Buckeyes and Nittany Lions To Tangle on The Hardcourt – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2002
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Opponent Penn State
Site Value City Arena (19,200)
Game Time 8 p.m. (EST)
TV ESPN Plus
Local TV WBNS TV 10
TV Talent Tom Hamilton (Play-by-Play), Bill Hosket (Color)
Radio OSU Radio Network (64 stations)
Local Radio WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
Radio Talent Paul Keels (P-by-P), Ron Stokes (Color)
Ohio State Buckeyes
Probable Starters (12-2, 3-0)
G 4 – Brent Darby, 6-1, Jr.
G 21 – Boban Savovic, 6-5, Sr.
G 13 – Brian Brown, 6-4, Sr.
C 14 – Velimir Radinovic, 7-0, So.
F 44 – Tim Martin, 6-6, Sr.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Probable Starters (5-9, 1-2)
G 13 – Sharif Chambliss, 6-1, So.
G 10 – Brandon Watkins, 6-0, Jr.
F 44 – Ndu Egekeze, 6-7, So.
F 35 – Tyler Smith, 6-8, Sr.
F 22 – Jan Jagla, 6-11, Fr.
Buckeyes Home 4 of Next 5 Games
Ohio State will play on its home court four of the next five games after starting the conference season 3-0 for the first time since the 1999 Big Ten season when the Buckeyes started 3-0 on their way to a 12-4 league campaign. The current 3-0 streak is just the second since the 1991 Buckeyes started the league season 7-0 on their way to a 15-3 league record and a first-place tie for the conference crown. That also was the last time OSU started 4-0 in the league. Ohio State also is on a 10-game regular season win streak in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes won the final seven games during the regular season last year and the first three this season. It is the longest Big Ten win streak since a 14-game league win streak from the end of the 1971 season (10 games) and the start of the 1972 (four games) league seasons.
Chasing the Spartans
Ohio State is on the longest Big Ten win streak (10 games) since Michigan State won 18-consecutive league games over the 1999 and 2000 league seasons. Ohio State has won seven of the last 10 Big Ten games on the road, one short of the eight-consecutive road wins in the league posted by MSU during its 18-game Big Ten win streak. Indiana is the last Big Ten team to defeat the Buckeyes. The Hoosiers beat Ohio State 70-67 Jan. 31, 2001.
Ohio State Welcomes Penn State To VCA
Ohio State enters its home matchup with Penn State following a road contest with Northwestern last Saturday. The Buckeyes are 12-2 with a 3-0 Big Ten mark after league-opening wins over Purdue, No. 9 Iowa and the Wildcats. Penn State has an overall mark of 5-9. The Nittany Lions are 1-2 in the league with losses to Michigan and Indiana. Penn State downed Wisconsin 51-49 in State College Jan. 9.
Series with Penn State Tied
Ohio State and Penn State have met 24 times in the series history with each team winning 12 games. The Buckeyes are 8-4 in Columbus and 6-4 in State College. Penn State has a 2-0 record in games played on a neutral court. Ohio State won the last meeting 93-87 in State College after mounting a comeback from 20-points down at the half. The Buckeyes scored 62 second-half points to win by six. Five Buckeyes scored in double figures in that contest, led by Boban Savovic, who tallied a then-career high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Penn State last won in the series last year in Columbus, 78-75. The Nittany Lions are one of just three Big Ten teams with a win in Value City Arena. Iowa, twice, and Indiana also own victories at VCA.
Three in Double Figures for Penn State
Penn State is led by the 14.6 points a game from sophomore guard Sharif Chambliss. He is followed by junior guard Brandon Watkins (13.5 ppg.) and senior forward Tyler Smith (11.9 ppg.). Freshman forward Jan Jagla is the team’s leading rebounder with 6.4 caroms a contest. In 14 games, opponents have outscored the Nittany Lions 69.3 to 65.1. Foes also own the edge in rebounding 35.2 to 32.7. Penn State has launched 305 3-points shots on the season, making 105 for a long range shooting percentage of .357. Opponents are shooting over 46 percent against the Nittany Lions. Penn State is shooting just under 40 percent on the year.
The Buckeyes vs. Penn State
Sophomore Zach Williams (11.0 ppg.) and senior Boban Savovic (10.7 ppg.) are the leading scorers among the Buckeyes against Penn State. Savovic has made 12-of-17 shots (.706) against PSU while Williams is 9-of-12 (.750). Williams and junior Sean Connolly both top the Buckeyes with a 4.0 rebounds per game average against the Nittany Lions.
Penn State Starts Slow
Penn State started the season 1-4 with a win over Lafayette and losses to Yale, Boston College, Clemson and Temple. The Nittany Lions then won three of the next five over Lehigh, Buchnell and Coppin State with losses to Pittsburgh and James Madison. Penn State comes to Columbus following a win over Wisconsin, breaking a three-game losing streak to California, Michigan and Indiana.
Ohio State Mourns Loss of Legend
Fred Taylor, who walked the basketball sidelines at Ohio State for 18 seasons as head coach, died Jan. 6 in Columbus. Taylor, 77, guided the Buckeyes to three-consecutive NCAA championship games from 1960-62, winning the title in 1960 with a 75-55 win over California. His teams produced seven Big Ten championships and played in four NCAA Final Fours. He served as head coach from 1958-76, compiling a record of 297-158. His .653 winning percentage is the highest in Ohio State history for coaches with more than two seasons. The Buckeyes went 78-6 from 1960-62 with a lineup that featured Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek. Bob Knight, head coach at Texas Tech, also played on that team in a reserve role.
Brown Climbs Scoring Chart
Ohio State senior guard Brian Brown reached the 1,000-point mark in his Buckeye career against UNC-Greensboro. Brown became the 40th player in Ohio State history to reach 1,000 points. He has scored 1,066 points in 111 career games for an average of 9.6 points a contest. He scored 15 in the most recent outing against Northwestern to climb to the No. 35 in career scoring all time at Ohio State. He passed Ken Johnson (1998-01) and Jamie Skelton (1991-94). Next on the list is No. 34 Carter Scott (1978-81) with 1,073 career points and No. 33 Scoonie Penn (1999-00) with 1,076.
OSU on 7-Game Big Ten Road Win Streak
Ohio State started the Big Ten season with a 4-5 record in 2000-01 before going on a seven-game win streak to finish third with an 11-5 record. Five the last seven victories in the conference were on the road. After dropping a home game to Indiana (70-67, Jan. 31, 2001), the Buckeyes rattled off Big Ten road wins over Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, Northwestern and Penn State and a pair of home victories over Wisconsin and Illinois. Ohio State has opened the 2002 conference season with a road wins at Purdue (79-7) and Northwestern (55-48) to extend the conference road winning streak to seven games.
O’Brien 21-4 in VCA vs. Conference Foes
In four seasons at Value City Arena, Jim O’Brien and the Buckeyes have a combined record of 21-4 (.840) in Big Ten play at home in VCA. Indiana, Iowa (2) and Penn State are the only Big Ten teams with victories at VCA. The Buckeyes are 31-3 (.912) against non-conference opponents at VCA. Ohio State was 7-0 in 1998-99, 8-1 in 1999-00 and 8-1 in 2000-01 in non-Big Ten home games. The Buckeyes are 9-1 at home this year. Home losses at VCA have come to Notre Dame (59-57) in the 1999 Preseason NIT (11/16), Kansas (69-68) Dec. 23, 2000 and Pittsburgh Dec. 19, 2001 (62-55). O’Brien is 38-5 in non-conference home games in five seasons at Ohio State, which includes a 7-2 record his first season at St. John Arena.
Savovic, Brown Climbing 3-point Chart
Boban Savovic is eighth on the Top 10 list for career 3-pointers made with 96. He has connected on 31-of-65 3-point shots this season for a shooting percentage of 47.7 percent. Savovic passed Damon Stringer (1996-97), who finished his career with 89 treys, with a 3-of-5 effort at Purdue (1/2/02). Brian Brown, who started the season 10th all-time, is just outside the Top 10 with 81 3-pointers. He has made 8-of-33 on the season (.242). Brent Darby could crack the Top 10 this season as well. He has made 71-of-196 (.362) for his OSU career. Sean Connolly has made 121-of-309 career 3-pointers, which includes a 64-of-165 (.388) long range shooting effort as a freshman at Providence. At Ohio State, Connolly had connected on 57-of-144 treys (.396).
Ohio State in RPI Top 20
With six-consecutive victories and an overall record of 12-2, Ohio State has moved into the Top 20 in the Rating Percentage Index, a formula used to help select teams to the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes are No. 15 in the most recent RPI (1/14/02) with a strength of schedule rated at No. 40. Ohio State is the third among Big Ten teams in the RPI behind No. 11 Illinois and No. 14 Indiana.
Buckeyes Move Up in Rankings
Ohio State has played or will face five teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the most recent Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Ohio State, with a 12-2 record and a recent win over then-No. 9 Iowa, received 151 votes for Top 25 consideration and is currently rated as the No. 26 team nationally in the AP Poll. Currently rated teams on the OSU schedule include No. 11 Illinois, No. 17 Iowa, No. 25 Indiana, No. 27 Pittsburgh and No. 39 N.C. State.
Buckeyes Limit Foes’ Long Range Shooting
10 of the 14 teams Ohio State has played this season have been held below 30 percent shooting from 3-point range. Four opponents have not reached 17 percent shooting from long range.
Opponent Pct. 3FG-A Winthrop 16.7 3-18 N.C. State 14.8 4-27 UNC-Wilmington 15.4 2-13 Santa Clara 25.0 4-16 at Louisville 14.3 4-28 Pittsburgh 26.3 5-19 Eastern Illinois 20.0 3-15 UNC-Greensboro 26.7 4-15 Massachusetts 29.4 5-17 Northwestern 25.0 5-20
Brown Reaches 300 Assists, Moves in Top 10
Brian Brown passed former teammate Scoonie Penn on the Ohio State career assists list with five against IUPUI. Brown is now 10th all-time with 313. Carter Scott (1978-81) is ninth with 326.
Noting the Win over Northwestern
Ohio State is now 100-44 all time in games played vs.Northwestern. The Buckeyes are 41-30 in Evanston and 59-14 inColumbus. Ohio State scored 55 points in the win over Northwestern.The last time the Buckeyes won a game scoring 55 or fewer pointswas against Massachusetts Dec. 10, 2000 in Columbus. Ohio State wonthat game 54-51. The last time the Buckeyes won on the road with 55or fewer points was Jan. 13, 2000 at Wisconsin (53-51). Ohio Statebeat Northwestern the following game that year in Evanston Jan. 15,2000 by a score of 58-44. The Buckeyes had its streak ofconsecutive games with at least one 3-point basket snapped at 294games. Ohio State was 0-12 from beyond the arc against theWildcats. The previous game without a 3-point basket was Feb. 2,1992 with an 0-5 effort in a 68-58 Buckeye win over Michigan. Sixopponents, including two of three Big Ten foes, this season havehad more turnovers than field goals made in games vs. the Buckeyes.Northwestern turned the ball over 18 times and scored 16 fieldgoals. Senior Boban Savovic scored just two points but handed outsix assists and was credited with three steals in the win over NW.Savovic, who plays the third guard spot in the three-guard OSUoffense, leads the team with 61 assists. He has had five or moreassists in 9 of 14 games this season. The Buckeyes have won aremarkable 7-consecutive games in the Big Ten on the road. OhioState won its last five Big Ten road games in 2001 and have won itsfirst two this season. Ohio State last started the Big Ten season3-0 to start the 1999 Big Ten season. The Buckeyes finished 27-9and 12-4 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes were second in the conferenceand advanced to the Final Four. The last 4-0 Big Ten start was in1991 when OSU started 7-0. That year the Buckeyes finished 27-4 andfinished tied for first in the Big Ten with a 15-3 record. Thatteam lost to St. John’s (91-75) in the Midwest Regional of the NCAAtournament. Ohio State recorded 10 steals against the Wildcats totie a season high. The Buckeyes also recorded 10 steals againstUNC-Wilmington (12/2/01). Santa Clara was the last opponent heldunder 50 points (88-41, 12/12/01) vs. the Buckeyes. The last BigTen team was Northwestern (2/23/00, 69-49) in Columbus. Ohio Statehas held the Wildcats to fewer than 50 points in four of the lastsix games. This season: Ohio State is 11-1 when leading at thehalf, 12-1 when leading with five minutes to play, 10-1 whenoutrebounding foes, 10-2 when the opponent shoots less than 50percent from the field, 10-2 when OSU shoots better than theopponent, and 10-2 when the opponent scores less than 70 points.
Brown Holds Team Lead in Scoring
Senior Brian Brown owns the team lead in scoring following a 15-point effort against UMass. He tops four Buckeyes in double digits in a well-balanced offensive attack. Brown is averaging 14.4 points per game followed by Boban Savovic with 12.3. Brent Darby (10.9 ppg.) is just ahead of sophomore Zach Williams (10.8).
Ohio State Tops Big Ten in Several Areas
Ohio State is among the top two in several Big Ten categories. The Buckeyes lead in scoring margin (15.3 ppg.), field goal percentage (.501), rebounding defense (28.9), scoring defense (58.2) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.275). Ohio State is second in assists (16.43), turnover margin (2.07) and assist/turnover ratio (1.13).
Value City Arena Serves Buckeyes Well
Ohio State has played 59 home games at Value City Arena since the facility opened for the 1998-99 season. Fans have been instrumental in the Buckeyes’ 52-7 (.881) home record at Value City Arena.
Buckeyes Enter 103rd Season
Ohio State has a record of 81-22 (.786) in season-opening games over the 103 years of men’s basketball at OSU. The Buckeyes are 85-18 (.825) in home openers and 49-53 (.480) in road openers. Ohio State did not play a road game in 1900-01. This is the 90th season of Big Ten membership in men’s basketball for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 50-40 (.556) in conference openers, 61-29 (.678) in league home openers and 34-56 (.378) in the first road game of the season in Big Ten play.
Senior Class Continues Successful Run
Ohio State seniors Brian Brown, Will Dudley and Boban Savovic have been a part of three of the more successful seasons in Ohio State history. As freshmen, the trio helped the squad reach the 1999 Final Four. As sophomores, they were a part of a Big Ten Championship team and another trip to the NCAA tournament. As juniors, they were instrumental in taking Ohio State to its third-consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and 20-win season. Combined, these seniors have been a part of 82 wins (29 defeats), three NCAA tournaments, three 20-win seasons, the 1999 Final Four and the 2000 Big Ten Co-Championship. Another senior, Tim Martin, did not play for OSU until the 2000-01 season. Martin, a transfer from Kent State, sat out the 1999-00 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.
A 4th-consecutive NCAA trip, 20-win season?
The Buckeyes have been to 21 NCAA Tournaments in the history of the program, including the past three. No Ohio State coach has ever led four-consecutive teams to the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes have made three-consecutive trips four times (1944-46, 1960-62, 1990-92 and 1999-01). Ohio State also has a streak of three-consecutive 20-win seasons. The only time the program enjoyed four-consecutive 20-win campaigns occurred from 1960-63 with 25, 27, 26 and 20 wins, respectively. Ohio State won the national championship in 1960 and won four of five-consecutive Big Ten titles during that span.
