2011-12 Season Starts Friday vs. Wright State – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2011
Nov. 11, 2011
No. 3 Ohio State (0-0) vs. Wright State (0-0)
Site: Value City Arena (19,049)
Game Time: 9 p.m. ET
Television: Big Ten Network (BTN)
Talent: Chris Denari (play-by-play); Jim Jackson (expert analysis)
Radio: OSU-IMG Sports Network (56 stations)
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 92
Local Radio: WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
Radio Talent: Paul Keels (play-by-play); Ron Stokes (expert analysis)
TRAFFIC & PARKING NOTICE
In anticipation of large crowds for the Ohio State men’s basketball season opener vs. Wright State at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 and for the men’s basketball game against Florida at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, fans attending the games should plan to arrive early. Doors will open 1.5 hours prior to tip-off. Fans are encouraged to allow extra time, use additional campus lots south of Lane Ave. (around St. John Arena and Ohio Stadium), and follow the directions of . traffic officers and message boards.
For all parking, traffic pattern and Jerome Schottenstein Center policy information, fans are encouraged to visit http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/gameday/mbb-policies.html.
FIRST FOUR PART OF GLOBAL SPORTS EVENT
The first four games of the regular season make up the Global Sports Shootout on the Ohio State schedule. Home games vs. Wright State (Nov. 11), Florida Nov. 15, Jackson State Nov. 18 and North Florida Nov. 21 make up the event.
FIVE MAKE DEBUT IN EXHIBITION VS. WALSH
Ohio State’s freshman class made its debut in the 95-49 win over Walsh Sunday at Value City Arena. Rookies Trey McDonald, Shannon Scott, Sam Thompson and Amir Williams saw their first action as Buckeyes vs. the Cavaliers. Junior Evan Ravenel, who transferred from Boston College following the 2009-10 season and sat out at Ohio State a season ago, also took the court for the first time Sunday as a Buckeye. William Buford (17), Jordan Sibert (15), Jared Sullinger (15) and J.D. Weatherspoon (13) led the Buckeyes offensively with Ravenel and Lenzelle Smith Jr. topping the rebound charts with eight boards each. Buford handed out a team high five assists while Aaron Craft and Thompson each were credited with four steals.
OHIO STATE IN SEASON OPENERS
The Buckeyes are 90-18 in home openers and 86-22 in season openers all-time. Thad Matta is 7-0 in season openers at Ohio State.
MATTA UNBEATEN IN OPENERS
Thad Matta owns a record of 11-0 in season openers as a head coach. He was 1-0 at Butler, 3-0 at Xavier and is 7-0 at Ohio State. In his 11 previous season debuts, Matta defeated Eastern Illinois (90-73) in his first game at Butler in 2000. In his first game as Xavier head coach in 2001, Matta’s squad downed Coastal Carolina 72-41. He also guided the Musketeers to season-opening wins in 2002, an 87-48 win over St. Peters in the preseason NIT, and in 2003, a 62-37 victory over Coppin State. In his first game as a Buckeye in 2004, the Buckeyes knocked off Towson University 74-53 in the opening round of the Guardians Classic in Columbus. Ohio State defeated Chicago State in the 2005 opener 81-52 and handed VMI a 107-69 defeat in the Black Coaches Association Classic in 2006. The Buckeyes started the 2007-08 campaign off with a 91-68 victory over Green Bay in the opening round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Preseason NIT. The 2008-09 Buckeyes opened the season with a 70-42 victory over Delaware State at St. John Arena. Alcorn State provided the opposition in 2009-10 at VCA, a 100-60 win for the Buckeyes. The start of a 34-3 season in 2010-11 began with a 102-61 victory over North Carolina A&T at VCA.
OHIO STATE VS. WRIGHT STATE
Ohio State owns a 2-0 record vs. Wright State and is a combined 54-11 all-time vs. members of the Horizon League. The teams have not met since Dec. 16, 1992, a 76-55 victory for the Buckeyes at St. John Arena. The only other meeting was another contest at SJA Dec. 12, 1990, a 90-60 win for Ohio State. This is the first time Ohio State has been ranked vs. the Raiders. Ohio State enters the season ranked No. 3 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. The Buckeyes are scheduled to face another Horizon League foe in Valparaiso Nov. 25.
OHIO STATE VS. THE HORIZON LEAGUE
Butler 31-10
Cleveland State 7-1
Detroit Mercy 2-0
Green Bay 1-0
Illinois-Chicago 1-0
Loyola University-Chicago 4-0
Milwaukee 2-0
Valparaiso 1-0
Wright State 2-0
Youngstown State 3-0
Totals 54-11
MATTA LOOKS FOR ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
For each of the last 11 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 (12). Matta set the Ohio State record for consecutive 20-win campaigns in 2008-09 with a 22-11 record and extended it with a 34-3-8 campaign in 2010-11, the seventh-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 six seasons. That effort eclipsed 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 four (10, 10, 14, 16). Ohio State also is the two-time defending Big Ten regular-season champion. The last time the Buckeyes won three or more consecutive titles was from 1960-64, a string of five-consecutive conference crowns.
BUCKEYES SET RECORD FOR HOME WINS
Ohio State finished 20-0 at home after its most recent win vs. Wisconsin March 6. The win total set the school record for home wins and sets a Value City Arena record with a 19-0 record. The 2006-07 squad previously set the Value City Arena record with 18 wins in a season. The Buckeyes played one game last year at St. John Arena. Ohio State is currently on a 22-game home win streak, the fourth-longest home win streak in school history. The Buckeyes again have 20 scheduled home games in 2011-12 with 19 played at VCA and one at Nationwide Arena (Dec. 22 vs. Miami, Ohio). The game at Nationwide satisfies an NCAA requirement for the host school of the NCAA Second and Third Rounds (March 16, 18, 2012) to play at least one game at the NCAA tournament site.
Ohio State Undefeated Home Seasons
Year Home Rcd. Postseason Rcd
1905-06 9-0 9-1
1938-39 7-0 NCAA Finals 16-7
1944-45 9-0 NCAA Final Four 15-5
1945-46 9-0 NCAA Final Four 16-5
1959-60 12-0 NCAA Champions 25-3
1960-61 11-0 NCAA Finals 27-1
1961-62 11-0 NCAA Finals 26-2
1962-63 14-0 None 20-4
1971-72 12-0 None 18-6
1990-91 15-0 NCAA Reg. Semifinals 27-4
2006-07 18-0 NCAA Finals 35-4
2010-11 20-0 NCAA Reg. Semifinals 34-3
400 AND 4,000 CLUB
Senior William Buford scored 539 career field goals and has logged 3,406 career minutes in 106 games. David Lighty was added to an exclusive club following the game vs. Illinois Jan. 22, 2011 The senior reached 4,000 minutes played with more than 400 field goals in the Illinois win in Champaign. Lighty made 516 career field goals and logged 4,582 career minutes during his 157-game career. Classmate Jon Diebler had 473 made baskets (374 of which are 3s) while playing a total of 4,687 minutes in 144 games. He reached 400/4,000 with a triple and 36 minutes vs. Iowa Jan. 19.
Herb Williams and Jamar Butler also logged 4,000+ minutes at Ohio State. Williams made 834 career field goals over 114 games and 4,216 minutes. Butler connected on 420 FGs (242 3FGs) over 139 games and 4,213 minutes played.
BUFORD ON PACE TO JOIN TURNER, JACKSON, LIGHTY IN OSU RECORD BOOK
Evan Turner (1,517 pts., 682 rebs., 414 asts.) became just the second player in recorded history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists with eight helpers vs. Northwestern Jan. 19, 2010. Jim Jackson was the only other Buckeye to do so with 1,785 career points, 552 career rebounds and 372 career assists from 1990-92. David Lighty joined the duo this season. He finished with 1,458 points, 577 rebounds and 374 assists to his credit. Only 22 players in Ohio State history have scored more than 1,000 points and collected 500+ rebounds. Lighty was added to the list with five rebounds vs. Iowa Jan. 19. William Buford ended his junior campaign with 1,424 points, 472 rebounds and 257 assists.
BUCKEYES COMFORTABLE AT VCA
The Buckeyes finished 19-0 at home in 2010-11 at Value City Arena (1-0 at St. John Arena). In home games last season, Ohio State shot 50 percent from the field (581-1,159). The Buckeyes outscored opponents by 24.1 ppg. and had a rebounding advantage of 6.1 rpg. Only Illinois (70) scored more than 66 points at Value City Arena last season.
DOUBLE DIGIT 3S
Ohio State has made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 78 times since the shot was instituted for the 1986-87 season. The Buckeyes are 67-11 in those games after knocking down 16-of-26 treys vs. George Mason March 20. Opponents have made double-digit 3s 90 times and are 36-54 in those games vs. the Buckeyes. Matta’s Ohio State teams are 52-9 when making 10 or more 3s in a game. Opponents are 8-28 against Matta-coached teams when making 10 or more treys.
Buford on Preseason List for 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award
Senior William Buford follows David Lighty (2011) as a candiate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in 2012. Lighty was among the Top 10 finalists a year ago. Buford is one of 30 senior men’s college basketball student-athletes on the 2012 preseason list. The field will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the 2011-12 regular season. The finialists, recognized for excellence in community, classroom, character and competition, will travel to the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans, where the winner will be announced.
SULLINGER EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS
The Associated Press is the latest (Oct. 31) to select Ohio State sophomore Jared Sullinger as a 2011-12 preseason first team All-American. The Columbus, Ohio, native was a 2011 All-American as well after averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds as a rookie. Those numbers helped earn Sullinger the 2011 National Freshman of the Year award following Ohio State’s 34-3 overall record a year ago.
BIG TEN MEDIA PICK BUCKEYES, SULLINGER
Ohio State was picked as the preseason favorite to win the league regular-season title by a vote of the conference media (Oct. 27). Sophomore Jared Sullinger also was tabbed as the favorite to earn conference player-of-the-year accolades. He also was selected to represent Ohio State on the preseason all-conference squad. Ohio State has won back-to-back league titles and is in position to win a third-consecutive title for the first time since the Buckeyes won five-consecutive titles from 1960-64. The last Buckeye to enter the season as the player of the year selection was guard Scoonie Penn before the 1999-2000 campaign.
BUCKEYES TOUTED AMONG TOP 5
Ohio State enters the 2011-12 season ranked among the Top 5 nationally and as high as No. 3 in the both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Oct. 20) and the Associated Press Poll (Oct. 28). The Buckeyes will face several teams this year among the AP Top 25 including No. 6 Duke, No. 8 Florida, No. 13 Kansas, No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 18 Michigan. Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois and Minnesota also received Top 25 consideration.
100 YEARS IN THE BIG TEN
Ohio State will celebrate 100 years as a member of the Big Ten Conference in men’s basketball in 2012. The Buckeyes finished in the No. 6 spot in 1913, the first season of league play. Over the 99 previous seasons, Ohio State has earned 19 Big Ten regular-season titles with 23 NCAA tournament appearance and one national championship (1960) and nine trips to the Final Four. Eight former coaches and players are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame while nearly 50 student-athletes have been drafted by National Basketball Association teams, including 22 in the first round.
HONORING BOB KNIGHT
The Ohio State men’s basketball program will pay tribute to Bob Knight, a 1962 graduate of Ohio State, throughout the day Dec. 20 when the Buckeyes play host to Lamar University (8:30 p.m. tip). Coach Knight, who accumulated 902 all-time collegiate victories during his career at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech, will be honored at a luncheon at the Ohio Union and then recognized during the game vs. Lamar, where his son Pat Knight, is in his first season as head coach. For more information on the luncheon event go to giveto.osu.edu./knightlunch, email Cindy Plummer at DevEvents@osu.edu or call 614-688-3249.
JENT RETURNS TO THE OHIO STATE SIDELINE
Chris Jent left the professional ranks to return to his alma mater as an assistant basketball coach. Jent, who played and coached at the NBA level, played for the Buckeyes from 1988-92 and coached most recently for the Cleveland Cavaliers. As an Ohio State player, he helped the Buckeyes to back-to-back Big Ten titles and three-consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament. He spent 10 seasons in the professional ranks overseas, in the CBA and NBA. He was an assistant and interim head coach with the Orlando Magic before most recently coaching with the Cavaliers.
2011-12 SCHEDULE AMONG BEST NATIONALLY
Several Ohio State non-conference games will garner national attention this season in addition to the always rugged Big Ten slate of 18 regular-season contests. Ohio State will face Florida and Duke at Value City Arena with key non-league games at Kansas and South Carolina. With the addition of Nebraska to the conference schedule, league teams will play seven foes twice and four teams once during regular-season play. Ohio State plays host to Penn State and Purdue and will travel to Iowa and Minnesota. The rest of the league will compete against the Buckeyes both home and away.
BUFORD SET FOR RECORD SEASON
William Buford is the lone senior on the Ohio State roster this season. In fact, he is just one of two upperclassmen and the only player with more than a year of experience in an Ohio State uniform. After transfer Evan Ravenel, who transferred to Ohio State from Boston College and sat out the 2010-11 campaign, there are 11 freshmen (5) and sophomores (6) on the Ohio State roster. Buford enters this year with 1,424 career points over 106 career games (13.4 ppg.). Dennis Hopson (1984-87) is the all-time leading scorer in Ohio State history with 2,096 points over 125 career games played (16.8 ppg.). Buford is currently No. 22 on the Ohio State all-time scoring list.
PAULUS LEAEVES NAVY FOR OHIO STATE
Greg Paulus, who served as an assistant coach at Navy during the 2010-11 season, joined the Buckeyes last May to handle the program’s video needs. He replaced Kevin Kuwik, who left Thad Matta’s staff to become an assistant coach at Dayton. Paulus played basketball at Duke from 2006-09 and then a year of football at Syracuse.
TITLES MOUNTING FOR MATTA, BUCKEYES
Thad Matta’s teams have won four Big Ten regular-season titles and three league tournament crowns during his seven-year tenure at Ohio State. Ohio State has won each of the last two regular-season and tournament titles. The Buckeyes have not posted three-consecutive Big Ten Conference crowns since winning a conference record five-consecutive titles from 1960-64 under the direction of head coach Fred Taylor. Taylor led Ohio State to seven league championships from 1959-76. Harold G. Olson win five Big Ten titles as coach between 1923-46.
BUCKEYES RETURN PLENTY
Despite the loss of three senior starters, the Buckeyes return the majority of the offensive production from a year ago. Seven 2010-11 letterwinners return nearly 63 percent of the team’s points (1,783 of 2,854), rebounds (805 of 1,277), assists 370 of 587 and steals (169 of 263) entering this season. Five incoming freshmen along with increased roles of the returning Buckeyes will attempt to make up for the losses of David Lighty (12.1 ppg.), Jon Diebler (12.6 ppg.) and Dallas Lauderdale (4.2 ppg, 54 total blocks). Four of the top six offensive players return in Jared Sullinger (17.2 ppg.), William Buford (14.4 ppg.), Deshaun Thomas (7.5 ppg.) and Aaron Craft (6.9 ppg.). Sullinger added 10.2 rebounds a game while Buford tallied 61 3-pointers while making 84 percent of his foul shots (59-70). Craft led the team in assists (177) and steals (73). Thomas was solid off the bench a year ago and is expected to have an increased role both offensively and defensively this year.
SCOTT, WILLIAMS ADD TO OHIO STATE’S 17-PLAYER MCDONALD’S LIST
Ohio State incoming freshmen Shannon Scott and Amir Williams were selected Feb. 10, 2011 to represent the East (Scott) and West (Williams) teams in the 2011 McDonald’s All-America game. The game was played March 30 at the United Center in Chicago. Scott led both teams with five steals. The East won the game 111-96. Scott also had four points, two rebounds and two assists over 12 minutes . Williams had six points, three rebounds and a steal in 11 minutes for the West squad. The Buckeyes will have five All-America game participants on their roster in 2011-12 in Jared Sullinger (2010), Deshaun Thomas (2010), William Buford (2008), Scott and Williams. Four McDonald’s All-Americans were a part of Ohio State’s 2006-07 squad that finished 35-4 overall, 15-1 in Big Ten Conference play, won the league regular-season title outright and played for the NCAA national title vs. Florida in April of 2007. Ivan Harris (2003), Greg Oden (2006), Mike Conley Jr. (2006) and Daequan Cook (2006), all former McDonald’s All-Americans, played for the Buckeyes in 2006-07. Previously, B.J. Mullens (2008), Kosta Koufos (2007), Clark Kellogg (1979), Perry Carter (1987), Treg Lee (1987), Jim Jackson (1989), Charles Macon (1992) and Greg Simpson (1992) all played for Ohio State after playing in the McDonald’s All-America game before joining the Ohio State program, a total of 17 all-time.
FIVE MR. BASKETBALL HONOREES ON OHIO STATE ROSTER
Ohio State’s contains four players who have combined to win five Mr. Basketball awards in their respective home states. Jared Sullinger leads the team with two Mr. Ohio Basketball accolades, achieving the distinction both in 2009 and 2010, while playing at Northland High School. Deshaun Thomas, a native Fort Wayne, Ind., and Bishop Luers High School, captured Mr. Indiana Basketball in 2010. Senior William Buford claimed 2008 Mr. Ohio Basketball with his performance at now-closed Libbey High School in Toledo. Freshman Shannon Scott brings the recognition of being named 2011 Mr. Georgia Basketball to Columbus after starring at Milton High School in Alpharetta, Ga. Freshman Amir Williams finished third in the 2011 Mr. Michigan Basketball voting.
