Men’s Basketball Wraps Up The Home Schedule vs. Michigan State – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2002
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Date Feb. 26, 2002
Opponent Michigan State
Site Value City Arena (19,200)
Game Time 8 p.m. (EST)
TV ESPN Plus
Local TV WBNS 10 TV
TV Talent Mike Gleason(Play-by-Play), Greg Kelser (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. 17 Ohio State Buckeyes
Probable Starters (19-6, 10-4)
G 4 – Brent Darby, 6-1, Jr. (13.0)
G 21 – Boban Savovic, 6-5, Sr. (11.5)
G 13 – Brian Brown, 6-4, Sr. (15.1)
C 14 – Velimir Radinovic, 7-0, So. (3.6)
F 33 – Zach Williams, 6-7, So. (10.1, 5.8)
Michigan State Spartans
Probable Starters (17-10, 8-6)
G 1 – Marcus Taylor, 6-3, So. (15.4)
G 5 – Chris Hill, 6-3, Fr. (11.3)
C 23 – Kelvin Torbert, 6-4, Fr. (8.6)
F 25 – Aloysius Anagonye, 6-8, Jr. (7.9)
F 55 – Adam Ballinger, 6-9, Jr. (11.3, 7.0)
Ohio State Hosts Spartans in Home Finale
Ohio State closes out its home season Tuesday night by hosting Michigan State. It is senior night for the Buckeyes who will honor senior players Brian Brown, Tim Martin, Boban Savovic and Will Dudley, along with senior managers Steve Ater and Dave Egelhoff, before the game. Thanks to a 77-66 win over Purdue on Saturday and Michigan State’s 57-54 win over visiting Indiana on Sunday, the Buckeyes, who have won two of their last three, are back atop the Big Ten standings, tied with Indiana at 10-4 with two games to play. Ohio State, 15-1 at home this year, closes out the regular season Saturday at Michigan (8 p.m.). Indiana, meanwhile, is at Illinois on Tuesday and then returns home Saturday to host Northwestern. Lurking in the wings is 10-5 Wisconsin, which plays host to Michigan on Wednesday, and Illinois, a team that has won six in a row and has a chance to finish 11-5.
A victory against the Spartans would assure the Buckeyes of at least staying tied for the league lead heading into Saturday’s finale at Michigan. It would also give the Buckeyes their fourth consecutive 20-win season, something accomplished only once before in Ohio State history (1960-63). A win by the Buckeyes and a loss by Indiana on Tuesday would assure Ohio State of no worse than a co-championship. O’Brien on the Buckeyes
“What better position could we be in than to know that our destiny lies in our own hands? But we still have two very difficult games to play, starting with Michigan State who is coming in here with a lot of confidence,” said Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien.
The Senior Class of 2002
Seniors Brian Brown, Will Dudley, Tim Martin and Boban Savovic will be making their final home appearances in Value City Arena on Tuesday night. It is a class that has won 89 games, been to the 1999 Final Four, won the 2000 Big Ten Championship, enjoyed three 20-win seasons and gone to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Those four have helped the Buckeyes win more games than any senior class before them, and seem a lock to become the first class in school history to be invited to four straight NCAA tourneys.
O’Brien on Senior Night
“I’m hoping people will come out and recognize what these kids have done. When you think about what they have accomplished, they deserve a lot of credit. They have done a remarkable job. When they came here, we were new as a staff and had some rebuilding to do. Those kids put their faith in us and went on to do wonderful things. It should be a terrific night for them.”
Buckeyes Seeking 17th Big Ten Title
Ohio State is seeking its 17th Big Ten basketball title. The Buckeyes have won 10 outright crowns and shared six others. Ohio State’s last championship came in 1999-2000, when the Buckeyes shared the title with Michigan State. Ohio State’s last outright crown was in 1992.
O’Brien Nominated For National Coach of the Year
Ohio State basketball coach Jim O’Brien has been nominated by the Atlanta Tipoff Club for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award. O’Brien is one of 20 finalists for the honor which will be presented April 5 in Atlanta, the site of this year’s Final Four. O’Brien was the NABC National Coach of the Year in 1999 and the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2001. He is also considered to be a leading contender for the latter honor this year. Now in his fifth year at Ohio State, O’Brien has guided the 2002 Buckeyes, a team that was picked to finish eighth in the Big Ten, to an 18-6 record overall and a 10-4 mark in conference play that has the Buckeyes tied with Indiana for the league lead with two games to play. His record with the Buckeyes now stands at 97-55 for all games and his Big Ten record is 47-31, including a mark of 46-16 the past four years.
OSU-Purdue Recap
Home for the first time in five games, the Buckeyes apparently appreciated the friendly atmosphere, hitting 13 of 26 three-point shots against the Boilers to tie their own Value City Arena record for three-pointers made. It was the first time this year in Big Ten play that OSU had shot 50% or better from beyond the arc. Senior guard Brian Brown led the Buckeyes with 18 points, all but two of those coming in the second half. In the process, Brown moved around Larry Siegfried and Ron Stokes on the all-time OSU scoring list. Brown, who hit 6-of-9 shots against Purdue, now has 1,242 points and is 21st on the OSU career point list. Boban Savovic finished with 16 points, including 13 in the first half. Savovic gave the Buckeyes the lead for good at 30-28 with his second trey of the night with 4:01 to play in the half. Sean Connolly and Brent Darby hit threes on OSU’s next two possessions, and a free throw by Zach Williams made it 37-33 at the half. The Buckeyes kept the heat on after intermission, outscoring the Boilers 15-2 and stretching the lead to as much as 20 (77-57) with 1:35 to play. Darby finished with 15 points and Connolly 11. Zach Williams led OSU in rebounding with five. The Buckeye defense held Purdue guard Willie Deane, the Big Ten’s leading scorer to 12 points, just two in the second half. Deane had 27 when the two teams met earlier in the year.
Special “K” Next for Brown
Ohio State senior guard Brian Brown had a pretty good week last week, scoring 41 points and moving past Luke Witte, John Havlicek, Larry Siegfried and Ronnie Stokes on the all-time OSU scoring list. The 6-4 Brown now has 1,242 career points to rank 21st in OSU scoring annals. The No. 20 spot belongs to Clark Kellogg who scored 1,285 points in three years (1980-82) as a Buckeye. Also within reach is Jim Cleamons (1969-71) at the No. 19 spot (1,335 points).
Brown played brilliantly last week, scoring 23 points at Indiana on 9-of-16 shooting, before tossing in 18 against Purdue on 6-of-9 shooting. He also made 5-of-7 treys, collared 10 rebounds and handed out 8 assists in the two games.Brown is the 40th Ohio State player to score 1,000 or more points during his career.
Ohio State Back in Both Polls
For the sixth consecutive week, Ohio State is ranked in the Top 25 in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches and the Associated Press polls. The Buckeyes are 17th in the latest Coaches poll (up one from last week) and 18th in the AP poll (up one from last week) in the wire service voting.
Dials on Pace to Set OSU Freshman Record
Ohio State freshman Terence Dials hit 3-of-4 field goal attempts against the Boilers and is now shooting .642 from the field. The 6-9 center 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.
Williams, Brown Among Big Ten Marksmanship Leaders
Sophomore forward Zach Williams (3-of-4 against Purdue) is third in the Big Ten in field goal percentage with a mark of .588 (100 of 170) in 25 games. Senior guard Brian Brown has moved up three spots to 12th with a .487 figure on 135-of-277 shooting. Brown was 15-of-25 in two games last week.
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 on Jan. 5 of this year. OSU is 11-1 vs. ranked Big Ten squads at VCA.
A Look At The Spartans
Michigan State has won three in a row and eight of its last 11. Following their win over the Buckeyes (67-64) on Feb. 10, the Spartans suffered a 63-61 setback at the hands of Illinois and then reeled off consecutive wins over Purdue (62-59 in West Lafayette), Minnesota (74-55 in East Lansing) and Indiana (57-54). The youthful Spartans start two freshmen and a sophomore, along with a pair of juniors. Two of those youngsters have paced MSU in scoring this year, sophomore Marcus Taylor averaging 15.4 points a game, and freshman Chris Hill averaging 11.3. Hill has also been the Spartans’ top three-point shooter, hitting at a 44 percent clip (57-129). Taylor leads the Big Ten in assists with an average of 5.3 per game. As a team, MSU is holding its opponents to 38 percent shooting and the Spartans lead the league in rebounding margin (+8.4).
The Buckeyes vs. Michigan State
Senior Brian Brown leads the Buckeyes in scoring against the Spartans, averaging 12.1 points per contest in six career meetings. Freshman Terence Dials scored 11 points in his only meeting with the Spartans earlier this year while sophomore Zach Williams averages 9.0 ppg in three career games. Dials also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down six boards against the Spartans.
Series Information
Michigan State leads the series, 53-45, but Ohio State has a 32-17 edge in games played in Columbus. The Spartans won the first meeting of the year, 67-64 in East Lansing, behind 18 points by both Adam Ballinger and Chris Taylor. Ballinger also pulled down 10 rebounds. The Buckeyes, who could hit just 23 of 63 shots against the Spartans, were paced by Brent Darby with 14 and Brian Brown and Terence Dials with 11 each. The Spartans are 0-2 in their only two trips to Value City Arena.
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo is in his seventh year as the head coach at Michigan State. His record with the Spartans is 165-63, including a 80-34 mark in Big Ten play. He has led the Spartans four straight Big Ten titles (three shared and one outright) and three consecutive Final Four appearances.
O’Brien 27-4 in VCA vs. Conference Foes
In four seasons at Value City Arena, Jim O’Brien and the Buckeyes have a combined record of 27-4 (.870) in Big Ten play. 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 15-1 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.
Value City Arena Serves Buckeyes Well
Ohio State has played 65 home games at Value City Arena since the facility opened for the 1998-99 season. The Buckeyes are 58-7 (.890) at Value City Arena, including a 15-1 mark this year. The Buckeyes are 7-0 at home this year in Big Ten play and have won nine straight conference games in VCA.
Buckeyes Dialing In From Long Distance
Boban Savovic knocked down four three-pointers against Purdue and now has 110 for his career, moving him past Doug Etzler (107) and Jamaal Brown (109) into sixth place on the all-time list at Ohio State. Savovic needs three more triples to move past Chris Jent (112, 1989-92) into the Top Five. Savovic has hit 45 of 110 shots from beyond the arc this year.
Brian Brown, meanwhile, like Savovic a senior, has 95 career treys and is ninth in OSU annals. He has made 22 of 64 thus far in 2002, including two vs. Purdue.
Junior guard Brent Darby is the latest Buckeye to crack the Top 10 list for three pointers. Darby had four treys against Purdue, giving him 89 during his career and moving him into a tie with Damon Stringer for the 10th spot.
Another junior, Sean Connolly, has made 137-of-346 career 3-pointers, which includes a 64-of-165 (.386) long-range shooting effort as a freshman at Providence. At Ohio State, Connolly has connected on 73-of-181 treys, including 28 of 73 this year. He was 3-of-4 against Purdue.
Buckeyes Limit Foes’ Long-Range Shooting
Fifteen of the 25 teams Ohio State has played this season have been held below 30 percent shooting from 3-point range. Indiana became the latest casualty Wednesday night, converting just 6 of 23 three-pointers against the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have held six opponents under 18 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 Wisconsin 17.4 4-23 Michigan State 27.3 3-11 Indiana 26.0 6-23
Brown Now Eighth in Career Assists
Brian Brown passed former teammate Scoonie Penn on the Ohio State career assists list with five against IUPUI earlier this season. Brown is now eighth all-time with 347 assists, including five against Purdue. Jim Jackson (1990-92) is seventh all-time with 372.
Brown Among Big Ten Scoring Leaders
With 41 points in two games last week, Brian Brown has moved up to seventh in Big Ten scoring. In Big Ten games only, the 6-4 senior is third in scoring at 16.0 points per game, trailing only Purdue’s Willie Deane (17.5) and Indiana’s Jared Jeffries (16.1).
Brent Darby is 15th in scoring (13.0) for all games and ninth in Big Ten games (14.3).
OSU’s Boban Savovic is 23rd for all games (11.5) and 29th in conference tilts (10.6).
Savovic (ninth), Brown (13th) and Darby (14th) all rank among the Big Ten assist leaders. Savovic also ranks 12th in steals.
Ohio State Tops Big Ten in Several Areas
Ohio State ranks at, or near, the top of several Big Ten statistical categories. The Buckeyes lead the league in scoring margin (+10.4 ppg.), field goal percentage (.487) and rebounding defense (28.9). They are second in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.305) and third in scoring defense (62.2). Ohio State also is tied for second in turnover margin (+1.20) and fourth in rebound margin (+4.8).
Noting the Buckeyes…
2 – Brandon Fuss-Cheatham: Has played in 24 games (all but Wisconsin) …spells Brent Darby at point … very quick, excellent ball handler.. has averaged just under 10 minutes a game off the bench this season for the Buckeyes.
3 – Sean Connolly: First guard off the bench, contributing nearly 20 minutes a game … has made 15-of-31 3-point attempts in last seven contests … seven double figure games this season with season-high 17 at Minnesota…has 41 assists and 13 steals this year … big steal late at Iowa … career 81 percent shooter from the foul line (124-154).
4 – Brent Darby: Bothered past three games by sore lower back (muscular) … held to 4 points at Indiana, but did have 7 rebounds … averaging 18 points in the 5 games prior to Indiana … bounced back with 15 points against Purdue … notched a career-high 26 points against Northwestern (Feb. 2) … has played 30 or more minutes in 16 games this season including a career-high 41 minutes in the overtime loss to Wisconsin …32 minutes at Iowa, despite painful back … team leader from the foul line (99-126, .786) … in last 8 games has connected on 18-of-39 3-pointers (.461) … career 77 pct. shooter from the foul line (172-223) … had a string of three-consecutive 20-point games earlier this season.
13 – Brian Brown: Has started 91-consecutive games for the Buckeyes … has led the Buckeyes in scoring each of the last two games and 12 times this year … career totals include 1,242 points, 423 rebounds, 347 assists, 117 steals … shooting 48 percent from the field this season… has been in double digits in last 20 games and in 23-of-25 this season … Wooden Award Candidate … two-time OSU captain.
14 – Velimir Radinovic: Has started the past 21 games … double figure minutes in 19-of-25 games … shooting 54 percent from the field (34-63) … second on the team with 12 blocks … season high 10 points in home loss to Pittsburgh (12/19/01) … seven rebounds at Michigan State … seven second-half points at Iowa.
21 – Boban Savovic: Has played in 106 games and made 56 starts as a Buckeye … leads team from 3-point range (45-110, .409) … tops Buckeyes in assists with 94 … has recorded five or more assists in 12 games this season, including Purdue on Saturday … tops team in steals with 34 and has 102 for his career … strong, quick hands … fine defender and solid all-around performer.
23 – 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 … missed Indiana trip with the flu.
24 – 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.
33 – Zach Williams: One of the hardest workers on the squad … often draws opponent’s top offensive threat along the front line … has the ability to score over bigger players with his high arcing floater … leads starters in field goal percentage (100-170, .588) and rebounding (5.8 rpg.) … has scored 10 or more points in 13 games this year .. . had 3 assists and 2 steals against Purdue.
34 – Terence Dials: Has played double figure minutes in 19-of-25 games … one of the top freshmen in the Big Ten … shooting 64 percent from the field this season (61-95) … on pace to set Ohio State freshman record for shooting percentage … leads the team in blocked shots with 17 … has collected 55 rebounds in last 11 games (5.0) … career-high 13 caroms vs. Louisville (12/15/01) … has been a factor in OSU’s Big Ten success.
43 – Will Dudley: Started first four games of the season … double figure minutes in ten games this year … shooting 52 percent (25-48) on the season … 16-of-34 rebounds have come on the offensive end of the floor this year … 100 career games at Ohio State … career 56 pct. shooter from the field (126-226) … two boards against Purdue give him an even 200 for his career … 31 career blocks are most on team … good jump hook … skillful under the basket.
44 – Tim Martin: Tied a career-high with seven rebounds against Northwestern … has played in all 25 games with one start this season (Northwestern, Jan. 12) … 26-of-57 rebounds this year have come on the offensive end of the court … gives Buckeyes added strength in the middle … defensive presence at Iowa was a key factor in OSU win … Big Ten season-high 18 minutes vs. the Hawkeyes … competitive and great team player.
54 – Matt Marinchick: Has played in nine games as a redshirt freshman for Ohio State … hit all four foul shots in just one minute of action in home win over Michigan.
Next Up For the Buckeyes
Ohio State closes out the regular season Saturday at Michigan. Game time is 8:07 p.m. in Crisler Arena.
OSU Hoping For a 4th-Consecutive NCAA Trip and 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. Jim O’Brien is just two wins away from his fourth-consecutive 20-win season.
