Men’s Basketball Set To Meet Illinois in Big Ten Tournament Finals – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2003
Date March 16, 2003
Opponent No. 13 Illinois
Site United Center, Chicago
Game Time 3:30 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 (17-13)
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.
No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini
Probable Starters (23-6)
G 11 – Dee Brown, 6-0, Fr.
G 5 – Deron Williams, 6-3, Fr.
C 40 – James Augustine, 6-10, Fr.
F 43 – Roger Powell, 6-6, So.
F 34 – Brian Cook, 6-10, Sr.
Ohio State a Game-Away from NCAA
A win over Illinois will land Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament as the Big Ten’s automatic qualifier. Ohio State has a streak of four-consecutive trips, a school record streak, on the line. The Buckeyes have appeared in 22 NCAA tournaments and have a record of 37-21 all-time, which includes the 1960 National Championship squad’s record of 4-0.
Illinois Owns Edge in All-Time Series
Ohio State and Illinois have met 155 times in the all-time series, the second most games for the Buckeyes against a Big Ten opponent (Indiana-163). Ohio State has won 59 times and has a 1-1 record on neutral sites. The Buckeyes are 10-30 all-time vs. ranked Illinois teams, including a 94-88 win over No. 10 Illinois March 9, 2002 in Indianapolis in the 2002 Big Ten Tournament. Darby Leads Buckeyes vs. Illinois
Senior Brent Darby averages 15.5 points per game in six career meetings against Illinois. He has made 31-37 (.838) foul shots against the Illini. In five career games, junior Zach Williams averages a team-high 6.4 rebounds against the Illini.
Connolly Gets Hot in Tournament Play
Senior Sean Connolly has connected on 10 of 19 (.526) 3-pointers in the three 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 57 points, handed out 16 assists 118 minutes of action in three Big Ten tournament games. He also has nine steals and 14 rebounds while connecting on 24 of 27 foul shots (.889).
Ohio State Men and Women Earn Title Shots
The Ohio State men’s and women’s teams basketball teams both advanced to the title game of their respective 2003 Big Ten Tournaments this year, a first in Ohio State history. The women’s team fell to Purdue in their title game earlier this week.
