Buckeyes Open B1G Play at Home vs. Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2014
| D’Angelo Russell averaged 19.5 points and made 10 of 14 from 3-point range last week. |
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No. 20 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2, 0-0) vs. the Iowa Hawkeyes (9-4, 0-0)
| Date: | Dec. 30, 2014 |
| Site: | Value City Arena (19,049) |
| Game Time: | 1 p.m. ET |
| Television: | ESPN2 |
| Talent: | Dave O’Brien (Play-By-Play) Fran Fraschilla (Expert Analysis) |
| Radio: | OSU-IMG Sports Network (56 stations) |
| Satellite Radio: | Sirius 84/XM 84 |
| Local Radio: | WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460 |
| Radio Talent: | Herb Howenstine (play-by-play) Ron Stokes (expert analysis) |
Buckeyes Open 103rd Season in B1G
This is the 103rd season of Big Ten membership in men’s basketball for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 56-42 (.571) in conference openers, 67-30 (.691) in league home openers and 36-62 (.367) in the first road game of the season in Big Ten play. When the Buckeyes open the Big Ten season at home, their record is 37-18 (.673). When Ohio State begins Big Ten play on the road, the record is 19-24 (.442). Thad Matta is 8-2 in conference openers at Ohio State. In the last 10 years under Matta, the Buckeyes have opened league play at home five times (5-0) and have a 3-2 road opener mark.
Russell Earns 2nd B1G Freshman of the Week
D’Angelo Russell recorded a careeer high with nine assists vs. Miami, Ohio, then set an Ohio State freshman record with six made 3-pointers in a win vs. Wright State to pace the Buckeyes to a pair of victories vs. intrastate rivals last week. Russell connected on 12-of-18 field goals (.667) and 10-of-14 from long range (.714) while handing out 12 assists last week. He averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in the wins. The award is the second for Russell, who was named the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week Dec. 8 after averaging 18.0 points at Louisville (17 pts.) and at home vs. Colgate (19 pts.).
Scouting the Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa enters the game vs. the Buckeyes at 9-4 overall. The Hawkeyes most recently defeated North Florida 80-70 Dec. 22 after losses at home to Iowa State and at Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes defeated North Carolina in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Dec. 3 in Chapel Hill, 60-55. Senior Aaron White, a native of Strongsville, Ohio, leads the Hawkeyes with 15.8 points per game and a team leading 7.2 rebounds per contest. Jarrod Uthoff, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native who began his career at Wisconsin but then transferred to Iowa after his redshirt freshman year, is now a junior with the Hawkeyes. He is the No. 2 scorer and rebounder for Iowa with 10.6 points and 6.6 boards per game.
The Ohio State vs. Iowa Series
Iowa leads the overall series with the Buckeyes 74-72 with Ohio State leading 46-26 in Columbus. The Hawkeyes are 47-24 in Iowa City and, in three neutral site meetings, Ohio State leads 2-1. Thad Matta’s Buckeyes are 12-5 vs. the Hawkeyes since the 2004-05 season. In the Matta era, Ohio State is 7-1 in games played at Value City Arena, 5-3 at Iowa and 0-1 in neutral site games. Sam Thompson, Shannon Scott and Amir Williams each have faced Iowa four times in their careers. Thompson averages a team high 7.5 points per game vs. the Hawkeyes with Williams chipping in 6.3 ppg and Scott 5.5 ppg. Ohio State has won nine of the last 10 games and seven of the last eight in Columbus. Each team won on the opponent’s court a season ago. The Buckeyes claimed a 76-69 victory in Iowa Feb. 4 after the Hawkeyes won in Columbus Jan. 12, 84-74. As a ranked team, Ohio State is 23-11 vs. the Hawkeyes and has won nine of the last 10 meetings when carrying an Associated Press ranking into the game vs. Iowa. Ohio State, the No. 4 team nationally in field goal shooting percentage, has connected on better than 50 percent of its shots vs. the Hawkeyes nine times in the Matta era and in three of the last four meetings. Matta teams are 8-1 vs. Iowa when shooting 50 percent or better. Iowa has made half its shots once in the last 11 years, a 68-65 Ohio State win Dec. 31, 2008 in Columbus.
Ohio State vs. The Big Ten
Ohio State is in its 103rd season as a member of the Big Ten Conference in 2014-15. The Buckeyes own an overall record of 771-685 against current league members. Thad Matta, in 15 seasons as a head coach, owns an overall record of 146-62 vs. league members, including a mark of 142-59 while coaching the Buckeyes.
Noting the Wright State Game
• Ohio State is 4-0 all-time vs. Wright State. All four games have been played in Columbus.
• Ohio State is 24-1 vs. the Horizon League.
• Four players scored in double figures for the Buckeyes: D’Angelo Russell (24), Amir Williams (21), Kam Williams (15) and Marc Loving (13).
• D’Angelo Russell (24) and Amir Williams (21) each posted 20 points vs. Wright State. The last time two Buckeyes scored 20 or more points in a game was Deshaun Thomas (26) and Sam Thompson (20) vs. Iona March 22, 2013.
• Of the 10 Buckeyes who saw action vs. Wright State, nine played 10 or more minutes, scored and collected at least one rebound.
• The Buckeyes totaled 100 points vs. Wright State. Ohio State has scored 85 or more points eight times this season and 100 or more twice. The last time Ohio State scored 85 or more points seven or more times in a season was in 2011-12 (11 times).
• Ohio State went 25-57 (.614) from the field vs. Wright State. Ohio State has shot above 60 percent five times this season.
• The Buckeyes went 11-20 (.500) from beyond the arc vs. the Raiders. Ohio State has shot above 50 percent from 3-point range three times this season.
• Shannon Scott and D’Angelo Russell combined for nine assists vs. Wright State. The duo averages 13 combined assists per game.
• Ohio State held the Raiders to 18 first half points. It is the first time this season Ohio State held a team under 20 points in the first half this season. The last time an opponent scored under 20 points in a half was Minnesota (18) on Feb. 22, 2014.
• Amir Williams and D’Angelo Russell outscored the Raiders in the first half, 23-18.
• Ohio State went 19-23 (.826) from the free throw line.
• Ohio State recorded nine team blocks vs. Wright State.
• The Buckeyes held the Raiders to 55 points on 21-69 (.304) from the floor. Ohio State has held opponents to under 60 points seven times this season.
• Ohio State recorded 20 assists. Ohio State has posted 20 or more assists five times this season.
• Ohio State has connected a season-high 11 3-pointers vs. Wright State. The Buckeyes have recorded 10 or more 3-pointers made three times this season.
• Ohio State is 231-76 all-time against all Ohio schools and 72-21 vs. Division I opponents from the state.
• Since the 2009-10 season, Ohio State has the most home wins nationally with a 99-8 (.925) record.
• Ohio State is a Division I best 88-1 (.988) at home vs. unranked teams since 2009-10. Duke and Kansas are tied at No. 2 at 74-2.
• Ohio State is 119-6 all-time vs. non-conference opponents at Value City Arena and is 104-1 in the last 105 games vs. unranked foes. The last loss was Dec. 27, 2008 vs. West Virginia.
• Ohio State has won 59 consecutive games at home vs. unranked non-conference opponents.
• Thad Matta is 286-85 during his career at Ohio State and 388-116 overall as a head coach.
• Matta teams have 10 or more wins vs. non-conference foes in all 11 years at Ohio State. The win vs. the Raiders gives him 11 or more wins in 10 of 11 seasons with the Buckeyes.
• Ohio State is 11-0 at home this season. With the win, Ohio State has recorded 10 or more home wins vs. nonconference foes for the fifth time and its eighth undefeated home season in nonconference play in the Matta era.
• Matta teams are 15-1 against Ohio teams. Matta is 2-0 all-time vs. Wright State.
• Matta teams have 144 wins vs. nonconference opponents and 142 wins vs. Big Ten foes over his 11 years in Columbus.
• The Buckeyes are 212-48 (.815) when carrying a Top 25 ranking into competition during the Thad Matta era.
• Ohio State is 69-11 under Matta in the month of December.
• Ohio State is 10-1 in the Matta era in the last December non-conference game before the start of B1G season.
• D’Angelo Russell connected on 6 of 6 from 3-point range vs. Wright State, an Ohio State freshman single-game record. He is one of five Buckeyes all-time to shoot 100 percent from the 3 with a minimum of five attempts. Last time, David Lighty went 7-7 from beyond the arc vs. George Mason March 20, 2011.
• Russell scored 24 points vs. the Raiders. He has scored in double figures in 11-consecutive games this season and has recorded three 20-point games this season.
• Russell totaled three assists and leads the Top 25 true freshman nationally with 69 assists this season.
• For the season, Russell is recording a PAR (points+assists+rebounds/game) of 27.7.
• With six helpers vs. Wright State, Scott moves to No. 8 in Ohio State history with 421 assists. He is tied with Troy Taylor (1982-85) for No. 6 all-time.
• Scott scored eight points, shooting 4-7 from the floor.
• Scott recorded no steals vs. Wright State and remains fourth on Ohio State’s all-time steals list with 185 behind David Lighty with 191 thefts. Scott needs 15 more this season to become the third Buckeye all-time to reach 200 steals in a career.
• Amir Williams scored a career-high 21 points vs. Wright State, shooting 8-11 from the floor and 5-6 from the charity stripe.
• Williams posted four blocks vs. Wright State. He has recorded three or more blocks four times this season.
• Marc Loving totaled 13 points vs. Wright State. He has scored in double figures four-consecutive games.
• Loving collected five rebounds, passing 100 rebounds for his career.
• Kam Williams scored 15 points, connecting on 5-9 from the floor.
• Kam Williams added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Trey McDonald tied his season high with two blocks vs. Wright State while scoring six points for the Buckeyes.
• Thompson tied his season high with seven rebounds while tying his season high with two blocks vs. Wright State.
For more on the Buckyes click on the Ohio State Notes link above.
