Buckeyes Start Year 12 Under Matta’s Direction – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2015
| Thad Matta is 299-74 as the head coach of the Buckeyes. |
OSU Notes | Big Ten Notes | 2015-16 Schedule
Preview: Coach Matta | Preview: Jae’Sean Tate & Marc Loving
Ohio State Men’s Basketball | OhioStateHoops | @OhioStateHoops
@JeffBoals | @Greg_Paulus | @CoachJDiebler
@DRich111 | @OSUADAthComm
The Ohio State Buckeyes (0-0) vs. Mount St. Mary’s (0-0)
| Date: | Nov. 15, 2015 |
| Site: | Value City Arena (19,049) |
| Game Time: | 12:01 p.m. |
| Television: | ESPNU |
| Talent: | Jordan Bernfield (Play-By-Play) Craig Robinson (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: | Paul Keels (play-by-play) Ron Stokes (Expert Anelysis) |
Matta a Win Shy of 300 at Ohio State
When the Buckeyes defeated Minnesota in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago, Thad Matta became the all-time wins leader in Ohio State history with 298 triumphs over his 11-year tenure with the Buckeyes. Matta passed Fred Taylor for the Ohio State wins record. Taylor amassed 297 wins from 1959-1976. Matta added another win a year ago in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, a 75-72 overtime win over VCU in Portland, Ore. The first win of the 2015-16 season will be No. 300 for Matta at Ohio State. He has 401 career victories over his 15 previous seasons, which included one at Butler, three at Xavier and 11 with the Buckeyes.
Buckeyes Down Walsh in Exhibition
The Ohio State men’s basketball team topped Walsh, 92-82, in an exhibition game Nov. 8 in Columbus. Keita Bates-Diop paced the Buckeyes offensively with 26 points to go along with eight rebounds and four blocks while Marc Loving tallied a double-double with 24 points and 10 boards. Freshman JaQuan Lyle added 19 points, nine rebounds and a team-best seven assists while Trevor Thompson scored six points to go along with 10 rebounds. Ohio State held a 43-40 lead at half as Walsh connected on eight 3-pointers and 10 of 14 free throws over the first 20 minutes. Bates-Diop paced the Buckeyes with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting while Marc Loving added nine points and six boards in the first half. Five 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the second half kept the Cavaliers in it but Kam Williams and Lyle scored the final 11 Buckeye points to ice the game away late.
Buckeyes Open 116th Season, 104th in B1G
This is the 104th season of Big Ten membership in men’s basketball for the Buckeyes and the 116th overall for the sport at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 90-22 in season openers and 95-17 in the first home game of the season. Ohio State is 54-57 in the first true road game of the season. In Big Ten Conference play, the Buckeyes are 55-44 in league openers, 67-32 in the first conference home game of the season and 36-63 in league road openers. Ohio State is 36-20 when the first conference game of the year is at home and 19-24 when opening conference play on the road. Thad Matta is 11-0 in season openers at Ohio State and is 8-3 in conference openers. In the last 11 years under Matta, the Buckeyes have opened league play at home six times (5-1) and have a 3-2 road opener mark.
Matta Among Top 50 Active Coaches in Wins
Among active NCAA Division I coaches, Thad Matta ranks No. 46 in total wins in 15 years as a head coach. His 401 career victories are tied with Greg McDermott of Creighton and Ben Howland of Mississippi State. Matta has coached the fewest number of seasons among the Top 50 coaches by wins in the country. Mark Few is the next closest with 16 full seasons and 438 career wins at Gonzaga. He is ranked No. 37 among active coaches in victories entering the 2015-16 season. Matta enters 2015-16 with a career win percentage of .762 (401-125). Among active Division I coaches, that win percentage ranks No. 6 nationally.
The Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers
Mount St. Mary’s is located in Emmitsburg, Maryland with an enrollment of just over 2,200 students. The Mountaineers are a member of the Northeast Conference. Ohio State has a 1-0 lead in the all-time series. The Buckeyes won 102-63 in Columbus Nov. 27, 1989. Ohio State has an 11-0 record vs. members of the Northeast Conference. The Buckeyes own single wins vs. Bryant, LIU-Brooklyn, Sacred Heart St. Francis (Pa.) and the Mountaineers. Ohio State is 3-0 vs. both Central Connecticut and Robert Morris. Other league members Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Francis (N.Y.) and Wagner have never faced the Buckeyes.
Mountaineers Down Hood College, Randolph-Macon in Exhibitions
Mount St. Mary’s opened its exhibition season with a 64-44 win over Hood College Nov. 3. The Mountaineers were led by senior forward Gregory Graves with 13 points and eight rebounds. Eleven players scored for Mount St. Mary’s in the win while nine recorded at least one rebound. Mount St. Mary’s then defeated Randolf-Macon 79-63 Nov. 7 in its final exhibition tune-up before opening the regular-season Friday at Maryland. Junior Robinson, a sophomore, scored 22 points and junior BK Ashe added 21 in the win vs. Randolf-Macon. The Mountaineers connected on 57 percent of their shots from the field (28-49) and 81 percent at the foul line (17-21).
Mount St. Mary’s Picked No. 1 in Northeast Conference
The Mount St. Mary’s University men’s basketball team has been tabbed as the preseason favorite in the annual Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Mountaineers received six of the 10 first-place votes in earning the top spot in the poll. Defending champion Robert Morris was picked second, followed by Bryant, LIU Brooklyn, St. Francis Brooklyn, Wagner, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U, Fairleigh Dickinson and Central Connecticut. In addition to earning the top spot in the poll, senior Gregory Graves (Sterling, Va.) and junior BK Ashe (Washington, D.C.) were selected to the Preseason All-NEC team. Both Ashe and Graves were Third Team All-NEC selections last season.
For more on the Buckeyes click on the Ohio State Notes link above.
