. %^$
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Ohio State has now drilled at least one 3-point field goalattempt over the last 226 games. Scoonie Penn extended the streakwith a 3-pointer early at the 19:46 mark of the first half.%^$
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Brown Brown has notched three-consecutive double-figure scoringoutputs for the first time after tallying 18 vs. Coastal Carolina,14 vs. Florida A&M and 10 at Kansas. %^$
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With his 20-point performance, Michael Redd has scored indouble figures in all but two of his 72 career games. Redd movedinto 15th place on the all-time career points list with 1,459points, moving past Bill Hosket (1,441). Redd also drilled 3 of 4free throw attempts and is near perfect this season (19 of 20) fromthe charity stripe. He had a streak of 17-consecutive made freethrows broken with his lone miss in the second half. %^$
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Ken Johnson blocked four shots in the contest, giving him 29through six games this season and 187 for his career. He standstied for second in career blocked shots with Brad Sellers on theall-time OSU blocked shots chart.%^$
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Ohio State outrebounded the Jayhawks 44-25 and are 4-1 thisseason when outrebounding the opponent.%^$
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The Buckeyes had four players in double figures led by MichaelRedd’s season-high 20 pts. The Buckeyes’ bench managed just twopoints on a pair of free throws in the final minute by freshmanBrent Darby.%^$
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Redd notched his ninth-career double-double with 20 points and10 rebounds against the Jayhawks. He has two double-doubles thisseason after a 15-point, 11-rebound effort against Duquesne (12/4).%^$
%^$Redd/Penn closing in on 1,500 points
%^$The Ohio State guard tandem of senior Scoonie Penn and junior Michael Redd are each closing in on career point 1,500. Redd has 1,459 career points, good for 15th on the OSU career list, leaving him 41 points shy of 1,500. Penn, who spent two seasons at Boston College, has scored 1,444 career points. Penn tallied 737 while at BC and has 707 at Ohio State.%^$
%^$Numerically noting the Buckeyes
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Scoonie Penn: Penn is closing in on 100 career starts…he has98 including 42 at Ohio State…With three 3-pointers vs. Kansas,Penn has 205 for career, 101 at OSU..Penn is closing in on 400career assists…with 31 this year, his career total is 372, 185coming at OSU…500 career field goals will be reached with 23 morethis season, Penn has 477 in his career, 234 at Ohio State. %^$
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Michael Redd: Redd has started all 72 games of his career…hereached 100 career 3-pointers made with three at Kansas(101-313)…he claimed 15th on the OSU career scoring list with 20points at Kansas…Redd has 1,459 career points…Redd is 19 of 20from the foul line this year. %^$
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George Reese: Reese has nearly doubled his offensive outputfrom a year ago…he averaged 5.5 points last season and is thirdon the team this year at 11.2 ppg…Reese reached 100 career fieldgoals (101-231) and 200 career rebounds (202) with three FGs andseven rebounds at Kansas. %^$
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Ken Johnson: Johnson has started the last 43 games atcenter…Johnson has 187 career blocks and is averaging 4.8 bpg.(29) this season…Johnson is a career 52 percent shooter from thefield (196-378) and is connecting on 68 percent this season(19-28). %^$
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Will Dudley: Dudley is a career 67 percent shooter from thefield…he has connected on 24-36 shots from the field in 20 careergames.%^$
%^$Blocks, steals excels OSU defense
%^$Ohio State, led by senior center Ken Johnson’s 29 blocks, has rejected 37 shots this season while foes have just 15. Senior guard Scoonie Penn leads the team with 12 steals. OSU leads opponents 36-30 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 11-consecutive games without a disqualification. OSU guard Scoonie Penn has not fouled out of a game in his last 47 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 43.5 rebounds a contest, which is 10 more than opponents (33.5) after the first five games of the season. Junior Michael Redd leads the way with 8.2 rpg.%^$
%^$Centers click for Buckeyes
%^$The OSU center position, made up of senior Ken Johnson and sophomore Will Dudley, has combined to shoot 29 of 43 (.674) from the field so far this season. Johnson is 19-28 (.679) and Dudley is 10-15 (.667) from the floor in 1999-00. Both, by the way, play the piano.%^$
%^$Colonels improve to 4-1 with win over Shawnee State
%^$Hitting a sizzling 75.9 percent of their shots in the second half, coach Scott Perry’s Eastern Kentucky Colonels outscored visiting Shawnee State, 51-25, en route to a 96-56 victory over the Bears (1-6) in Eastern’s McBrayer Arena last Saturday. Five Colonels hit for double digits paced by 6-8 sophomore forward Sam Hoskin’s 18 points. Freshman center Chris Garnett turned in his first double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. Eastern sophomore forward Will Morris added 15 points off the bench, while sophomore guard Whitney Robinson had 14 and junior forward Lavoris Jerry knocked down 13. Eastern jumped out to quick 20-9 lead, before Shawnee State started cutting in to the lead and finally trimmed the lead to four at 31-27 before the Colonels regrouped. EKU then scored 11 unanswered points to go up 42-27 and never looked back. The win marked Eastern’s fourth straight victory of the season and upped the Colonels’ mark to 4-1 on the year, its best start since the 1990-91 season.%^$
%^$Eastern Kentucky off to best start since 1990-91
%^$Eastern Kentucky opened the season with a loss to Belmont in Nashville, Tenn., 85-69 but has since rallied to win four consecutive contests. The Colonels enter the game today with the Buckeyes with following wins over Wilmington College (97-61), Loyola-Chicago (72-60), Morehead State (73-72) and Shawnee State (96-56).%^$
%^$Colonels boast balanced attack
%^$Three Eastern Kentucky Colonels are averaging double figures with a fourth at 9.0 ppg. EKU is led by Sam Hoskin, a 6-8, forward from Detroit, with 16.3 ppg. Will Morris (6-4, So., G) averages 13.6 ppg. Sophomore Whitney Robinson, a 5-11, guard, is just behind at 13.4 ppg. Darcel Williams (6-6, Jr., F) is next at 9.0 ppg. Hoskin also leads the team in rebounding at 8.3 rpg. %^$
%^$Perry in third season with Colonels
%^$Scott Perry is in his third season with Eastern Kentucky following four seasons as an assistant at Michigan. He is a 1989 graduate of Wayne State in Detroit. He has also served as an assistant coach at California and Detroit Mercy. He has a 17-41 record at EKU entering the contest with the Buckeyes. %^$
%^$Ohio State 6-0 vs. the OVC
%^$Ohio State and Eastern Kentucky have met just once previously, a 92-88 Buckeye victory at the Casper Shootout in Casper Wyoming Dec. 28, 1995. Ohio State has a 6-0 record against representatives of the Ohio Valley Conference, with wins over EKU, Murray State, Tennessee Martin, Tennessee State and a pair of victories over Tennessee Tech. Ohio State last faced an OVC member in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last year when the Buckeyes knocked off Murray State, 72-58, March 11 in Indianapolis. %^$
%^$Austin Peay n/a
%^$Eastern Illinois n/a
%^$Eastern Kentucky 1-0
%^$Middle Tennessee State n/a
%^$Morehead State n/a
%^$Murray State 1-0
%^$Southeast Missouri State n/a
%^$Tennessee Martin 1-0
%^$Tennessee State 1-0
%^$Tennessee Tech 2-0
%^$Totals 6-0%^$
%^$Redd leads Big Ten teams in free throw shooting
%^$Ohio State junior Michael Redd has connected on 19-20 of his free throws this season. He leads all Big Ten players from the foul line with .950 shooting percentage. He is a career 63 percent foul shooter (284-451). As a team, the Buckeyes are shooting 70 percent (102-146) from the line this season.%^$
%^$OSU 3-point field goal streak extended to 226
%^$Ohio State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal attempt over the last 226 games. Senior Scoonie Penn extended the streak with a trey early in the first half against Kansas. 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 218-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.%^$
%^$Home Sweet Home
%^$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 was 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.%^$
