Men’s Basketball Advances to Semifinals of Big Ten Tournament – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 14, 2003
Date March 15, 2003
Opponent Michigan State
Site United Center, Chicago
Game Time 1:40 p.m. (EST)
TV CBS
Local TV WBNS Ch. 10
TV Talent Jim Nance (P-by-P), Billy Packer (Color)
Radio OSU Radio Network (63 stations)
Local Radio WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
Radio Talent Paul Keels (P-by-P), Ron Stokes (Color)
Ohio State Buckeyes
Probable Starters (16-13)
G 4 – Brent Darby, 6-1, Sr.
G 3 – Sean Connolly, 6-5, Sr.
C 14 – Velimir Radinovic, 7-0, Jr.
F 50 – Shun Jenkins, 6-6, Jr.
F 40 – Matt Sylvester, 6-7, Fr.
Michigan State Spartans
Probable Starters (19-11)
G 5 – Chris Hill, 6-3, So.
G 23 – Kelvin Torbert, 6-4, So.
C 55 – Adam Ballinger, 6-9, Sr.
F 25 – Aloysius Anagonye, 6-8, Sr.
F 15 – Alan Anderson, 6-6, S0.
Michigan State Has 11-Game Edge in All-Time Series
Michigan State has won 56 games in the series with Ohio State. The Buckeyes have been victorious in 45 contests. The Spartans are 37-13 in East Lansing and 18-32 in Columbus. The Spartans both regular season meetings with a 66-55 win to open the Big Ten season in East Lansing and then a 72-58 victory March 8 to close conference regular season play. Ohio State and Michigan State have never met at a neutral site.
Buckeyes Score Well vs. MSU
Ohio State has averaged 72.3 points in 101 career games against Michigan State, the second-highest scoring average vs. Big Ten opponents. The Buckeyes average 73.3 points against Penn State.
Hill Lone Scorer in Double Digits for MSU
Sophomore guard Chris Hill led the Spartans into Big Ten Conference tournament play with 14.2 points per game this season. He is the only Spartan averaging in double figures. Senior forward Aloysius Anagonye is the team’s leading rebounder with 5.5 a contest.
Darby Leads Buckeyes vs. MSU
Senior Brent Darby has played the most against Michigan State. Darby, a native of Detroit, Mich., has played eight games against Michigan State, the most of any of the current Buckeye players. He has scored 99 career points, averages 12.4 points in 25.9 minutes per game vs. MSU.
Connolly Gets Hot in Tournament Play
Senior Sean Connolly has connected on 8 of 14 (.571) 3-pointers in the last two games in the Big Ten Conference tournament. In four previous league tournament games, Connolly had connected on just 6 of 17 long range shots (.353).
Darby Puts Together Solid Efforts in Chicago
Senior Brent Darby has scored 34 points, handed out 13 assists and has been charged with just three turnovers in 80 minutes of action in two Big Ten tournament games. He also has five steals an nine rebounds while connecting on 13 of 14 foul shots (.928).
Buckeyes Improve Neutral Site Record vs. the Big Ten
With two wins in the 2003 Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes improved its record to 7-9 overall against the Big Ten on neutral courts.
