Postgame Notes From No. 7 Ohio State vs. Northwestern – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2007
Recap | Box Score | Quotes
Attendance: 18,903 (sellout) The 32-point win Wednesday overNorthwestern was Ohio State’s largest margin of victory since a35-point win over Penn State Jan. 5, 2006. The game Saturday markedOhio State’s sixth sellout of the season in Value City Arena. WhenVCA is sold out, the Buckeyes are now 33-7. With the win Wednesday,the Buckeyes are now 44-3 at home under head coach Thad Matta,including a 42-3 mark at Value City Arena. He is 15-3 at VCA vs.Big Ten opponents. Ohio State now leads the series vs.Northwestern, 102-44, which includes 61-14 in Columbus. TheBuckeyes own a 27-game home win streak against the Wildcats, datingback to 1978. Ohio State is 28-2 as a ranked team against theWildcats. Matta is now 5-0 against Northwestern. Ohio State led34-15 at halftime Wednesday. The Buckeyes have led at the half inall 12 home games this season and in 16 of 18 games overall, with a15-1 record in those games. Ohio State led 67-35 with 5:00 minutesleft in the game Wednesday. The Buckeyes are now 15-0 this seasonwhen leading with 5:00 remaining and 55-4 under head coach ThadMatta. Northwestern entered the game allowing only 56.5 points pergame, which ranks No. 11 in the nation, but allowed 73 points tothe Buckeyes. Jamar Butler opened the game shooting 3-for-3 fromthe field and 2-for-2 behind the arch in the first half. Ohio Stateheld Northwestern without a free-throw attempt in the first half,committing only two fouls. Northwestern entered the game committingonly 11.1 turnovers per game but turned the ball over 17 timesagainst the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes held Northwestern to the secondlowest halftime score of the 2006-07 season with 15 points. OhioState held Cincinnati to 14 points Dec. 6. Northwestern was held toa 28 percent field goal percentage and 9.1 percent from behind thearc at the half. The Wildcats concluded the game 32.7 percent fromthe field and 28 percent from behind the arc. Ohio State’s eightthree-point field goals tie the all-time record againstNorthwestern. With Mike Conley’s 17 points and 10 assists he is thefifth Buckeye to notch a double-double this season. The last timean OSU player recorded a double-double with 10+ points and 10+assists was Michael Redd against Toledo, Dec. 3, 1997, with 26points and 10 assists. Conley scored a career-high 17 pointsWednesday, eclipsing his previous best of 16 scored againstTennessee Jan. 13, 2007. Ohio State is 15-1 this season and 59-16under Thad Matta when its opponent shoot less than 50 percent fromthe field. OSU also is 14-0 this season when it holds its opponentsto less than 70 points and 53-9 under Matta. Ohio State is now210-54 when playing with an AP Top 10 ranking and 309-94 whenplaying with an AP Top 25 ranking. Ohio State has been in the Top10 for the last 25games (20-5) and among the Top 25 in the last 43games (34-9).
