Men’s Basketball Welcomes No. 9 Iowa To Columbus – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2002
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%^$Opponent No. 9 Iowa
%^$Site Value City Arena (19,200)
%^$Game Time 8 p.m. (EST)
%^$TV ESPN Plus
%^$Local TV WBNS TV 10
%^$TV Talent Larry Morgan (Play-by-Play), Bill Hosket (Color)
%^$Radio OSU Radio Network (64 stations)
%^$Local Radio WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
%^$Radio Talent Paul Keels (P-by-P), Ron Stokes (Color)
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%^$Ohio State Buckeyes
%^$Probable Starters (9-2, 1-0)
%^$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.
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%^$No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes
%^$Probable Starters (12-3, 1-0)
%^$G 24 – Luke Recker, 6-6, Sr.
%^$G 3 – Pierre Pierce, 6-4, Fr.
%^$C 5 – Jared Reiner, 6-11, So.
%^$F 32 – Reggie Evans, 6-8, Sr.
%^$F 23 – Duez Henderson, 6-7, Sr.
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%^$Buckeyes Play Host to No. 9 Iowa
%^$Ohio State enters its matchup with No. 9 Iowa with an overall record of 9-2 and a 1-0 Big Ten mark after the league-opening win over Purdue Wednesday in West Lafayette. Iowa enters as the only Big Ten team without a loss in Value City Arena. The Hawkeyes are 2-0 with wins Jan. 12, 1999 (71-68) and Feb. 9, 2000 (67-64). The teams did not play at VCA in 2001. The Hawkeyes are the first ranked opponent to face Ohio State this season. The Buckeyes are 8-2 vs. ranked teams in Value City Arena, including a 3-1 record vs. Top 10 teams. All-time, Ohio State is 121-192 (.387) vs. Top 25 teams, including a 52-102 record (.338) against Top 10 teams. Ohio State’s last win over a Top 10 Iowa squad was Jan. 19, 1989. The No. 16 Buckeyes defeated the No. 7 Hawkeyes 102-91 in Columbus.%^$
%^$Recker, Evans Top Hawkeyes
%^$The inside-outside duo of seniors Luke Recker and Reggie Evans lead Iowa’s attack offensively. Recker, a 6-6, guard, leads the team in scoring with 19.2 points a game. Evans is close behind with 18.1 points. Evans also leads the squad with a remarkable 12.1 rebounds a contest. Recker is the team leader with 35 steals. He also leads in 3-pointers made with 42 and is connected on over 91 percent of his foul shots (52-57).%^$
%^$Hawkeyes Own Series Lead
%^$Ohio State and Iowa have met 128 times in the series history dating back to Feb. 9, 1915. The Hawkeyes have 68 victories. The teams have split the last four meetings. Iowa won the last meeting 75-66 in Chicago during the 2001 Big Ten Tournament. Iowa is the only Big Ten team without a loss in Value City Arena. The Hawkeyes are 2-0 with wins in 1999 and 2000. Iowa did not travel to Columbus for the 2001 Big Ten season. Ohio State has won its last two games in Iowa City.%^$
%^$Buckeyes 13-17 vs. Ranked Iowa Squads
%^$Ohio State will meet a ranked Iowa squad for the 31st time in the series history when the Hawkeyes battle Ohio State in Columbus. The Buckeyes have won 13 times, including the last two meetings, when Iowa has been ranked in the Top 25 in the Associated Press Poll. Each of the last two wins over a ranked Hawkeye squad were in Iowa City. The unranked Buckeyes beat the No. 14 Hawkeyes 69-68 Feb. 7, 2001 and the No. 13 Buckeyes downed No. 19 Iowa 73-69 Feb. 13, 1999. Iowa is ranked No. 9 nationally this season. The Hawkeyes opened Big Ten play at home with a win over Wisconsin (69-57) Wednesday. Ohio State has faced an Iowa team rated among the Top 10 teams eight times, winning three. Ohio State has not played an Iowa squad rated among the Top 10 since Feb. 13, 1989, an 83-75 victory for the Hawkeyes over the No. 16 Buckeyes.%^$
%^$Iowa Starts Strong
%^$The Hawkeyes are 12-3 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. Iowa owns wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore, Boston University, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, Alabama State, Southern Methodist, Iowa State, Drake, Kansas State, Missouri, Mercer and Wisconsin. Losses were to Missouri, Duke and Northern Iowa.%^$
%^$Alford in Year Three at Iowa
%^$Steve Alford is in his third season at the helm of the Hawkeyes. He has compiled a record of 49-31 in Iowa City and an overall mark of 205-108 in 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach. He began his career at Manchester College, where he spent four seasons before taking the job at Southwest Missouri State. Alford accepted the Iowa job at the start of the 1999-00 season after four years at SMSU.%^$
%^$Brown Climbs Scoring Chart
%^$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 1,015 points in 108 career games for an average of 9.4 points a contest. He scored 14 in the most recent outing vs. Purdue to climb to the No. 39 spot all-time. He needs eight points to pass Jason Singleton (1996-99), who is 38th all-time in career scoring at Ohio State with 1,022 points.%^$
%^$Brown Top Performer for OSU vs. Iowa
%^$Senior guard Brian Brown is the only Buckeye to average double figures in games vs. the Hawkeyes. In five career meetings, Brown has averaged 10.2 points. He has connected on 16-of-40 shots from the field and 7-of-12 3-pointers. Junior guard Brent Darby is the next leading scorer vs. the Hawkeyes with an average of 8.3 points in two games. Senior Boban Savovic, in four games, is the top rebounder among regulars with 3.3 rebounds a game. Reserve Tim Martin has a total of seven rebounds (3.5 rpg.) in two games.%^$
%^$OSU on 6-Game Big Ten Road Win Streak
%^$Ohio State started the Big Ten season with a 4-5 record last year 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 opened the 2002 conference season with a road win at Purdue, 79-71, to extend the conference road winning streak to six games.%^$
%^$Buckeyes Reach 1,000,000 at VCA
%^$In the fourth season of play in Value City Arena, the Buckeye men’s basketball team has drawn an average of 17,369 per game (58 gms.) for a total of 1,007,375.%^$
%^$Buckeyes Limit Foes’ Long Range Shooting
%^$Six of the 11 teams Ohio State has played this season have been held at or below 25 percent shooting from 3-point range. None of the six connected on more than four 3-pointers. 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%^$at Louisville 14.3 4-28%^$Eastern Illinois 20.0 3-15%^$
%^$O’Brien 20-4 n VCA vs. Conference Foes
%^$In four seasons at Value City Arena, Jim O’Brien and the Buckeyes have a combined record of 20-4 (.833) 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. 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 8-1 at home this year. Home losses 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 90. He has connected on 25-of-48 3-point shots this season for a shooting percentage of 52.1 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, who started the season 10th all-time, is just outside the Top 10 with 80 3-pointers. He has made 7-of-29 on the season (.241). Brent Darby could crack the Top 10 this season as well. He has made 70-of-187 (.374) for his OSU career. Sean Connolly has made 119-of-301 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 55-of-136 treys (.404).%^$
%^$Brown Reaches 300 Assists, Moves in Top 10
%^$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 306. Carter Scott (1978-81) is ninth with 326.%^$
%^$Noting the Win at Purdue
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With his 14-point performance, Brian Brown moved to the No. 39position in career scoring at Ohio State. He has scored 1,015career points. He is seven points behind former teammate JasonSingleton (1996-99), who finished his career with 1,022. Brown isthe 40th Ohio State player to reach 1,000 points.%^$
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With 16 points, Terence Dials set a career-high for thesecond-consecutive game. He tallied 15 vs. UNC-Greensboro. On theseason, he is 25-33 from the field for a shooting percentage of.758. He also played a career-high 25 minutes vs. theBoilermakers.%^$
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Boban Savovic kept the 3-point streak alive with his field goalat the 19:13 mark in the first half. Ohio State has made at leastone 3-point basket in 292-consecutive games.%^$
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Ohio State went into halftime with a 42-32 lead afterconnecting on 70 percent of its shots at the break (16-23). TheBuckeyes finished the game shooting .612 (30-49) to mark thesecond-consecutive contest shooting better than 60 percent (37-58,.638).%^$
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Junior Brent Darby finished the game with a career-high eightassists. He also added nine points and five rebounds..%^$
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The Buckeyes have shot over .500 from the field in 7-of-11games this season.%^$
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Ohio State has won the last six Big Ten road games, whichincludes five from last season. The Buckeyes have not wonseven-consecutive road games in the league since the 1971 Big Tenseason when Ohio State won all seven of its league road games.%^$
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Ohio State has won its last five games against Purdue to closethe series gap, including the last three contests in WestLafayette. Purdue owns a 77-69 edge in the all-time series. Thelast five-game winning streak against the Boilermakers was from2/7/71 through 2/19/73. OSU also won three road games in thatstreak.%^$
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Ohio State has a record of 50-40 (.556) over 90 seasons of BigTen play in conference openers. The Buckeyes are 34-56 (.378) inthe first road game of the Big Ten season.%^$
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Jan. 2 has been a great date to play for Ohio State. TheBuckeyes have won the last 12 games on Jan. 2 and are 17-3 all-timeon that date. The last loss was in 1950 to Bradley (65-46) on theroad.%^$
%^$Brown Holds Team Lead in Scoring
%^$Senior Brian Brown owns the team lead in scoring following a 14-point effort against Purdue. He tops four Buckeyes in double digits in a well-balanced offensive attack. Brown is averaging 13.7 points per game followed by Boban Savovic with 12.5. Brent Darby (10.9 ppg.) is just ahead of sophomore Zach Williams (10.6).%^$
%^$Ohio State Tops Big Ten in Several Areas
%^$Ohio State is among the top two in several statistical categories in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are No. 1 in scoring margin (17.2), field goal percentages (.514), 3-point field goal pct. defense (.257) and rebounding defense (28.4). OSU is second in 3-point field goal percentages (.388), scoring defense (58.5) and assists (17.18).%^$
%^$Value City Arena Serves Buckeyes Well
%^$Ohio State has played 58 home games at Value City Arena since the facility opened for the 1998-99 season. Those fans have been instrumental in the Buckeyes’ 51-7 (.879) 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, 60-29 (.674) 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 79 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.
