Ohio State Welcomes Northwestern To Value City Arena – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/31/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2002
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Date Feb. 2, 2002
Opponent Northwestern
Site Value City Arena (19,200)
Game Time 12:17 p.m. (EST)
TV ESPN Plus
Local TV WBNS 10 TV
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)
No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes
Probable Starters (16-3, 7-1)
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.
Northwestern Wildcats
Probable Starters (11-7, 2-4)
G 32 – Collier Drayton, 6-2, Sr.
G 25 – Jitim Young, 6-2, So.
C 55 – Aaron Jennings, 6-11, Jr.
F 33 – Tavaras Hardy, 6-8, Sr.
F 3 – Winston Blake, 6-5, Jr.
Ohio State Own Impressive Home Streak
Ohio State has won the last 22 home games against Northwestern, dating back to the 1977 season. Northwestern last won in Columbus Feb. 24, 1977, claiming a 68-61 victory. Ohio State earned its 100th overall victory over the Wildcats earlier this year in Evanston, Ill., by the score of 55-48. Northwestern has 44 wins in the series. The Buckeyes are 59-14 in Columbus and 41-30 in Evanston.
Brown Heats Up in League Play
Senior captain Brian Brown has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in 5-of-8 Big Ten games this year. Brown is averaging a team high 16.6 points in Big Ten play, including a career-high 26 points in the recent win over Indiana. He is connecting on 52 percent (49-95) of his shots in Big Ten play.
Ohio State Cracks Both Polls
Ohio State earned Top 25 recognition in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls the week of Jan. 21. The Buckeyes are currently rated No. 25 in the AP Poll and are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Ohio State has a record of 302-95 (.761) while playing as a ranked team in the Associated Press Poll.
Dials on Pace to Set OSU Freshman Record
Ohio State freshman Terence Dials is shooting 68 percent (45-66) from the field in 19 games as a Buckeye. He leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage in league games, connecting on 64 percent (23-36) 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 57-of-94 (.606) from the field in league games. Dials leads the conference, hitting 23-of-36 (.639) while Williams is No. 4 (34-58, .586).
Ohio State 11-2 at VCA vs. Ranked Teams
Ohio State has faced 13 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. OSU is 11-1 vs. ranked Big Ten squads at VCA. The Buckeyes are 124-192 all-time vs. teams ranked in the Associated Press Poll.
Buckeyes Show Up in NCAA Statistics
Ohio State (as of Jan. 28) is rated No. 6 nationally in field goal percentage (49.6), No. 8 in scoring defense (59.7), No. 14 winning percentage (83.3), 18th in scoring margin (13.5 ppg.) and 23rd in rebound margin (6.4).
Ohio State Welcomes Northwestern To VCA
Ohio State enters its home matchup with Northwestern following a home win over Illinois earlier this week. Ohio State is 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten. Northwestern is 11-7 overall and 2-4 in the league.
Young Leads Wildcats Offensively
Sophomore Jitim Young leads the Wildcats with a 13.4 scoring average. He is followed by junior Winston Blake (13.0 ppg.) and senior Tavaras Hardy (12.4 ppg.). Hardy also is the team’s leading rebounder with an average of 7.3 rebounds a game.
The Buckeyes vs. Northwestern
Senior Brian Brown leads the Buckeyes with a 9.7 points per game scoring average against Northwestern in six career games. Brown has connected on over 53 percent (20-47) of his shots from the field and 83 percent of his free throws (15-18) against the Wildcats. Sophomore Zach Williams is the leading rebounder for Ohio State against Northwestern. He averages 5.0 rebounds in three career meetings.
Northwestern Above .500 in Recent Weeks
Northwestern had won three of its last four games before hosting Wisconsin earlier this week. The Wildcats beat Michigan on the road (58-54) and Iowa at home (63-50) before dropping a road game at Purdue (63-61). The Wildcats went out of conference for a 63-57 win at Buffalo before battling Wisconsin in Evanston. Northwestern started the season on a 7-game win streak with victories over Virginia Commonwealth, East Carolina, San Jose State, Chicago State, Florida State, Kansas State, Florida A&M and Liberty.
Carmody in Year Two at Northwestern
Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody is in his second year as the head coach in Evanston. He has a record of 22-26 at Northwestern and a career mark of 114-51, which includes a record of 92-25 (.786) as head coach of the Princeton Tigers. He spent 18 seasons in all at the Ivy League institution before making the move to the Big Ten.
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 1,151 points in 116 career games for an average of 9.9 points a contest. He scored 13 points in the most recent outing at Minnesota to climb to the No. 26 spot in career scoring all time at Ohio State. He trails No. 25 Lawrence Funderburke (1992-94) by 28 points (1,179).
O’Brien 25-4 in VCA vs. Conference Foes
In four seasons at Value City Arena, Jim O’Brien and the Buckeyes have a combined record of 25-4 (.862) 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 101. He has connected on 36-of-86 3-point shots this season for a shooting percentage of 41.9 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 87 3-pointers. He has made 14-of-47 on the season (.298). Brent Darby could crack the Top 10 this season as well. He has made 80-of-214 (.374) for his OSU career. Sean Connolly has made 129-of-324 career 3-pointers, which includes a 64-of-165 (.388) long range shooting effort as a freshman at Providence. At Ohio State, Connolly has connected on 65-of-159 treys (.409).
Ohio State in RPI Top 20
With a 10-1 record in its last 11 games, and an overall record of 16-3, Ohio State has moved into the Top 15 in the Rating Percentage Index, a formula used to help select teams to the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes are No. 12 in the most recent RPI (1/30/02). Ohio State is the leading Big Ten team in the RPI.
Buckeyes Move Up in Rankings
Ohio State has played or will face four teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the most recent Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Ohio State, with a 15-2 record and a recent win over then-No. 9 Iowa and No. 25 Indiana, received 277 votes for Top 25 consideration and is currently rated as the No. 25 team nationally in the AP Poll. Currently rated teams on the OSU schedule include No. 12 Illinois, No. 21 Pittsburgh, Indiana (RV/27th) and N.C. State (RV/29).
Buckeyes Limit Foes’ Long Range Shooting
Twelve of the 19 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 Michigan 20.0 4-20 Illinois 17.6 3-17
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 tied for ninth all-time with 326. Jay Burson (1986-89) is eighth with 329.
Noting the Win over Illinois
When the Buckeyes are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25they have a record of 302-95. When playing against ranked teams inValue City Arena, Ohio State is 11-2 all-time and 3-0 this season.Illinois owns the series lead with a 95-58 all-time record vs. theBuckeyes. The Illini own a 6-3 advantage when both teams are rankedin the Associated Press Poll. The Buckeyes are 56-7 in Value CityArena since it opened for the 1998-99 season. OSU is 31-3 againstnon-conference opponents and 25-4 in Big Ten games. With his twofree throws at the 18:52 mark of the second half, Brian Brown movedinto the No. 26 spot of OSU career scoring leaders. He has 1,151career points. He passed Jamaal Brown (1989-92) with 1,139 pointsand Frank Howard (1956-58) with 1,147. Brown also moved into a tiefor the No. 9 spot in career assist leaders at Ohio State. He has326 assists in his career. He shares the spot with Carter Scott(1978-81). Brown has scored in double figures in the last 14 gamesand 17 of the 19 games this season. Junior guard Brent Darby tied acareer high in points with 22. He scored 22 points against N.C.State earlier this season (11/27/01). Darby also set a career highfor free throws attempted and made. He was 16-of-18 from the line.His previous high was 9-of-13 against N.C. State (11/27/01). Hetied a career high for rebounds with seven, which he set againstPenn State (1/16/02). Dabry added five assists and one steal.Darby’s free throws made ties him for third most in a game in OSUhistory. First, is Gary Bradds with 18 (1/27/64) at Michigan State.Second, is Dennis Hopson with 17 (2/12/87) at Wisconsin. He tiesBradds (2/15/64) versus Wisconsin, Larry Siegfried (3/7/59) againstPurdue, Robin Freeman (12/12/55) at Oklahoma and John Miller(12/26/53) against Oregon State. In the past two games, SeanConnolly is 7-of-9 from 3-point range. He shot 3-of-3 againstIllinois. Boban Savovic has played in 100 games in his career andearned 50 starts. Twelve of 19 teams Ohio State has played thisseason have been held below 30 percent shooting from 3-point range.The Illini were 3-of-17 from behind the arc for a .176 shootingpercentage. Illinois has averaged 36 percent from 3-point range.The Ohio State 42-27 lead at the half was helped by a 22-7 run fromthe 14:34 mark to 4:24. In the first half the Buckeye benchoutscored Illinois 17-4 and shot 7-of-9 from the field. When OSUleads at the half it is 15-1. The Ohio State defense held Illinoisto 8-of-22 from the field in the first half. The 27 points theIllini scored is a season low for the first half. The previous lowof 29 came against Maryland in a 76-63 loss on Nov. 27. OSU hasscored 70 or more points 14 times this season. When the Buckeyesscore 70 or more they are 13-1. On the opposite side, Ohio Statehas held 16 opponents under 70 points. When the defense is able tohold the opponent under 70, the Buckeyes are 14-2. Against IllinoisOhio State was 22-of-44 from the field for a .500 shootingpercentage. When the Buckeyes shoot 50 percent or better they are9-0 and when they hold opponents under 50 percent the Buckeyes are12-2. Ohio State was able to grab 33 rebounds to Illinois’ 27. Whenthe Buckeyes out-rebound an opponent they are 14-2. The Buckeyeshave beaten Illinois in back-to-back games. The last time theBuckeyes beat the Illini two straight times was when they won fivestraight from 1990-92. The run was ended by Illinois’s 86-76victory (1/30/93) in St. John Arena. Ohio State has won sevenstraight home games, dating back to its Dec. 19 loss to Pittsburgh.The win is OSU’s 131h victory this season at home. The Buckeyeshave won at least 10 games in each of their four seasons in ValueCity Arena.
Brown Tops Four in Double Digits
Senior Brian Brown owns the team lead in scoring following a 13-point effort against Illinois. He leads four Buckeyes in double digits in a well-balanced offensive attack. Brown is averaging 15.1 points per game, followed by Brent Darby with 12.1 ppg. Boban Savovic is next with 11.6 ppg., followed by sophomore Zach Williams (10.5).
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 (13.4 ppg.), field goal percentage (.496) and rebounding defense (28.2). Ohio State is second scoring defense (60.1), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.294) and rebound margin (6.4). The Buckeys are third in assists (15.74), and turnover margin (1.42).
Value City Arena Serves Buckeyes Well
Ohio State has played 63 home games at Value City Arena since the facility opened for the 1998-99 season. The Buckeyes are 56-7 (.889) at Value City Arena.
Noting the Buckeyes…
Brandon Fuss-Cheatham: Has played in all 19 games … just two turnovers to go with nine assists in last five games, no turnovers in last four contests with eight assists … has played 10 or more minutes in last 4-of-5 games and in nine games this season.
Sean Connolly: Contributes nearly 19 minutes off the bench … has made 10-of-16 shots in last three games, including 7-of-9 3-point attempts in last two contests … five double figure games this season with season-high 17 in loss at Minnesota…has been charged with just two turnovers in last four games…has 32 assists, 9 steals this year … career 80 percent shooter from the foul line (119-148) … played 50th game as a Buckeye vs. Illinois.
Brent Darby: One of four Buckeyes in double figures with 12.1 points a game … has played 30 or more minutes in 12 games this season … team leader from the foul line (76-96, .792) … in last five games has connected on 9-of-18 3-pointers (.500) … career 77 pct. shooter from the foul line (149-193) … 80 career 3-pointers, nearing Top 10 list.
Brian Brown: Needs four rebounds to reach 400 for career (396/3.4 rpg.) … 85-consecutive starts … only current Buckeye with over 300 assists (326) and 100 steals (113) … shooting over .500 from the field … has been in double digits offensively in last 14 games and in 17-of-19 games this season.
Velimir Radinovic: Earned starting spot in last 15 games … reached double figure minutes in 17-of-19 games … shooting 52 percent from the field (26-50, .520) … tied for team lead with 12 blocks … season high 10 points in home loss to Pittsburgh (12/19/01).
Boban Savovic: Played 100th game and made 50th start as a Buckeye vs. Illinois … leads team from 3-point range (36-86, .419) … tops Buckeyes in assists from the No. 3 guard spot with 78 … has recorded five or more assists in 10 games this season … tops in steals with 29 … … 101 of 201 FGs are for career are from 3-pt. range (101-268, .377) … needs three steals to reach 100 at Ohio State.
Ryan Heflin: Shooting 71.4 percent from the field in seven appearances (5-7) this season … career-high seven points in six minutes vs. Santa Clara (12/12/01) … team barber, often cuts teammates’ hair the day before games.
Shaun Smith: Perfect from the field this year (3-3) in seven appearances … has command of OSU offense … runs practice squad against starters in practice … would rather look to make assists than score in games.
Zach Williams: One of the hardest workers on the squad … often draws toughest opponent big man defensively … has the ability to score over bigger players … leads starters in field goal percentage (79-134, .590) and rebounding (6.0 rpg.) … only Buckeye with over 100 rebounds (114) … has scored 10 or more points in 10 games this year … reached 400 career points (405/8.1) at OSU with 14 scored against Illinois.
Terence Dials: Has played double figure minutes in 14-of-19 games … Big Ten leader in field goal shooting in conference games (23-36, .639) … on pace to set Ohio State freshman record for shooting percentage (45-66, .682) … still learning the Ohio State offensive and defensive schemes … 33 rebounds in last five games … career high 13 caroms vs. Louisville (12/15/01).
Will Dudley: Started first four games of the season … double figure minutes in nine games this year … shooting 56 percent (23-41) on the season … 13-of-27 rebounds have come on the offensive end of the floor this year … 94 career games, 9.5 minutes per game at Ohio State … career 56 pct. shooter from the field (124-220) … needs seven rebounds to reach 200 for career … 31 career blocks are most on team.
Tim Martin: Has played in all 19 games with one start this season … 22-of-42 rebounds this year have come on the offensive end of the court … gives Buckeyes added strength in the middle … averages nearly 11 minutes as a walk-on player for Ohio State.
Matt Marinchick: Has played in eight games as a redshirt freshman for Ohio State … connecting on 50 percent of his field goal attempts (4-8) … hit all four foul shots in just one minute of action in home win over Michigan.
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 86 wins (30 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 Consecuttive 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.
