Buckeyes Try To Stay Atop Big Ten With Crucial Game Against Boilermakers – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2000
AP – Ohio State, already with the inside track in the Big Ten after its win over defending champion Michigan State, faces another team in the hunt when it plays host to Purdue on Saturday afternoon.
The eighth-ranked Buckeyes (13-3, 4-1) are tied with the Spartans for the conference lead but posted a 78-67 victory over them on Jan. 20. Purdue (13-6, 4-2) is tied for fourth, a half-game behind the leaders.
Ohio State has been idle since a wild 65-64 victory over then-No. 19 St. John’s last Saturday. The Buckeyes rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 2:48 of the game, scoring the last 11 points to pull out the win. Scoonie Penn and Brian Brown scored 16 points apiece for Ohio State, which extended its winning streak to five games.
Penn netted the tying and go-ahead points from the foul line with 23 seconds to play and then blocked a shot by Red Storm guard Erick Barkley to secure the victory.
Penn is averaging a team-high 15.3 points and backcourt partner Michael Redd contributes 15.1 per contest. Center Ken Johnson has proven to be a valuable defensive asset with 86 blocked shots, and with his help the Buckeyes are holding opponents to 35.7 percent shooting and 58.1 points per game.
Purdue missed a chance to gain sole possession of first place after Wednesday’s 55-45 setback at Wisconsin. Brian Cardinal had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Boilermakers, who were held to a season low in points and shot just 28.6 percent from the field.
The game featured 45 fouls and an ill-timed technical called on coach Gene Keady.
“I thought we got in trouble early because they did a good job of making us shoot outside shots,” said Keady.
Jaraan Cornell, who was held to six points in Wednesday’s loss, leads the team with 15.1 points per game, while Cardinal is netting 14.5 to go with his 6.4 rebounds per game. Ohio State swept the series last season by a combined 40 points, including a 72-43 rout at Columbus. Purdue holds a 77-66 lead in the all-time series but has won just four of 21 games when the Buckeyes are ranked.
