Ohio State Hosts Indiana For Tops in The Big Ten Conference – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2002
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Opponent No. 25 Indiana
Site Value City Arena (19,200)
Game Time 4:30 p.m. (EST)
TV ESPN Plus
Local TV WBNS TV 10
TV Talent Jim Barbar (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 (13-2, 4-0)
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 33 – Zach Williams, 6-7, So.
No. 25 Indiana Hoosiers
Probable Starters (11-5, 4-0)
G 32 – Kyle Hronsby, 6-5, Jr.
G 11 – Dane Fife, 6-4, Sr.
G 3 – Tom Coverdale, 6-2, Jr.
F 43 – Jarrad Odle, 6-8, Sr.
F 1 – Jared Jeffries, 6-9, So.
Ohio State 9-2 at VCA vs. Ranked Teams
Ohio State has faced 11 ranked opponents at Value City Arena since the facility opened for the start of the 1998-99 season. Ohio State is 4-1 against Top 10 teams, which includes a 72-62 victory over No. 9 Iowa Jan. 5. The Buckeyes are 122-192 all-time vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press Poll. 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 4-0 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 4-0 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 5-0 in the league. Ohio State also is on a 11-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 four 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.
Buckeyes Show Up in NCAA Statistics
Ohio State (as of Jan. 14) is rated No. 4 nationally in field goal percentage, connecting on over 50 percent (389-769, .506) of its shots from the field. The Buckeyes are holding opponents to 58.1 points a contest, which also rates No. 4 nationally. Ohio State rates No. 15 nationally in scoring margin, winning by an average of 15.6 points a contest.
Williams, Dials Lead Big Ten From Field
Ohio State freshman Terence Dials leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage in conference games. Dials has connected on 13-of-14 shots from the field for a shooting percentage of .929. Sophomore Zach Williams is second with a shooting percentage of .677 (21-31). Williams is shooting .617 from the field in all games (66-107) which rates fourth among all Big Ten players.
Chasing the Spartans
Ohio State is on the longest Big Ten win streak (11 games) since Michigan State won 18-consecutive league games over the 1999 and 2000 league seasons. Ohio State has won seven of the last 11 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 Indiana To VCA
Ohio State enters its home matchup with Indiana following a home win (76-57) over Penn State Wednesday. The Buckeyes enter the game with IU with an overall record of 13-2 and a 4-0 Big Ten mark. Indiana has an overall mark of 11-5 with a 4-0 record in the league.
Indiana Owns Series Lead
Indiana has a record of 93-66 in games played against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 45-33 in Columbus and 21-56 in Bloomington. Indiana has won all four neutral site contests. Ohio State is 18-27 against Indiana teams rated in the Associate Press Top 25 Poll. Indiana is No. 25 in the most recent AP Poll.
Two in Double Figures for Indiana
Sophomore Jared Jeffries is the leading scorer for the Hoosiers with a 17.1 points per game scoring average. Junior Tom Coverdale averages 12.0 points a contest. Jeffries owns the team lead with 7.1 rebounds per game.
The Buckeyes vs. Indiana
Seniors Brian Brown and Boban Savovic have played four games during their careers at Ohio State. Brown has averaged 6.5 points while Savovic has a 4.3 points per game scoring average. Senior Will Dudley and junior Brent Darby are the only other Buckeyes with more than one game vs. IU. Both have played in two games vs. the Hoosiers.
Indiana 4-0 in Big Ten
The Hoosiers are 4-0 in the Big Ten with wins over Northwestern and Iowa on the road and Penn State and Michigan State at home. Indiana is 11-5 overall. The Hoosiers have notable wins over North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ball State. Losses have come to Texas, Southern Illinois, Miami, Kentucky and Butler.
Davis in Second Year at IU
Mike Davis directed the Hoosiers to a 21-13 record in his first year at Indiana last season. He has a career record of 32-18 at IU and a 14-6 record in Big Ten games.
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 1,081 points in 112 career games for an average of 9.6 points a contest. He scored 15 in the most recent outing against Penn State to climb to No. 33 in career scoring all time at Ohio State. He passed Carter Scott (1978-81) with 1,073 career points and 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 22-4 in VCA vs. Conference Foes
In four seasons at Value City Arena, Jim O’Brien and the Buckeyes have a combined record of 22-4 (.846) 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 98. He has connected on 33-of-70 3-point shots this season for a shooting percentage of 47.1 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 is tied for 10th 82 3-pointers. He has made 9-of-37 on the season (.243). Brent Darby could crack the Top 10 this season as well. He has made 72-of-199 (.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 seven-consecutive victories and an overall record of 13-2, 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. 18 in the most recent RPI (1/17/02). Ohio State is the third among Big Ten teams in the RPI behind No. 10 Illinois and No. 12 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
Ten of the 15 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 314. Carter Scott (1978-81) is ninth with 326.
Noting the Win over Penn State
Ohio State now has won seven-consecutive games, dating back toits Dec. 19 loss at home to Pittsburgh. The win is OSU’s 10thvictory this season at home. The Buckeyes have won at least 10games in each of their four seasons in Value City Arena. Ohio Stateowned the boards, and especially in the first half. The Buckeyeshad 17 rebounds compared to five for the Nittany Lions -as many asOSU’s Zach Williams had in the half. PSU was held without a reboundin the second half until a team defensive rebound at the 10:59mark. The Nittany Lions’ first rebound from a player in the secondhalf came from Daren Tielsch at the 7:32 mark. Penn State had nooffensive rebounds until Daren Tielsch’s offensive board at the6:00 mark of second half. The Nittany Lions were held to aseason-low 18 rebounds. Their previous low was 22, set vs. Clemson(11/28/01). OSU also dominated inside, outscoring the Nittany Lions38-14 in the paint. Ohio State has gotten off to fast starts atboth home games in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 19-8lead through the first 10:29 vs. Penn State and vaulted out to a20-2 lead vs. Iowa. Brian Brown moved up two slots into 33rd placeon the Ohio State career scoring chart after his 15-pointperformance. Brown, with 1,081 points, passed Carter Scott (1,073)and Scoonie Penn (1,076). Next up is 32nd-place Mel Nowell, with1,100 career points. Brown drilled one three-point goal, enablinghim to move into the Top 10 on the all-time OSU made three-pointersledger. With 82 career treys, Brown is tied with Jim Jackson(1990-92) for 10th all time. Brown needs seven three-pointers toreach ninth-place Damon Stringer (89). Terence Dials scored 10points, his third career double-figure scoring output and second inBig Ten play. Dials scored 15 points vs. UNC-Greensboro (12/29/01)and 16 at Purdue (1/2/02). Dials leads the Big Ten in field goalshooting during conference play, firing at a 92.8-percent clip(13-of-14) after his 4-for-4 performance vs. Penn State. Afterhaving their 294-game streak with at least one made three-pointgoal snapped, the Buckeyes quickly started a new one, as BobanSavovic canned a trey 36 seconds into the contest. OSU has claimeda 13-12 advantage in the all-time series with Penn State. OSU has a9-4 edge in games played in Columbus. This season: Ohio State is12-1 when leading at the half, 13-1 when leading with 5:00 to play,11-1 when out-rebounding its opponent, 9-0 when shooting 50 percentor better, 11-2 when it shoots better than its opponent, 11-0 whenit scores 70 or more, and 11-2 when its opponent scores less than70. Zach Williams dished out a career and season high-tying fourassists, matching his performances vs. Santa Clara (12/9/01) andEastern Illinois (12/22/01).Brown Holds Team Lead in Scoring SeniorBrian Brown owns the team lead in scoring following a 15-pointeffort against Penn State. He tops four Buckeyes in double digitsin a well-balanced offensive attack. Brown is averaging 14.5 pointsper game followed by Boban Savovic with 12.5. Brent Darby (11.1ppg.) is just ahead of sophomore Zach Williams (10.9).
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 (15.5 ppg.), field goal percentage (.506), rebounding defense (28.1) and scoring defense (58.1). Ohio State is second in five other categories.
Value City Arena Serves Buckeyes Well
Ohio State has played 60 home games at Value City Arena since the facility opened for the 1998-99 season. Fans have been instrumental in the Buckeyes’ 53-7 (.883) 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 83 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.
