St. Francis Up Next for Buckeyes – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
No. 17 Ohio State (4-1), St. Francis (1-4)
Nov. 28, 2009
Opponent: St. Francis, Pa. (1-4)
Site: Value City Arena (19,049)
Game Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Television: Big Ten Network
Talent: Tom Hamilton (play-by-play)
Tony White (expert analysis)
Radio: OSU Radio Network (60 stations)
Local Radio: WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
Radio Talent: Paul Keels (play-by-play)
Ron Stokes (expert analysis)
Ohio State Vs. St. Francis
The Buckeyes will face St. Francis (Pa.) University for the first time when the teams get together at Value City Arena. Ohio State is 7-0 all-time vs. teams representing the Northeast Conference, the last being a 78-57 victory over Central Connecticut State in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky. Ohio State is 3-0 vs. Robert Morris, 2-0 vs. CCSU and 1-0 vs. both LIU-Brooklyn and Mount Saint Mary’s. This is the second team on Ohio State’s schedule that is playing the Buckeyes for the first time. Ohio State played host to Lipscomb for the first time Tuesday.
Turner Nearing Rare Accomplishments
Only 20 players in Ohio State history have scored more than 1,000 points and collected 500 rebounds. Turner has 988 career points and 467 career rebounds at Ohio State. The most recent addition to the list was Terence Dials, who from 2002-06, scored 1,566 points and grabbed 876 rebounds. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2006. Just 26 Ohio State players have recorded 500 or more career rebounds. J.J. Sullinger was the last to join the list in 2006 in his third season in Columbus. He finished his career with 535 career rebounds. Turner could become just the second player in recorded history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists. Jim Jackon is the only other Buckeye to do so with 1,785 career points, 552 career rebounds and 372 career assists from 1990-92. Turner has 264 career assists to date and is averaging 7.0 assists a game this season.
Nine Opponents in Top 25
Ohio State has nine opponents currently in the Top 25 nationally in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and eight represented in the Associated Press weekly poll. Michigan State, Purdue, West Virginia, Butler, North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota and California are listed in the ESPN poll while all but California (RV) are in the AP poll. Another foe, Florida State, is receiving votes in both polls released Monday.
Turner recognized by league office
Ohio State’s Evan Turner collected his second-consecutive weekly laurel after recording his fourth double-double in as many outings in the Buckeyes’ two-game stint at Madison Square Garden last week. Turner began the week with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds to fuel the late comeback against North Carolina Thursday. The Chicago native added four helpers and two steals against the reigning national champions. Turner proved to be the offensive catalyst for the Buckeyes once again Friday as Ohio State rolled past No. 13 California, 76-70, to claim third place in the 2K Sports Classic. The 6-7 guard tallied a season-high 26 points while connecting on nine of 14 shots from the floor (.643) and eight of 11 (.727) from the charity stripe. He becomes the first Buckeye to open the season with four straight double-double performances since Clark Kellogg began the 1980-81 campaign with five consecutive. On the week, Turner averaged 24.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in 76 minutes of action while achieving the 20-point mark for the 14th time in his collegiate career. The Buckeye junior owns 15 career games with 10 or more rebounds and 48 with 10 or more points. Now four games deep into the 2009-10 slate, Turner leads the Scarlet and Gray in scoring (21.8), rebounding (14.8) and assists (24).
Turner streak a first since ’80-81
Evan Turner has opened the season with five-consecutive double-doubles for the first time since Clark Kellogg did so in 1980-81. Turner has reached 10 or more points and rebounds vs. Alcorn State (14/17/10 assts.), James Madison (24-17), North Carolina (23/11), California (26/14) and Lipscomb (16/10/11 assts.). Kellogg began the 1980-81 campaign with double doubles in five-consecutive games vs. Cleveland State (23/14), at Kentucky (12/13), Colgate (16/17), South Alabama (18/18) and at Arizona State (18/10). Brad Sellers is the last Buckeye to record six-consecutive D-Ds with nine in a row during the 1985-86 season (Dec. 5-Jan. 9). Luke Witte is the last Ohio State player to record 6 or more double-doubles to start a season. He did so with seven-consecutive D-Ds to start the 1970-71 campaign.
Torrid Pace Set Early by Turner
Evan Turner’s rebounding average of 13.6 rebounds a game is nearly double the total he posted last year to lead Ohio State (7.1 rpg). He has career average of 6.2 boards a game. His .581 shooting percentage from the field (43-74) is up 78 percentage points from last year when he connected on 50.3 percent of his shots (193-384). His career shooting percentage is 50 percent (345-690).
Ohio State vs. The Ranked
The Buckeyes have a record of 130-216 vs. ranked opponents in the Associated Press Top 25. That includes a mark of 54-111 vs. Top 10 foes. The Buckeyes are 2-4 in the last six games vs. Top 10, including an 82-70 victory vs. Michigan State last March in the Big Ten tournament.
The Next to 1,000…
Evan Turner has scored 988 points over 75 Ohio State games in his career for an average of 13.2 points a game. He needs 12 to become the 44th player in Ohio State history to reach 1,000 career points. Two others on the current roster are on pace to reach 1,000 points. Junior David Lighty has 610 career points over 88 career games. Jon Diebler has 664 points in his three seasons at Ohio State. William Buford is well on his way as well (425).
Wins follow Buckeye double-doubles
Ohio State has had a player record a double-double (10+ points, rebs, assists, steals or blocks) in 792 games. The Buckeyes are 537-255 in those contests (.678). Evan Turner has 16 career double-doubles and the Buckeyes are 10-6 in those contests, including wins in eight of his last 10 games with a D-D. Turner is among the Top 20 players in OSU history with 16 career double-doubles at No. 20, tied with Jim Cleamons (1969-71) and Wardell Jackson (1972-74). Dennis Hopson (1984-87) and Steven Wenner (1973-75) are tied for the No. 18 spot with 17.
100 Points Equates to Near Perfection
Ohio State has scored 100 or more points 67 times all-time and has a record of 66-1 in those games. The Buckeyes are 47-0 at home when reaching the century mark, 3-0 on neutral courts and 16-1 on opponent courts. The last win came in the season opener against Alcorn State, 100-60. The only loss was a double overtime thriller at LSU Jan. 15, 2005. The Buckeyes battled the Tigers throughout but fell 113-101.
Double Digit 3s…
Ohio State has made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 60 times since the long-range shot was instituted for the 1986-87 season. The Buckeyes are 50-10 in those games after knocking down 11 of 22 treys against Lipscomb the last time out. Opponents have made double-digit 3s 81 times and are 33-48 in those games vs. the Buckeyes. Matta’s Ohio State teams are 35-8 when making 10 or more 3s in a game.
First Four Games part of 2K Classic
The first four games of the regular-season made up the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer event on the Ohio State schedule. Alcorn State (Nov. 9) and James Madison (Nov. 12) traveled to Columbus before the Buckeyes played at Madison Square Garden in New York vs defending national champions North Carolina Nov. 19 and California Nov. 20.
Noting the Lipscomb Game
- Junior guard Evan Turner had his second triple-double of the season with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He becomes the first OSU player to get multiple triple-doubles in a season. It was the third accomplished in school history.
- Evan Turner has 16 career double doubles, tied with Jim Cleamons (1969-71) and Wardell Jackson (1972-74) for No. 20 spot all time. Dennis Hopson (1984-87) and Steven Wenner (1973-75) are tied at No. 18 with 17 career D-Ds.
- The game was the first meeting between Ohio State and Lipscomb. The Buckeyes are now 10-0 against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
- Ohio State is 339-99 when ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and 11-1 as No. 17.
- The Buckeyes shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the 3-point line in the first half. For the game OSU shot 57.9 percent (33-of-57) from the field and 50 percent (11-of-22) from the three-point line.
- Junior guard David Lighty led the team in scoring with a career-high 22 points. He also tied a career high with three made 3-point baskets.
- Lighty scored his 600th career point.
- Junior forward Jon Diebler made his 200th career field goal with a bucket in the first half.
- Junior center Dallas Lauderdale scored his 200th career point in the first half.
- The Buckeyes had five players reach double figures in scoring (Lighty – 22, Diebler – 17, Turner – 16, Lauderdale – 13, Simmons – 11).
- Lauderdale’s 13 points is a career high.
- The Buckeyes have won 66 of their last 67 games against unranked opponents in Columbus (62 in Value City Arena, 3 in St. John Arena and 1 in Nationwide Arena). Their last loss to an unranked team was vs. West Virginia, Dec. 27, 2008 (76-48).
- The Buckeyes used a 20-5 run over a 4:32 span at the end of the first half and beginning of the second to build a 15-point lead.
- Thad Matta is now 2-0 vs. Lipscomb and 6-0 overall in his coaching career against teams from the Atlantic Sun.
- Under Matta, OSU is 75-2 against unranked opponents in Columbus, including a 70-2 mark in VCA, 4-0 in St. John Arena and 1-0 in Nationwide Arena.
- Ohio State led 36-27 at the half. Matta is 109-15 when leading at halftime as head coach for the Buckeyes.
Club Tril T-shirts now available
Mark Titus, senior walk-on from Brownsburg, Ind., has been writing and publishing his blog – clubtrillion.com – for the last two years on college basketball from an “end-of-the-bench” perspective. Approaching 2,000,000 hits, the blog is somewhat popular in college basketball circles. To take advantage of the interest in the site, Titus has teamed with “A Kid Again,” a local charity for children with life-threatening illnesses, to help support the charity’s efforts. For a $25 donation fans of the blog will receive a Club Tril T-shirt. All the proceeds will then go to support “A Kid Again.” Get your shirt today by placing an order at clubtrillion.com.
Buckeyes Picked 3rd in Big Ten Preseason Media poll
Evan Turner was tabbed a preseason first team All-Big Ten selection by league media at the annual media day in Chicago. Turner is the league’s top returning scorer (17 ppg.). He led the Buckeyes in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals as a sophomore last year. Thad Matta’s Buckeyes were selected No. 3 in the preseason media poll behind Michigan State and Purdue.
Schedule has Buckeyes playing the nation’s best
Ohio State will play five of the preseason Top 10 ranked teams (ESPN/coaches poll) in the country this year. Preseason No. 2 Michigan State, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 7 Purdue, No. 9 West Virginia and No. 10 Butler all dot the Ohio State slate in 2009-10. Five Big Ten teams were ranked among the Top 20 with No. 15 Michigan, No. 18 Minnesota, and No. 17 Ohio State all slated among the top teams nationally. Ohio State also faced No. 12 California at the 2K Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer in New York, defeating the Bears 76-70. Illinois was just outside the preseason Top 25 at No. 27 but has since moved up the national rankings.
Seven Former Buckeyes In NBA Rosters in 2009-10
Ohio State leads all Big Ten teams with seven players on current NBA rosters. The Big Ten started the season with 33 players on NBA active lists. Nine Big Ten teams have at least one player competing in the NBA. Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) is the longest-tenured Buckeye in the NBA. Greg Oden (Portland), Michael Conley (Memphis), Daequan Cook (Miami), Othello Hunter (Atlanta), Kosta Koufos (Utah) and B.J. Mullens (Oklahoma) represent Ohio State in the NBA.
Big Ten season starts with Buckeyes on the road
Four of the first five games of the Big Ten season will be played away from Value City Arena. The Buckeyes open the league season at Wisconsin Dec. 31 before a trip to Michigan Jan. 3. A home game vs. Indiana Jan. 6 splits road games at Minnesota (Jan. 9) and at Purdue Jan. 12. The Buckeyes face a similar stretch of road games at Indiana Feb. 10, at Illinois Feb. Illinois, home vs. Purdue Feb. 17 and away vs. Michigan State Feb. 20/21 and at Penn State Feb. 24.
Matta adds pair to roster
The Ohio State roster grew by two in late October when Thad Matta added walk-on juniors Eddie Days and Dustin Reynolds. Days is the nephew of Buckeye great Jim Cleamons, a current assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. Reynolds is the younger brother of former Ohio State women’s basketball player DiDi Reynolds. Dustin will sit out the 2009-10 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules (from Hillsdale College in Michigan). Days is expected to be in uniform in January. The Buckeyes now have four walk-on players on the roster. Danny Peters is a fifth-year senior and Mark Titus is in his senior campaign as well. Peters will end his career with five varsity letters, one as a manager (2006) and four as a student-athlete (2007-10).
Turner, USA Earn Bronze at World University Games
Junior Evan Turner averaged 4.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and led Team USA with 18 assists at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. The United States finished with a 6-1 record at the early-July event with Turner making three starts and averaging 16.3 minutes a game. He connected on 52 percent of his shots (12-23) and 4 of 5 free throws.
Buckeyes Return Veteran Squad
Accustomed to starting over virtually from scratch each of the last four seasons, Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, returns all five starters from a 22-11 squad in 2008-09. In addition to the five regulars that finished the season with an appearance in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes also return senior Jeremie Simmons, who started 25 of 33 games last year, and junior David Lighty, who started the first seven games of the season before suffering a broken foot. Lighty, who started all 37 games as a true sophomore, received a medical-redshirt, and will have two full seasons of eligibility remaining with the Buckeyes. Leading the returning starters are juniors Evan Turner (33 starts last year), Jon Diebler (33 gs) and Dallas Lauderdale (31 gs). Sophomore William Buford (25) and senior P.J. Hill, who started the last eight games of the season, also return.
Turner Among Candidates for Preseason Honors
Evan Turner led Ohio State and the Big Ten in scoring last season with an average of 17.3 points a game. He was No. 3 in rebounding as well with 7.1 and was among the Top 10 league players in steals (4th/1.8 spg.) and assists (8th/3.97). He was a finalist for Big Ten Player of the Year honors a season ago and will be among the favorites entering his junior season. His name has also garnered All-America consideration after earning a spot among the Top 15 finalists for the 2009 Oscar Robertson Award, given annually by the United States Basketball Writer’s Association to the player of the year in college basketball.
Diebler Among Big Ten, Nation’s Top Shooters
Jon Diebler, the all-time leading scorer in Ohio High School history, started slow in the college game from behind the arc, where he made a name for himself as a prep at Upper Sandusky High School. After shooting 29 percent from long range as a rookie (48-166), Diebler responded with a breakout sophomore season. He knocked down 96 of 231 treys for 41.6 percent accuracy. That effort was second in the Big Ten for makes and is the second-most single season 3s made in Ohio State history. He already is second all-time at Ohio State in 3s made in a career (162) and his eight 3s made at Northwestern last year rates No. 2 in Ohio State’s record book for 3s made in a game.
Lauderdale, Madsen, Sarikopoulos Man the Middle for Buckeyes
Junior Dallas Lauderdale returns to the paint for Ohio State after sharing time with B.J. Mullens, a 2009 NBA First Round draft pick (24th overall pick) of the Dallas Mavericks. Mullens, later traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, marks the fifth Buckeye first-round pick under Matta and sixth overall NBA player since taking over in 2004-05.
Lauderdale continues to improve physically and defensively. He was among the nation’s top shot blockers last season, rejecting 67 shots to finish No. 2 in the Big Ten with an average of 2.03 blocks per game. Madsen is in his third season with the Buckeyes and has earned his Ohio State degree. His experience with Thad Matta’s system, ability to score and provide quality defensive minutes will earn playing time. He started three games this year while Lauderdale recovered from a right hand injury early in the season.
Sarikopoulos, a transfer from UAB who sat out the 2008-09 season at Ohio State to satisfy NCAA transfer rules, becomes eligible this season. He adds size (7-0, 265), rebounding and post-passing skills to the Ohio State big man rotation.
Sarikopoulos played sparingly during the U19 World Championships for his native Greece. A left-knee sprain hampered his playing time during the event. He averaged 1.3 points and 0.7 rebounds as the United States defeated Greece 88-80 to claim gold. The event was held in Auckland, New Zealand in early July.
Where to Point?
The point guard position rotated between Jeremie Simmons and P.J. Hill a season ago with Simmons starting the first 25 games and Hill the final eight. Simmons moved over to provide minutes at the No. 2 guard spot, his natural position, down the stretch. Evan Turner will see the majority of the time directing traffic this year. He handed out 97 assists last season to lead the Buckeyes in that category while also recording 58 thefts at the defensive end.
A Summer in Canada
With nearly the entire roster returning from the 2008-09 season, Matta and the Buckeyes took a preseason international trip to Canada. The excursion allowed the Buckeyes 10 practices and a few competitions before the official start of practice Oct. 16. The Buckeyes played three games between Aug. 27-31 in Canada vs. teams from the Windsor area. Ohio State last left the country for competition during the summer of 2001 when the squad traveled to Italy, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands.
New York, Morgantown, Indianapolis also on Travel List
After traveling to New York for a pair of games in the 2009 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, Ohio State has two more trips for non-conference games remaining on its schedule. The Buckeyes complete a home-and-home series with West Virginia in January and the final game of the four-game home-and-home series vs. Butler will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Bulldog campus in December. The 18-game Big Ten schedule features home-and-home matchups with eight teams and single matchups vs. Northwestern (home) and Michigan State (away).
Can You Spot Matta a 20?
For each of the last nine seasons, all as a head coach, Thad Matta has guided teams to at least 20 victories. Only Mark Few, among active coaches, has more consecutive 20-win seasons to start a career (10). Matta set the Ohio State record for consecutive 20-win campaigns last year with a 22-11 record, the fifth-consecutive Ohio State season with 20+ victories. The previous record was four held by the 1960-63 teams under legendary head coach Fred Taylor.
Matta also has won at least 10 Big Ten regular-season games in each of the last four seasons. A fifth double-digit effort in the win column in 2010 would tie Taylor’s mark of 10+ league wins in each of the seasons from 1960-64. Those were during 14-game regular-season slates. The Big Ten played a 16-game schedule in Matta’s first three seasons (8, 12, 15 league wins) and an 18-game schedule the last two (10, 10).
Speaking of Consistent #s…
Ohio State was again one of the top draws in college basketball in 2008-09. The Buckeyes drew nearly 280,000 fans to home games last season to rate No. 14 nationally in home attendance. The Buckeyes have been among the Top 20 in home attendance in each of the last 11 years, all while playing at the Jerome Schottenstein Center (19,049). Ohio State games both home and on the road drew 477,000 fans last year, No. 16 nationally. The Buckeyes have been a Top 20 draw nationally in 10 of the last 11 years and led the nation in all-game attendance in 2007. The Big Ten led the nation in attendance for the 33rd-consecutive season in 2008-09. An average of 12,519 fans attended 193 Big Ten games a season ago.
Boals Joins Staff
Matta added Jeff Boals to the staff after the departure of assistant coach Archie Miller, who left to coach alongside his brother Sean, the new University of Arizona head coach. Boals, a 1995 graduate of Ohio University, left Akron to join the Buckeyes. His tenacity as a player with the Bobcats is expected to transfer to the Ohio State roster, especially the post players.
