Men’s Basketball Hosts Michigan Thursday Night – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2002
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Date Jan. 24, 2002
Opponent Michigan
Site Value City Arena (19,200)
Game Time 7:00 p.m. (EST)
TV ESPN
Local TV None
TV Talent Dave Barnett (Play-by-Play), Bill Raftery (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)
No. 20 Ohio State Buckeyes
Probable Starters (14-2, 5-0)
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.
Michigan Wolverines
Probable Starters (7-8, 3-3)
G 23 – Gavin Groninger, 6-5, Jr.
G 12 – Mike Gotfredson, 5-11, Sr.
G 45 – Chris Young, 6-9, Sr.
F 30 – LaVell Blanchard, 6-7, Jr.
F 21 – Bernard Robinson, Jr., 6-6, So.
Ohio State Cracks Both Polls
Ohio State earned Top 25 recognition in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls this week. The Buckeyes are rated No. 20 in the AP and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Today polls, marking the first ranking since playing Iowa as the No. 24 team in early March of 2001. Ohio State has a record of 300-95 (.759) while playing as a ranked team in the Associated Press Poll.
Buckeyes Looking for 9th-Consecutive Win
The Buckeyes are on an eight-game win streak, matching the same streak during the 1999-00 season from Jan. 9 to Feb. 6. The last time the Buckeyes won nine-consecutive games was during the 1991-92 campaign when Ohio State won nine games before falling to Michigan 75-71 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Finals in Lexington, Ky.
Brown Selected Big Ten Player of the Week
Senior Brian Brown averaged 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while conntecting on 57 percent of his shots (15-26) in wins over Penn State and Indiana last week. He scored a career high 26 points vs. the Hoosiers to push Ohio State’s record to 14-2 overall with a 5-0 mark in the Big Ten.
Dials on Pace to Set Freshman OSU Record
Ohio State freshman Terence Dials is shooting nearly 77 percent (40-52) from the field in 16 games as a Buckeye. He leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage in league games, connecting on 82 percent (18-22) of his shots in league play. Dials is well on his way to setting an Ohio State freshman record for field goal percentage. Jermaine Tate is the current record holder with a .569 (115-202) shooting percentage as a freshman in 1996.
Dials, Williams Lead Big Ten From Field
Freshman Terence Dials and sophomore Zach Williams are a combined 43-of-65 (.662) from the field in league games. Dials leads the conference, hitting 18-of-22 (.818) while Williams is No. 5 (25-43, .581).
Ohio State 10-2 at VCA vs. Ranked Teams
Ohio State has faced 12 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 123-192 all-time vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press Poll.
Buckeyes Home 3 of Next 4 Games
Ohio State will play on its home court three of the next four games after starting the conference season 5-0 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 5-0 start 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 (417-826, .505) of its shots from the field. The Buckeyes are holding opponents to 58.7 points a contest, which also rates No. 4 nationally. Ohio State rates No. 15 nationally in scoring margin, winning by an average of 14.9 points a contest.
Chasing the Spartans
Ohio State is on the longest Big Ten win streak (12 games) since Michigan State won 18-consecutive league games over the 1999 and 2000 league seasons. Ohio State has won seven of its last 12 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 Michigan To VCA
Ohio State enters its home matchup with Michigan following a home win (73-67) over Indiana last Saturday. The Buckeyes enter the game with Michigan with an overall record of 14-2 and a 5-0 Big Ten mark. Michigan has an overall mark of 7-8 with a 3-3 record in the league.
Ranked Buckeyes Own 24-4 Record vs. UM
Ohio State has played Michigan 28 times when ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The No. 23 Buckeyes are 24-4 when ranked in games vs. Michigan. Ohio State owns the overall series lead 79-67. Ohio State is 46-25 in Columbus and 32-41 in Ann Arbor. The teams have met at a neutral site twice with each team winning once. The Buckeyes have won the last four games in the series, including the last two in Columbus.
Blanchard Leads Wolverines
Junior Lavell Blanchard leads the Wolverines offensively with 15.1 points a game. He is followed by sophomore Bernard Robinson, Jr., with 12.7 ppg. Senior center Chris Young averages 11.0 points. Blanchard also tops Michigan with 7.1 rebounds a game.
The Buckeyes vs. Michigan
Junior Sean Connolly (11.0 ppg.) and senior Boban Savovic (9.3 ppg.) are the leading scorers among the Buckeyes against the Wolverines. Savovic has made 10-of-14 shots (.714), including 4-of-6 (.667) from 3-point range, in four games against Michigan while Connolly was 2-of-3 (.667) and 6-6 from the line in his only career game against Michigan last season. Connolly and senior Tim Marttin both top the Buckeyes with a 5.0 rebounds per game average against the Wolverines.
Wolverines End Skid vs. Minnesota.
Michigan won its first two Big Ten games at Penn State and at home over Purdue. Losses followed at Minnesota, at Illinois and at home vs. Northwestern. The Wolverines then beat Minnesota in Ann Arbor to even their league record at 3-3. Michigan entered the league season with a 4-5 record.
Amaker in First Season at Michigan
Tommy Amaker is in his first season at Michigan after four successful years as head coach at Seton Hall, where he compiled a 68-55 record.
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 1,107 points in 113 career games for an average of 9.8 points a contest. He scored a career high 26 points in the most recent outing against Indiana to climb to a tie for the No. 31 in career scoring all time at Ohio State. He is tied with Ron Sepic (1965-67) and is 13 points behind Curtis Wilson (1,120/1984-88).
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 23-4 in VCA vs. Conference Foes
In four seasons at Value City Arena, Jim O’Brien and the Buckeyes have a combined record of 23-4 (.852) 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 11-1 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 99. He has connected on 34-of-73 3-point shots this season for a shooting percentage of 46.6 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 10th with 83 3-pointers. He has made 10-of-38 on the season (.263). Brent Darby could crack the Top 10 this season as well. He has made 74-of-202 (.366) for his OSU career. Sean Connolly has made 122-of-313 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 58-of-148 treys (.392).
Ohio State in RPI Top 20
With eight-consecutive victories and an overall record of 14-2, 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. 16 in the most recent RPI (1/20/02). Ohio State is the third among Big Ten teams in the RPI behind No. 12 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 14-2 record and a recent win over then-Nos. 9 Iowa and No. 25 Indiana, received 453 votes for Top 25 consideration and is currently rated as the No. 20 team nationally in the AP Poll. Currently rated teams on the OSU schedule include No. 9 Illinois, Iowa (28), Pittsburgh (29), Indiana (30) and N.C. State (32).
Buckeyes Limit Foes’ Long Range Shooting
Ten of the 16 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 317. Carter Scott (1978-81) is ninth with 326.
Noting the Win over Indiana
The game between Indiana and Ohio State marks the first timetwo Big Ten teams with perfect records after four games have facedoff in more than 10 years. The last time two teams with 4-0 orbetter marks played one another was January 21, 1991. Ironically,it was the exact same match-up with the 5-0 Buckeyes traveling tothe 4-0 Hoosiers, with OSU earning the 93-85 victory to improve to6-0. The Buckeyes are 54-7 in Value City Arena since it opened forthe 1998-99 season. OSU is 31-3 against non-conference opponentsand 23-4 in Big Ten games. Brian Brown moved into a tie for the No.31 spot of OSU career scoring leaders. He has 1,107 career point.He is tied with Ron Sepic (1965-67). Brown scored a career high 26against Indiana. His previous high was 25 against Michigan Statelast season (1/27/01). Freshman Terence Dials started the game0-for-3 from the field. He finished the game 5-for-8 with 10points. He also grabbed 8 rebounds, had one block and one steal.The Buckeyes scored 42 points in the paint to Indiana’s 22. OhioState also grabbed 34 rebounds to the Hoosier’s 24. OSU is 12-1when they out-rebound the opponent. The Ohio State defense has heldopponents under 70 points 13 times this season. The Buckeyes are12-2 in those games. Ohio State turned the ball over 12 timesagainst the Hoosiers. The Buckeyes are 9-1 when they turn the ballover fewer than 15 times. Ohio State extended its Big Ten winstreak to 12 games. The run is the longest since Michigan State won18-consecutive league games over the 1999 and 2000 league seasons.OSU has not lost a Big Ten game since Jan. 31, 2001, a 70-67 lossto Indiana. Ohio State has started 5-0 in Big Ten for the firsttime since the 1991 Buckeyes opened conference play with a 7-0record en route to a 15-3 league mark and a tie for the conferencecrown. Ohio State now has won eight straight games, dating back toits Dec. 19 loss at home to Pittsburgh. The win is OSU’s 111hvictory this season at home. The Buckeyes have won at least 10games in each of their four seasons in Value City Arena. Thisseason the Buckeyes are 13-1 when they lead at the half. They are14-1 when they lead with 5:00 minutes remaining. Ohio State is10-2, 2-0 this season, against ranked opponents in Value CityArena. The Buckeyes have faced 12 ranked opponents at Value CityArena since the start of the 1998-99 season. OSU is 123-192all-time vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press Poll. TheBuckeyes are 17-3 in Value City Arena sellouts. OSU is 13-2 in soldout games against Big Ten opponents, including a 6-0 record overranked conference opponents.
Brown Holds Team Lead in Scoring
Senior Brian Brown owns the team lead in scoring following a 26-point effort against Indiana. He tops four Buckeyes in double digits in a well-balanced offensive attack. Brown is averaging 15.2 points per game followed by Boban Savovic with 12.1. Brent Darby (11.1 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 (14.9 ppg.), field goal percentage (.505), rebounding defense (27.9). Ohio State is second in five other categories.
Value City Arena Serves Buckeyes Well
Ohio State has played 61 home games at Value City Arena since the facility opened for the 1998-99 season. Fans have been instrumental in the Buckeyes’ 54-7 (.885) home record at Value City Arena.
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 84 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.
