No. 16 Ohio State Hits the Road to Face Rutgers Wednesday Night
1/8/2019 11:13:51 AM | Men's Basketball
Ohio State Men's Basketball Gameday March 12, 2020
Opponent vs. Purdue (16-15)
Site Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,500)
Time 6:30 p.m. ET
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Talent Kevin Kugler (Play-By-Play)
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Starting Five
- The Ohio State men’s basketball team traveled to Spain for 11 days over the summer. The Buckeyes played a total of three games, one in each stop during the trip, which began Aug. 1 with a flight to Madrid. Three days were spent in Madrid (W, 93-61 vs. Madrid Generals), Valencia (W, 95-63 vs. Valencia All-Stars) and Barcelona (W, 68-66 vs. Catalan All-Stars) before the team returned to Columbus Aug. 11. The team also experienced several cultural tours, team meals and excursions.
- Just two Ohio State opponents have made more than 24 field goals this season in a game vs. the Buckeyes. Opponents are shooting 39.2 percent from the field against the Ohio State defense (305-779). Foes are connecting on just 29.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (85-288).
- Ohio State is ranked No. 16/17 in the most recent Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. The Buckeyes are 21-9 all-time when ranked in the No. 16 position and are 511-150 when ranked among the Top 25 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes were 10-5 as a ranked team in 2017-18. Ohio State was ranked No. 17 in the final game of the season vs. No. 6 Gonzaga a year ago in the NCAA Tournament (L, 90-84).
- The Buckeyes have four wins in six tries in 2018-19 vs. teams that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Ohio State defeated two of those teams on the road (Cincinnati, 64-56/Creighton, 69-60) and took down UCLA (80-66) on a neutral court. At home, the Buckeyes fell vs. Syracuse (L, 72-62) and No. 8 Michigan State (86-77) and have a win over Bucknell (W, 73-71). Ohio State has at least four games remaining vs. teams that made the 2018 NCAA Tournament: Purdue (2), Michigan State (1) and Michigan.
- Ohio State will play 13 games against teams among the Associated Press Top 25 or receiving votes for Top 25 consideration. Seven of those games will be played away from Value City Arena. The Buckeyes face No. 2 Michigan (away), No. 6 Michigan State (home/away) and No. 22 Indiana (away) among teams in the currently in the Top 25. Among teams receiving votes, Ohio State faces Wisconsin (home), Nebraska (away), Iowa (home/away), Minnesota (home), Purdue (home/away) and Maryland (home/away).
Kaleb Wesson Earns First B1G POW Honor
Sophomore Kaleb Wesson averaged 23 points and 9.5 rebounds in wins over Youngstown State and vs. UCLA to earn his first Big Ten Conference Player of the Week honor Dec. 24, 2018. Wesson scored a career-high 31 points vs. the Penguins and then added 15 points and a career-best 12 rebounds in the win over UCLA in the CBSSports Classic in Chicago Dec. 22.
Wesson connected on 60 percent of his field goal attempts for the week (15-25) and on 71 percent from the foul line (15-21). He also added five assists. Of his 19 total rebounds, 11 were on the offensive end.
The honor is the first for the Westerville South alum and the first for the Buckeyes since Keita Bates-Diop earned the recognition, his fourth of the 2017-18 season, Feb. 5, 2018 after Ohio State wins over Illinois and Indiana.
Early Notable Numbers
C.J. Jackson is averaging 13.4 points a game and has the Buckeyes off to a 12-2 start … he reached 100 career 3-pointers made with three makes vs. Cleveland State (11/23/18) … for his Ohio State career he is (118-317/.372) from distance … has scored 794 career points after a 10-point effort vs. Michigan State and is on pace to become Ohio State’s next 1,000-point scorer … Kyle Young is 43-for-60 shooting this season (.717) … Joey Lane has appeared in eight games this season and is 4-5 from the field and 3-4 from 3-point range … he also has five rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals in 3.1 minutes per game … Keyshawn Woods has 48 assists with just 14 turnovers this season (3.4 a/to).
The Ohio State vs. Rutgers Series
Ohio State leads the all-time series with the Scarlet Knights 6-2. Ohio State owns a 3-0 record in New Brunswick and is 3-0 in Columbus. The teams have played on a neutral court twice with the Scarlet Knights winning both. When ranked among the Associated Press Top 25, the Buckeyes are 2-0. C.J. Jackson and Andre Wesson each have faced Rutgers four times in their careers to lead the Buckeyes in appearances vs. the Scarlet Knights. Jackson averages 11.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. Kaleb Wesson faced Rutgers twice last season in his rookie year and averaged 12 points and seven rebounds.
Scouting the Scarlet Knights
Rutgers enters the game with the Buckeyes sporting a 7-6 record and an 0-3 mark in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights started the season with a 5-1 record before a four-game losing streak started with losses to Michigan State and Wisconsin in December Big Ten games. Rutgers then fell to Fordham and Seton Hall before wins against Columbia and Maine followed by a loss the last time out to Maryland. Eugene Omoruyi leads the team offensively with 15.7 points per game. He is followed by Geo Baker’s 13.1 ppg. Omoruyi also leads the team with 8.0 rebounds a contest.
