Ohio State Plays Host to Virginia in 2015 Challenge – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 11, 2015
Additional Info
COLUMBUS, Ohio- The 17th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge will feature Ohio State at home vs. Virginia Dec. 1 at Value City Arena. The ESPN family of networks will televise the 14 games of the three-day event (Nov. 30-Dec. 2). Ohio State and Virginia will tip at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, has a 6-5 record in the Challenge and has won five of the last seven games in the event.
Ohio State qualified for the 2015 NCAA Tournament after a sixth-place finish in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes finished the 2014-15 season with an overall record of 24-11, which included an 11-7 record in the Big Ten regular-season race. The Buckeyes advanced to the NCAA Tournament Third Round in 2015 after a win over VCU in Portland, Oregon. The Buckeyes then lost to Arizona to end their 2015 NCAA Tournament run.
Matta has led the Buckeyes to seven consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, four appearances in the NCAA “Sweet 16” in the last six years, five Big Ten titles in the last 10 years and four appearances in the annual Big Ten postseason tournament title game over the last six seasons. The Buckeyes earned league tournament championships in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The Buckeyes return four scholarship letterwinners and two starters in 2015-16. Marc Loving will be a junior and Ohio State’s lone upperclassman next season. He started 19 games last season. Jae’Sean Tate, who will be a sophomore next season, started the final 16 games as a freshman. He led the Big Ten in field goal shooting percentage, making 126 of 214 shots (.589).
Two other key returning players are redshirt sophomore Kam Williams, and true second-year performer Keita Bates-Diop. Williams, was third on the team a season ago with 28 made 3-point attempts. Bates-Diop made significant improvements down the stretch and made two clutch 3-pointers in Ohio State’s overtime win over VCU in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes also will have the services of Virginia Tech transfer Trevor Thompson, a 6-11 center from Indianapolis who sat out last year at Ohio State to satisfy NCAA transfer rules. He will have three years of eligibility beginning with the 2015-16 season. David Bell, a 6-11 center from Garfield Heights, Ohio, sat out last season as a redshirt. He will have four years of eligibility beginning with the upcoming season.
Five incoming freshmen will vie for playing time vacated by four graduating seniors and freshman D’Angelo Russell, who elected to forego his collegiate career to enter the 2015 National Basketball Association Draft. Russell led the Buckeyes in scoring (19.3 ppg.) and rebounding (5.7 rpg.) in his only season in Columbus. He was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Austin Grandstaff, a 6-5 shooting guard from Rockwall, Texas, Mickey Mitchell, a 6-8 forward from Plano, Texas, Daniel Giddens, a 6-10 center from Marietta, Georgia, A.J. Harris, a 5-9 point guard from Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar High School and JaQuan Lyle, a 6-5 guard from Evansville, Indiana, comprise the next class of Buckeyes. As a whole, the class is considered to be among the Top 10 nationally.
Season Tickets
2015-16 season tickets for new buyers are on sale now. For more information in regard to seat locations available and pricing, contact the Ohio State athletics ticket sales department by calling 1-800-GOBUCKS (select option 2). Fans will be directed to an Account Executive who can discuss seating options over the phone or schedule a time to tour the Jerome Schottenstein Center to pick out seats.
Buckeyes In The Challenge
Ohio State is participating in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the 14th-consecutive year and has a 6-7 record in the event. The Buckeyes first participated in the Challenge during the 2002-03 season against Duke in Greensboro, N.C., a 91-75 Blue Devils’ victory. Ohio State defeated Virginia Tech in Columbus in 2005, 69-59, for its first Challenge victory. The game vs. Duke in Columbus in 2011 pitted the highest combined ranking of Ohio State (2) and an opponent (No. 3 Duke) in the Buckeyes’ previous Challenge games. The 2012 game at Duke pitted the No. 4 Buckeyes vs. the No. 2 Blue Devils.
The Buckeyes In The Big Ten/ACC Challenge
|
12/3/02 |
vs. Duke |
L |
76-91(4) |
|
12/3/03 |
Georgia Tech |
L |
53-73(13) |
|
12/1/04 |
at Clemson |
L |
73-80 |
|
11/28/05 |
Virginia Tech |
W |
69-59 |
|
11/29/06 |
at North Carolina |
L |
89(3)-98(7) |
|
11/29/07 |
North Carolina |
L |
55-66(1) |
|
12/2/08 |
at Miami, Fla. |
W |
73-68(21) |
|
12/2/09 |
Florida State |
W |
77(15)-64(21) |
|
11/30/10 |
at Florida State |
W |
58(2)-44 |
|
11/29/11 |
Duke |
W |
85(2)-63(3) |
|
11/28/12 |
at Duke |
L |
68(4)-73(2) |
|
12/4/13 |
Maryland |
W |
76(5)-60 |
12/2/14 at Louisville L 55(14)-64(5)
Ohio State vs. Virginia
Ohio State and Virginia have met four times previously with the Buckeyes owning a 3-1 advantage. The teams first met in 1932 at Virginia, a 30-26 win for the Buckeyes. The Cavaliers traveled to Ohio State 30 years later and fell 70-46 to the Buckeyes in Columbus Dec. 5, 1962. A scheduled home and home series took place in 1980 and 1981 with each team winning on its home court. The Buckeyes claimed a 70-65 win Jan. 27, 1980. Ohio State was ranked No. 4 nationally in that contest. Virginia was the highly-ranked squad the following year when the No. 2 Cavaliers earned an 89-73 victory at home.
The Ohio State vs. Virginia Series
2/6/32 W at Virginia 30-26
12/5/62 W Virginia 70-46
1/27/80 W Virginia 70(4)-65
1/25/81 L at Virginia 73-89(2)
2015 Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule (times and networks will be announced at a later date):
|
Date |
Game |
|
Mon, Nov 30 |
Clemson at Minnesota, 9 p.m., ESPN2 |
|
|
Wake Forest at Rutgers, 7 p.m./ESPNU |
|
Tue, Dec 1 |
Maryland at North Carolina, 9:30 p.m., ESPN |
|
|
Virginia at Ohio State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN |
|
|
Michigan at NC State, 7 p.m., ESPN2 |
|
|
Purdue at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPNU |
|
|
Northwestern at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m., ESPNU |
|
|
Miami (Fla.) at Nebraska, 9 p.m., ESPNU |
|
Wed, Dec 2 |
Indiana at Duke, 9:15 p.m., ESPN |
|
Louisville at Michigan State, 7:15 p.m. ESPN |
|
|
Notre Dame at Illinois, 9:15 p.m., ESPN2 |
|
|
Wisconsin at Syracuse, 7:15 p.m., ESPN2 |
|
|
Florida State at Iowa, 9:15 p.m., ESPNU |
|
|
Penn State at Boston College, 7:15 p.m., ESPNU |
