Buckeyes Host Bulter at Value City Arena – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2005
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Date: Nov. 20, 2005
Opponent: Butler
Site: Value City Arena (18,500)
Game Time: 8 p.m.
Television: ESPN Plus
Local TV: WBNS 10 TV
TV Talent: Tom Hamilton (Play-by-Play), Bill Hosket (Expert Analysis)
Radio: OSU Radio Network (59 stations)
Local Radio: WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
Radio Talent: Paul Keels (P-by-P), Ron Stokes (Expert Analysis)
FOSTER, LEWIS PACE OSU IN SEASON OPENING VICTORY
Je’Kel Foster and Ron Lewis each scored 16 points and Ohio State used a 19-0 first-half run to beat Chicago State 81-52 Sunday in the season opener for both teams. The Buckeyes, returning all five starters from a team that went 20-12 in 2004-05, opened the scoring on Foster’s 3-pointer in the opening seconds and never trailed. Ivan Harris added 12 points and Sylvester Mayes and Terence Dials each had 11. Mayes, a junior college transfer making his first Ohio State start, also had nine assists and four steals. The Buckeyes hit 56 percent of their shots from the field, including 7 of 17 3-pointers. Camron Clay had 13 points and 10 rebounds and was the lone Chicago State player in double figures.
BUTLER OPENS SEASON AT BCA CLASSIC
Senior Avery Sheets and sophomore A.J. Graves each scored a game-high 14 points as Butler turned a strong defensive performance into a 66-41 victory over Lehigh in the fifth-place game at the Black Coaches Association Invitational in Laramie, Wyo., Nov. 15. The victory was Butler’s second-consecutive in the tournament and lifted the Bulldogs to 2-1 on the season.
Senior Bruce Horan nailed a 3-point field goal two minutes into the game to ignite a 13-2 opening run for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs stretched the lead to 19 points, 29-10, on a layup by junior Brandon Crone and carried a 29-12 lead to the lockerroom at halftime.
MATTA, MILLER SQUARE OFF VS. ALMA MATER Thad Matta, a 1990 graduate of Butler University, will coach against the school where he not only played for three years but also coached his first collegiate game. Matta lettered at Butler from 1988-90 and then started his coaching career the next season as a graduate assistant at Indiana State for the 1990-91 season. He then returned to Butler as an administrative assistant from 1992-94 before taking his first assistant position at Miami (Ohio) for the 1994-95 campaign. Matta returned to Butler as an assistant from 1998-2000 before getting his start as a head coach with the Bulldogs for the 2000-01 season. In one year as the head coach, he compiled a record of 24-8, taking Butler to the second round of the NCAA tournament that year. Brandon Miller, who played for Matta at Butler, also is on the Ohio State staff. Miller is a 2003 BU graduate. He played for three years at the Indianapolis school, taking the Bulldogs to the NCAA “Sweet 16” during his senior season.
OHIO STATE ON THIS DATE
Ohio State will play its third Nov. 22 game when Butler visits Columbus for the season opener. Ohio State is 2-0 in the previous two contests played on this date. The first was during the final season at St. John Arena when the Buckeyes defeated Robert Morris 67-49 in 1997. The most recent game played on this date was in the first season in which the Buckeyes played in Value City Arena, an 86-45 win against Army in 1998.
THE BUTLER SERIES
The Butler game this season will be the 38th in the series vs. the Bulldogs. The Buckeyes first met Butler Dec. 31, 1924 in Columbus. Ohio State defeated the Bulldogs 34-25 in that game and have won 29 total against eight defeats vs. Butler. The teams have not met since the 1981-82 season, a 66-48 Ohio State victory. The teams have split the last four contests after Ohio State ran off a string of 16-consecutive wins during a streak of 20 wins in 21 games from 1953-1974. The lone Butler win during that span was the only overtime game played in the series, a 77-73 Bulldog victory in 1957. That game was played in Columbus. Ohio State owns the advantage in Columbus, where the Buckeyes have won 17 of the 20 games played. Ohio State is 12-5 on the Butler campus.
OSU VS. THE HORIZON LEAGUE
The game vs. Butler will the 56th all-time vs. teams currently representing the Horizon League. Ohio State is 46-9 in the previous 55 meetings. The majority of the games (37) have been contested between the Bulldogs and Buckeyes. Ohio State also has faced Cleveland State (4-1), who along with Butler are the only teams to own a win vs. the Buckeyes, Detroit (3-0), Illinois-Chicago (1-0), Loyola-Chicago (3-0), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2-0), Wright State (2-0) and Youngstown State (2-0). Only Wisconsin-Green Bay has not faced the Buckeyes. Detroit is the last Horizon League member to face OSU. Ohio State defeated Detroit 75-44 in the second round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
BUCKEYES UP NEXT IN BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE
Virginia Tech travels to Columbus Nov. 28 in the first day of action in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 in the only game played the first day of the three-day event in which all 11 Big Ten teams square off against members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Buckeyes will take a break for finals after taking on the Hokies. Ohio State will then travel to Philadelphia for a Dec. 10 game against St. Joseph’s. That game will be played at the Palestra on the campus of Pennsylvania University. Tip time is 2 p.m. with ESPN televising the game to a national audience.
LEWIS LEADS BUCKEYES DURING EXHIBITION SEASON
Newcomer Ron Lewis, a transfer from Bowling Green who sat out a season ago while practicing with the Buckeyes, was Ohio State’s top scorer in two exhibition games leading up to the season opener vs. Chicago State. Lewis averaged 19 points in wins vs. Findlay and Ashland. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds and made 62 percent of his field goal attempts (16-26). Senior Terence Dials also averaged in double figures at 17.0 ppg. Senior J.J. Sullinger was Ohio State’s top rebounder at 10.5 rpg. and sophomore Jamar Butler’s 12 assists led the squad. Junior college transfer Sylvester Mayes topped the steals list with five while also handing out six assists. As a team, the Buckeyes connected on 54 percent of their field goals (69-128) and 71 percent from the foul line (30-42).
NOTING THE CHICAGO STATE GAME
Ohio State is 3-0 all-time against Chicago State. The Buckeyesimproved to 6-1 all-time against opponents from the Mid-ContinentConference with the lone loss coming to Valparaiso at the GreatAlaska Shootout in 2000. With the win, Ohio State improved to 84-23all-time in season openers. Ohio State now is 88-19 all-time inhome-openers, including 6-2 at Value City Arena. Ohio State is92-22 all-time in games played in Value City Arena. Head coach ThadMatta remained a perfect 6-0 all-time in season openers and now is2-0 at Ohio State. He was 1-0 at Butler and 3-0 at Xavier.Newcomers Ron Lewis, Sylvester Mayes, Brayden Bell, and Sam Paynesaw their first action for the Buckeyes. Lewis finished the gamewith 16 points in 30 minutes of action. Mayes finished with 11points and a game high nine assists. Both Lewis and Mayes got theirfirst start in a Buckeye uniform. Foster hit his first three3-pointers of the game and finished with a game-high four 3-pointfield goals. Ohio State went on a 19-0 run covering 6:28 (from16:35 to 10:07) to take a 26-4 lead in the first half. Ohio Stateshot 56.4 percent on 31-of-55 shooting from the field, the highestpercentage by a Buckeye team since Nov. 23, 2004, when the Buckeyesshot 59.3 percent on 32-of-54 field goal shooting against Houston.The last time the Buckeyes shot better than 50 percent was March 2,2005 against Iowa. For the game, Ohio State had five players scorein double figures. Lewis and Foster tied for the team lead with 16,followed by Harris’ 12, and Mayes and Dials, who both had 11. Thelast time Ohio State had five players scoring in double figures wasagainst Purdue Feb. 2, 2005. J.J. Sullinger tied a career high with11 rebounds. He recorded 11 rebounds against Minnesota last seasonand against Virginia Tech in 2003. Sunday marked the fourth timeSullinger has posted double-digit rebounds.
PAYNE ADDED TO ROSTER
Columbus native and Linden McKinley graduate Samuel Payne was added to the Ohio State roster in early November. The 6-foot-2-inch freshman guard averaged 22 points, six rebounds and four assists for LMHS as a senior. The Panthers were Ohio Division II sectional and regional champions and advanced to the Division II Final Four, played at Value City Arena. He made his Ohio State debut vs. Chicago State Nov. 20. He scored one point and recorded a steal in the Buckeyes’ 81-52 victory.
MATTA WELCOMES ONE OF NATION’S TOP CLASSES TO COLUMBUS FOR `06
Thad Matta, Ohio State’s second year head coach, announced the addition of five student-athletes to the Ohio State program for the 2006-07 season. Greg Oden, a 7-foot center from Indianapolis, is considered to be the best high school player in the country this year. He heads a class of four prep players ranked by various recruiting analysts to be among the Top 30 players nationally. Mike Conley, a 6-1 point guard and Oden’s teammate at Lawrence North High School, also signed on with the Buckeyes. Two Ohio natives, Dayton Dunbar’s Daequan Cook, a 6-4 guard, and Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s David Lighty, a 6-5 guard, also will start their academic and athletic careers in the fall of 2006. The fifth member of the class is a junior college transfer from Tampa, Fla. Othello Hunter, a 6-9 forward from Winston-Salem, N.C., will be a junior at Ohio State next season after spending two years at Hillsborough Community College.
BUCKEYES CLOSE ON 100 Ws AT VCA
Ohio State is playing in its eighth season at Value City Arena in 2005-06. Since the facility opened for the 1998-99 campaign, the squad has won 92 of 113 games for a winning percentage of .807.
NEW FLOOR INSTALLED AT VCA
The Ohio State basketball teams will play on a new floor in 2005-06. The previous court served seven seasons. The new hardwood has an updated Ohio State logo at center court as well as new Value City logos. Ohio State’s scarlet color has been updated after a change was made in 2003. Another change is the removal of the painted areas in the free throw lanes.
OHIO STATE TO FACE SEVERAL TEAMS RANKED IN PRESEASON
The Buckeyes are scheduled to face several teams ranked in the USA Today/ESPN and the Associated Press preseason polls this season. Michigan State (No. 5 in USA Today/No. 4 in AP), Illinois (17/17), Iowa (20/20), Indiana (22/23) and Iowa State (23/25) will face the Buckeyes, who are just outside the Top 25 rankings in 27th place (USA Today) with 72 votes and 30th in the AP with 74. Other teams receiving votes in the preseason polls scheduled to face Ohio State this year are: Wisconsin, LSU and Michigan. The Buckeyes play 11 games against the eight teams on the 2005-06 schedule in the Top 25 or receiving preseason votes.
MATTA NAMES SENIOR CAPTAINS
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach, named his captains for the 2005-06 season. Terence Dials, a senior from Youngstown, Ohio, was the lone captain a year ago. He is joined this year by Je’Kel Foster (Sr., Natchez, Miss.), J.J. Sullinger (Sr., Columbus, Ohio) and Matt Sylvester (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio).
DON’T TOUCH THAT DIALS
Senior center Terence Dials is the top returning scorer for the Buckeyes. He led the team with nearly 16 points and eight rebounds a game a season ago. He was able to post those numbers despite Ohio State setting numerous Top 10 individual and team 3-point shooting records. Dials has improved his scoring and rebounding numbers in each of his seasons at Ohio State. He reached 500 points and 250 rebounds for the season as a junior and eclipsed 1,000 points and 600 boards for his career. He will likely be a candidate for All-Big Ten recognition as one of the league’s top returning post players this year.
A JOLT TO THE OFFENSE
Ohio State lost 12.0 points a game with the graduation (sociology) of Tony Stockman. In his roster spot enters Ron Lewis, a transfer from Bowling Green, who led the Falcons with an average of 17.0 points a contest as a sophomore. He will have two years of eligibility with the Buckeyes.
Lewis scored 877 points in two years at BGSU. He was a prolific foul shooter during his tenure at Bowling Green, knocking down 81 percent (340-420) of his free throws in his two-year career. Despite his ability to score, Lewis set up his teammates with 164 assists while recording 60 steals in 60 games as a Falcon.
DIALS CLIMBING SCORING CHART
Senior Terence Dials has 1,089 career points, good for the No. 35 spot all-time in scoring at Ohio State. He scored 509 points a season ago and with a similar season in 2005-06, Dials has a chance to crack the Top 10 all-time in career scoring. Robin Freeman (1954-56) scored 1,597 career points during his Ohio State career and is 10th all-time in OSU scoring annals. Dials needs 508 or more points to reach the Top 10. The most recent Buckeye to crack the Top 10 was Michael Redd, who currently plays for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. He finished his OSU career in 2000 with 1,879 career points.
ADDED “O” PART II
Ron Lewis is expected to add a threat offensively but he is not the only addition known to put the ball in the cylinder. Sylvester Mayes averaged 19.6 points at Redlands (Okla.) Community College a year ago. The 6-foot guard from South Bend, Ind., scored 609 points, 17th nationally in the junior college ranks as a sophomore. His teams won 59 games with just six losses the last two seasons. Mayes also added 88 assists, 96 rebounds and 91 steals (22nd nationally) last year. Mayes scored 11 points and dished out nine assists in his Ohio State debut vs. Chicago State Nov. 20.
Brayden Bell, a freshman from Salt Lake City, Utah, also is expected to give the Buckeyes a lift offensively. Despite his 6-foot-8-inch, 255-pound frame, Bell has demonstrated an ability to step away from the basket to knock down the 3-pointer and mid-range jumper. He averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds as a Brighton High School senior a year ago.
A PAIR OF FIRST TEAMERS
Sylvester Mayes was a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) First Team All-American for Redlands Community College as a sophomore. He shot 51 percent from the field (201-397), 42 percent from 3-point range (68-164) and 77 percent from the foul line (139-181) in leading Redlands to a 27-4 record in 2004-05. He is one of two first team NJCAA All-Americans on the Ohio State roster. Je’Kel Foster earned the same recognition before joining the Buckeyes a year ago. Foster played at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. Last year, Foster averaged 7.7 points a game for Ohio State while knocking down 43 percent of his 3-point attempts (62-145). He added 78 assists and 43 steals as well. He also grabbed 104 rebounds. His all-around effort earned him a starting spot the final 12 games of the season, helping Ohio State to a 20-12 overall record.
TOP 5 OF 6
Though Matta is looking forward to the newcomers and their possible contributions, he has not overlooked the return of five of the top six scorers from last season. Senior Terence Dials, a candidate for first team All-Big Ten honors this year, is the top returning scorer at 15.9 points a game. The 6-9 center also is the team’s top returning rebounder with an average of 7.9 a contest. Also back are senior guard J.J. Sullinger (9.7 ppg./5.4 rpg.), senior wing Matt Sylvester (8.0 ppg.), senior guard Je’Kel Foster (7.7 ppg.) and junior wing Ivan Harris (7.3 ppg.). In all, Ohio State returns 74 percent of its offense and 81 percent of its rebounding.
MATTA GOES FOR 6TH 20
Thad Matta doesn’t know what it’s like to end a season with fewer than 20 wins during his head coaching career. The second year Ohio State coach came to the Buckeyes with a streak of four 20+ win seasons at Butler (24 wins in 2001) and Xavier (26 in all three years from 2002-04). With 20 victories a year ago at Ohio State, Matta is one of two coaches nationally to record 20 or more wins in the first five seasons of his coaching career. Mark Few of Gonzaga is the other with 20+ in all six years with the Bulldogs.
CLOSING ON 2 MILLION
For the seventh-consecutive season, all of which played at Value City Arena, Ohio State finished among the Top 18 teams nationally in average attendance. The Buckeyes averaged 13,850 fans last year in 16 home games at VCA. Overall, in 114 games at VCA, a total of 1,865,100 fans, an average of 16,360 per game, have helped the Buckeyes to a record of 92-22 at the facility. Ohio State will exceed the 2 million mark in home attendance at VCA during the 2005-06 season when fan No. 146,962 enters the building. The Buckeyes have won 14 or more home games in five of the seven years at VCA and 11 or more in six of seven.
OHIO NATIVES DOMINATE BUCKEYE ROSTER
Eight of the 11 players on the roster this year chose to stay in state, play for the Buckeyes and pursue their education in Columbus. Seniors Terence Dials (Youngstown), Matt Sylvester (Cincinnati), J.J. Sullinger (Columbus); juniors Ron Lewis (Columbus) and Ivan Harris (Springfield); sophomores Jamar Butler (Lima) and Matt Terwilliger (Troy) and freshman Samuel Payne (Columbus) all played high school basketball for their hometown teams in Ohio.
BUCKEYES LOOK TO ELDERS
Terence Dials, J.J. Sullinger and Matt Sylvester are the Top 3 returning scorers for Ohio State. The three have been in Columbus a combined total of 14 years entering the 2005-06 season. All were fifth-year seniors when school started in September. Both Dials and Sylvester have spent all five years at Ohio State with each missing a season with injury. Dials sat out most of the 2002-03 season with a back ailment while Sylvester missed the majority of 2001-02 with leg and back injuries. Sullinger played one year at Arkansas before leaving for Ohio State. He sat out the 2002-03 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules. In addition to these three, Je’Kel Foster again will be a significant contributor in 2005-06. He too is a senior with three years playing experience, two at the junior college level and one season in Columbus.
UNDERCLASSMEN WILL GET A SHOT
With experience throughout the roster this year, Ohio State’s returning underclassmen still will get opportunities to perform. Sophomore Jamar Butler started the final 12 games of the season at the point position and is the early leader to run the Ohio State offense this year. Matt Terwilliger, a reserve post player a year ago, has bulked up in the offseason. He will work with newcomer Brayden Bell to add depth in the post behind Dials.
2007 NCAA TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO COLUMBUS
The NCAA tournament will return to Columbus for the opening rounds of the 2007 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the organization announced in July 2004. Ohio State played host to the first and second rounds in March 2004. Games were played at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, which will again be the site of the event in 2007. Ohio State will act as the host institution for the event.
