Ohio State-Kansas Preview – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio State continues its nine-game homestand with a marquee matchup against ninth-ranked Kansas on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (8-2), who do not leave Columbus until a Jan. 6 trip to Illinois, have won the first six games of their homestand by an average of 28.5 points. Freshman forward Zack Williams scored a season-high 19 points as Ohio State pounded Robert Morris 88-46 on Wednesday.
Brent Darby added seven of his 15 points in a game-breaking 27-2 run in the first half as Ohio State cruised to an easy win. Buckeyes coach Jim O’Brien was pleased with the result, but knows beating the Jayhawks will be a tall order.
“People are talking about this team as being easily good enough to get to the Final Four and that it could win the national championship,” O’Brien said of Kansas. “They have all the ingredients you want in a team.”
Ohio State is 7-0 at the Value City Arena this season and 36-3 since the arena opened prior to the 1998-99 season. Guard Brian Brown is averaging team highs of 14.9 points and 4.6 rebounds, while center Ken Johnson is contributing 10.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per game.
Johnson also will draw the toughest defensive assignment on Saturday, stopping Jayhawks center Eric Chenowith. The 7-foot-1 senior had a season-high 24 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as Kansas dismantled Tulsa 92-69 last Saturday. Drew Gooden added 21 points for the Jayhawks, who picked apart the smaller Golden Hurricanes squad.
“Eric was really good – 24 and 14 are big-time numbers,” coach Roy Williams said. “I yelled at him once because he took a jump shot on the baseline. If you’re 7-1 and the guy guarding you is 6-7, then you shouldn’t take jump shots. You can’t play dumb.”
Kansas also hopes to have two of its starters back for this game. Leading scorer and swingman Kenny Gregory has missed the last three games with a stress fracture in his right foot. Gregory, who averages 17.9 points and 7.7 rebounds, is a native of Columbus and is expected to play.
Guard Luke Axtell has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, but is also expected to return for this game. Axtell is averaging 9.3 points through four games and has made eight of 19 shots from 3-point range.
The Jayhawks are averaging 87 points and are shooting 52 percent from the field, including 42 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Kansas, which leads the all-time series 4-3, recorded an 80-67 victory last season behind Gregory, who had 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
