Florida Next Up For Buckeyes at St. John Arena

Ohio State vs. Florida
Date:	December 16, 2018
Time:	1:00 p.m. ET
Venue:	St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Parking Info:	MAP (OSU Winter Graduation and Women’s Ice Hockey is also happening at the same time)
Watch:	BTN+
Listen:	TuneIn
Live Stats:	Statbroadcast
Game Notes:	Ohio State \| Florida \| Big Ten
Special Events:	Katie Smith Recognition Post Game Lay-Ups - for youths 8th grade and younger

Noting Ohio State

The Buckeyes return to the court Sunday to take on Florida at St. John Arena following an 11-day break.
Ohio State will also honor Buckeye legend Katie Smith on Sunday for her induction into both the Women’s Basketball and Naismith Hall of Fames.
The Buckeyes and Gators are meeting for just the third time. Ohio State won the first game of this home-and-home series last year in Gainesville 103-77.
Ohio State has played just three games in the last 35 days.
Dorka Juhász has recorded a double-double in four of her first six collegiate games. She had a big 18-point, 16-rebound double-double vs. North Carolina.
Point guard Carmen Grande notched her 700th career assist on Nov. 9 vs. Detroit Mercy. She currently has the most assists of any active player in the country, male or female with 725.
Grande scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had six assists in the win over UNC.
Grad transfer Carly Santoro has scored in double figures in four out of the first six games including a 20-point effort at UConn on Nov. 11.
Santoro is just 65 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
Adreana Miller notched the 1,000th point of her career on Dec. 2 vs. Cincinnati.
Ohio State is one of just three teams in the country (Florida St. and Grand Canyon) that have to replace all five starters from last year.
Ohio State’s 12 player roster boasts eight new faces including five graduate transfers and three true freshmen.
Head coach Kevin McGuff and his staff signed a top-5 class for 2019.

Series History vs. Florida

This will just be the third game all-time between Ohio State and Florida.
The two teams met in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament and against last season in Gainesville.
The NCAA Tournament game, which was played in Bowling Green, Ohio, featured the No. 9 seed Gators topping the No. 8 seeded Buckeyes 70-65.
Last year, the Buckeyes headed to the Sunshine State and came away with a 103-77 victory.

Last Year vs. Florida

On a night when she scored 30 points and had a season-high five steals, Kelsey Mitchell became Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer as she led the Buckeyes to a 103-77 victory at Florida on Dec. 6, 2018.
Sierra Calhoun was 3-of-6 from long range and 8-of-8 from the line to finish with a season-high 21 points.
Linnae Harper scored 18 points and recorded her 1,000th career point. She also grabbed nine rebounds and had two steals.
Stephanie Mavunga matched Harper with nine boards to go along with her 16 points and three blocks.
Asia Doss was the fifth Buckeye starter in double-figures with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Buckeyes took control from the very start and scored the game’s first 10 points. Mitchell scored 20 of her 30 points in the first half and the Buckeyes led 51-38 at the break.
The Gators cut the deficit to a little as six points midway through the third quarter but the Buckeyes closed the quarter on a 10-3 run to extend the lead back out to 76-59 headed to the fourth.
The fourth quarter opened with three straight Buckeye steals which led to six points. That shoved the lead back out to 20 points and Florida never threatened the rest of the way.

History in St. John Arena

St. John Arena is one of the historic venues in college basketball.
The Buckeyes began playing in St. John Arena in the 1974-75 season and have an all-time winning percentage of .802.
Sunday’s game will be Ohio State’s 334th in SJA.
OSU has won 267 games and has lost just 65 in parts of 30 seasons in the arena.
Last year, the Buckeyes opened the season with a convincing 85-64 victory over No. 10 Stanford in SJA. OSU was then selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in St. John Arena. After defeating George Washington in the opening round, Central Michigan ended the Buckeyes’ season with a 95-78 victory.
Since moving its home games to Value City Arena prior to the 1998-99 season, Sunday’s game will mark Ohio State’s 30th game in St. John Arena.

McGuff in St. John Arena

In addition to the seven games as a head coach for Kevin McGuff in St. John Arena last season, he has also played in a couple of meaningful games himself.
McGuff helped lead Hamilton Badin High School to the Ohio DIII State championship in 1988 with the final two games being played in St. John Arena.

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