Grambling Up Next for Young Buckeyes – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2015
| Jae’Sean Tate led all scorers with 21 points Sunday vs. Mout St. Mary’s |
OSU Notes | Big Ten Notes | 2015-16 Schedule
Preview: Coach Matta | Preview: Jae’Sean Tate & Marc Loving
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The Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) vs. Grambling (0-1)
| Date: | Nov. 17, 2015 |
| Site: | Value City Arena (19,049) |
| Game Time: | 7:01 p.m. |
| Television: | BTN |
| Talent: | Cory Provus(Play-By-Play) Stephen Bardo (Expert Analysis) |
| Radio: | OSU-IMG Sports Network (56 stations) |
| Satellite Radio: | Sirius 83/XM 195 |
| Local Radio: | WBNS-FM 97.1, AM-1460 |
| Radio Talent: | Paul Keels (play-by-play) Ron Stokes (Expert Anelysis) |
Matta Earns Win No. 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, Oregon. The first win of the 2015-16 season, a 76-54 win vs. Mount St. Mary’s Nov. 15, was No. 300 for Matta at Ohio State. He has 402 career victories over his 16 seasons as a head coach, which includes one year at Butler, three at Xavier and 12 with the Buckeyes.
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 91-22 in season openers and 96-17 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 12-0 in season openers at Ohio State and is 8-3 in conference openers. In the last 12 years under Matta, the Buckeyes have opened league play at home six times (5-1) and have a 3-2 road opener mark.
Season Openers, Matta Era
Date Opponent Score
11/5/04 Towson State W, 74-53
11/20/05 Chicago State W, 81-52
11/10/06 VMI W, 107(7)-69
11/12/07 Green Bay W, 91-68
11/20/08 Delaware State W, 70-42
11/9/09 Alcorn State W, 100(16)-60
11/12/10 North Carolina A&T W, 102(4)-61
11/11/11 Wright State W, 73(3)-42
11/11/12 Albany W, 82(4)-60
11/9/13 Morgan State W, 89(11)-50
11/14/14 UMass-Lowell W, 92(20)-55
11/15/15 Mt. St. Mary’s W, 76-54
At Xavier
2003 Coastal Carolina W, 72-41
2002 Saint Peter’s W, 87-48
2001 Coppin State W, 62-37
At Butler
2000 Eastern Illinois W, 90-73
Matta Among Top 50 Active Coaches in Wins
Among active NCAA Division I coaches entering the 2015-16 season, 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.
Grambling Looks to Climb SWAC Standings
On the heels of a 10th-place finish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Grambling State enters this season eyeing an improvement within the league. The Tigers were unable to post a victory during conference play a year ago. Head coach Shawn Walker will look toward top returning scorer Mark Gray to serve as the catalyst for adding some punch on that end of the court. Gray was one of two GSU players to average in double-figures in scoring, posting 10.5 points per night to go with six boards a game. He’s also the team’s top returning 3-point threat, connecting on nearly 40 percent of his tries from long range last year. The Tigers fell to East Carolina 61-53 Nov. 13 in their 2015-16 season opener. Junior Michael Bethea led Grambling with 18 points in the defeat.
Ohio State vs. the SWAC
The Buckeyes and Tigers of Grambling are meeting for the first time. Ohio State has four wins in its history vs. members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Buckeyes have single wins vs. Alabama State, Alcorn State, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State. Remaining league members Alabama A&M, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Prairie View A&M, Southern University and Texas Southern have not faced the Buckeyes on the hardwood. Jackson State is the last SWAC member to play against the Buckeyes, an 85-41 win for the Buckeyes Nov. 18, 2011.
For more on the Buckeyes click on the Ohio State Notes link above.
