Men’s Basketball Tangles With The Rattlers – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/8/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 1999
No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes
%^$Probable Starters (2-1)
%^$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.
%^$
%^$Florida A&M Rattlers
%^$Probable Starters (1-4)
%^$G 3-Janero Hemphill, 5-9, Jr.
%^$G 54-Michael Shipp, 5-10, Fr.,
%^$C 42-Alkelkhadre Cisse, 6-9, Fr.
%^$F 21-Germaine Diggs, 6-7, Jr.
%^$F 33-Jamaal Rhodes, 6-9, Jr.
%^$
%^$Defense looking to hold fourth opponent under 60 points
%^$Ohio State has held each of its first three opponents under 60 points this season marking the first time since 1992 that an OSU team has kept three-consecutive opponents from reaching the 60-point plateau. This season, the Buckeyes have lost 59-57 to Notre Dame and have won 74-51 over Vermont and 87-55 over Duquesne. The Buckeyes last held three-consecutive foes under 60 in games 2, 3 and 4 vs. USC (73-56), Bowling Green (80-54) and Wright State (76-55) at the start of the 1992 season. OSU last held four consecutive opponents under 60 points in 1981 when the Buckeye defense held nine opponents, all wins, below 60 from Dec. 15, 1981 to Jan. 14, 1982. %^$
%^$Numerically noting the Buckeyes
%^$Scoonie Penn: Penn is closing in on 100 career starts…he has 95 including 39 at at Ohio State…Penn needs a pair of 3-pointers to reach 200 for career, 94 at OSU…he needs five points to reach 1,400 for career…658 points have been scored in an OSU uniform. %^$
%^$Michael Redd: Redd has started all 69 games of his career…he needs four made 3-pointers to reach 100 (96-296)…he needs three points vs. Florida A&M to take over 17th place on the OSU career scoring list…Redd has 1,406 career points…Larry Bolden (1974-77) scored 1,408…Redd is 11 of 11 from the foul line this year. %^$
%^$George Reese: Reese has nearly doubled his offensive output from a year ago…he averaged 5.5 points last season and is third on the team this year at 10.7 ppg. %^$
%^$Ken Johnson: Johnson has started the last 40 games at center…he has made 80 percent (8-10) of his free throws this year after a 49 percent effort (35-72) last season…Johnson has 170 career blocks and is averaging 4.0 bpg. (12) this season. %^$
%^$Will Dudley: Dudley is a career 63 percent shooter from the field…he has connected on 19-30 shots from the field in 18 career games. %^$
%^$Florida A&M begins stretch of 5 games in just 12 days
%^$The 15th-ranked Buckeyes (2-1) begin a 12-day, five-game stretch when they play host to Florida A&M. Following the FAMU contest are games against Coastal Carolina Monday, at Kansas Dec. 16, back home against Eastern Kentucky Dec. 19 and home again against Toledo Dec. 22. %^$
%^$Buckeyes spend last 15 weeks in AP poll
%^$Ohio State spent the final 10 weeks of the 1998-99 season and the first five weeks of 1999-00 ranked among the Top 25 teams nationally in the Associated Press Poll. The Buckeyes finished No. 14 in the AP and No. 4 in the ESPN/USA Today polls. OSU is currently 13th in the AP Poll (12/6/99).%^$
%^$Buckeyes’ defense clicks vs. Duquesne
%^$Scoonie Penn scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half as No. 17 Ohio State shook off some early rust and cruised to an 87-55 victory over Duquesne in the Black Coaches Association Classic. Playing just their second game in 18 days, the Buckeyes got off to a slow start and trailed, 9-7, five minutes into the first half. But Ohio State quickly took control, grabbing a 42-20 halftime lead and steadily increasing it in the second half. After losing to Notre Dame in the Preseason NIT, the Buckeyes have won their last two games by an average of 27.5 points. OSU defeated Vermont, 74-51, Nov. 29. Wayne Smith scored 24 points for Duquesne (2-3), which had a two-game winning streak snapped. The Dukes were coming off a 94-80 victory over Pittsburgh.%^$
%^$Noting the win over Duquesne
%^$Scoonie Penn received the BCA Classic’s MVP honors after scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds. Fourteen of his points came in the first half.%^$
%^$After the Dukes grabbed a 14-12 lead at the 12:36 mark of the first half, Ohio State concluded the half on a 30-6 run.%^$
%^$Ohio State turned the ball over four times in the game, with only one coming in the second half.%^$
%^$Ohio State has connected on at least one three-point goal attempt over the last 223 games. For the second straight game, Scoonie Penn extended the streak with a trey in the first half.%^$
%^$George Reese scored a career-high 15 points in the win, breaking his previous high of 14, set last season at Michigan State (1/27/99). Reese fell one rebound short of his first career double-double, finishing with nine caroms. He also tied a career high with two steals.%^$
%^$Ohio State’s defense held Duquesne to 55 points, a season low for the Dukes, who came in averaging 81.3 points per game. Their previous low was 63 vs. St. Francis (N.Y.). The Dukes tallied a season-low 20 points in the first half.%^$
%^$Ken Johnson moved into third place on the all-time OSU blocked shots chart after rejecting two shots in the contest. Johnson, with 170 blocks, moved past Jim Smith (169) to claim the No. 3 spot. Johnson stands just 17 blocks behind second-place Brad Sellers (187) on the list.%^$
%^$OSU’s 45-point second half and 42-point first half were the two highest-scoring halves of the season.%^$
%^$Michael Redd notched a double-double in the contest, scoring 15 points while grabbing 11 boards. It marks his first double-double of the season and the eighth of his career. With 1,406 career points, he currently stands just two points short of 17th place, held by Larry Bolden, on the all-time scoring list. Redd’s 11 boards tied the OSU record in Value City Arena, which was set by Johnson last year.%^$
%^$Doylan Robinson scored his first collegiate points in the game, finishing with three points and four rebounds.%^$
%^$Cobe Ocokoljic tallied a career-high nine points, more than doubling his season total of seven points. He also snared a career-best five rebounds.%^$
%^$After coming into the Duquesne game with one assist through the first two games, Boban Savovic dished out seven assists vs. the Dukes, setting a career high. His previous career high of four was set vs. Purdue last season (1/19/99).%^$
%^$Will Dudley grabbed five rebounds in the win, tying his career high, set vs. Tennessee-Martin last year (12/14/99). Dudley’s six-point effort was his second-highest career scoring output. His career high of 11 was set last year vs. Army (11/22/98).%^$
%^$Ohio State’s 51 rebounds were a Value City Arena record, breaking the record of 49, set by OSU last year vs. Florida Atlantic (12/17/99).%^$
%^$Florida handles intrastate rival FAMU
%^$No. 10 Florida toyed with an opponent for the second time this week, using 23 points by Kenyon Weaks to rout Florida A&M, 96-44. The Gators are in the midst of the easiest portion of their schedule and set a school record for points in a 131-72 win over New Hampshire on Monday. Kendric Green scored 11 points for Florida A&M (1-4), which has lost all four of its road games this season.%^$
%^$Rattlers road weary
%^$Florida A&M has lost four of its first five games, all four losses have come on the road. The lone victory was an 87-86 win over Troy State (11/27). The Rattlers fell to Bethune Cookman (86-73) to open the season. After the Troy State win, FAMU fell to Jacksonville State (66-58), Southeast Louisiana (61-50) and Florida (96-44). After facing the Buckeyes, the Rattlers travel to Hawaii for the Pearl Harbor Classic, Dec. 21-23.%^$
%^$Hemphill paces Rattlers in early going
%^$FAMU guard Janero Hemphill, a 5-9 junior from Chicago, leads the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. He also leads in assists (11), steals (11) and free-throw shooting (10-14, .714). Jamaal Rhodes (6-9, Jr., F, Baltimore, Md.) is the team’s leading rebounder at 3.8 rpg.%^$
%^$Clayton in 4th year with Rattlers
%^$Mickey Clayton is in his fourth year at the helm of the Rattlers’ program and has compiled a record of 34-65, including a 1-4 record this season. He spent 13 seasons as a women’s head coach before taking over the men’s program at FAMU.%^$
%^$Ohio State 5-0 vs. Mid-Eastern Athletic
%^$Ohio State has won all five meetings with teams representing the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference but has not faced Florida A&M. The Buckeyes have not met a member of the league more than once. OSU has wins over Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, Howard, Morgan State and North Carolina A&T.%^$
%^$Bethune-Cookman 1-0
%^$Coppin State n/a
%^$Delaware State 1-0
%^$Florida A&M n/a
%^$Hampton n/a
%^$Howard 1-0
%^$Maryland Eastern Shore n/a
%^$Morgan State 1-0
%^$Norfolk State n/a
%^$North Carolina A&T 1-0
%^$South Carolina State n/a
%^$Totals 5-0
%^$
%^$Redd, Buckeyes lead Big Ten teams in free throw shooting
%^$Ohio State junior Michael Redd has connected on all 11 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 62 percent foul shooter (276-442). As a team, the Buckeyes are shooting 72 percent (39-54) from the line this season, also best in the Big Ten.%^$
%^$OSU defense holding down opposing offenses
%^$None of the three OSU opponents heading into the game with Florida A&M has been able to score 60 or more points. The Buckeyes fell in the season opener 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. Opponents are shooting just 35 percent from the field and just 56 percent from the free-throw line. Foes are connecting better from 3-point range (.39 pct.) than from the field (35 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 a matchup at Kansas Dec. 16.%^$
%^$1999 Final Four banner unveiled
%^$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.%^$
%^$Tickets available for December games
%^$Tickets are available for all games in December because these games are all played when OSU students are on break. Ohio State included on the student application an opportunity for all students to buy these games, however, many are not in Columbus during break. Tickets available for these games are those not purchased by students. These tickets go on sale Nov. 29. OSU men’s basketball games with tickets available include: Florida A&M (Dec. 11), Coastal Carolina (Dec. 13), Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 19), Toledo (Dec. 22), Oakland (Dec. 27) and American University (Dec. 29).%^$
%^$Buckeyes sign three for 2000-01
%^$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.%^$
%^$Marinchick (Ma-RIN-chick), a 6-10 center from Hudson (Ohio) H.S. is ranked No. 20 nationally at his position by Athlons Sports. He led his high school team with 12.8 points per game as a junior. %^$
%^$Radinovic (VEL-ah-mere Ra-DIN-o-vich) is a 7-0 center/forward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Last season, he averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds at T.A. Blakelock High School in Toronto.%^$
%^$Williams, a 6-6 power forward comes to Ohio State as the No. 4-ranked player in New York. Williams, of Christ the King High School, averaged 15 points and eight rebounds on his high school team that was ranked No. 3 in the nation last season%^$
%^$Penn, Redd earn preseason Big Ten recognition by both coaches and media
%^$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.%^$
%^$OSU 3-point field goal streak extended to 223
%^$Ohio State has connected on at least one 3-point field goal attempt over the last 223 games. Senior Scoonie Penn extended the streak with a trey early in the first half against Duquesne. 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 215-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.
