No. 2 Buckeyes to Face No. 22 Mountaineers Sunday in Cleveland
12/27/2019 10:54:06 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
Television BTN | BTN Plus
Talent Kevin Kugler (Play-By-Play)
Stephen Bardo (Expert Analysis)
Rick Pizzo (Sideline)
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Starting Five
- The Buckeyes are 1,157-415 all-time when playing in the state of Ohio (.736) … against Ohio teams, Ohio State is 237-79 (.749) all-time, regardless of location. The Buckeyes faced a pair of intrastate foes this season. Ohio State defeated Cincinnati Nov. 6 at Value City Arena (64-56) and then Kent State Nov. 25 at St. John Arena (W, 72-51). Ohio State is 179-30 vs. Ohio teams in Columbus (.856).
- Three current Buckeyes were named Mr. Basketball in their respective states. Junior Kaleb Wesson was named Ohio Mr. Basketball as a senior at Westerville South High School … freshman D.J. Carton was named Mr. Basketball in Iowa in 2019 as a senior at Bettendorf High School and freshman E.J. Liddell was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in both 2018 and 2019 after leading Belleville High School to back-to-back state titles.
- Andre and Kaleb Wesson are one of 16 sets of brothers playing in NCAA Division I this season and one of three sets in the Big Ten. Iowa (McCaffery) and Maryland (Mitchell) also have siblings on the roster.
- Ohio State has 58 players all-time with 1,000 or more career points, the ninth most nationally and the most of any Big Ten school (research credit: Duke). Kaleb Wesson is the next Buckeye on schedule to reach the milestone with 973 career points over his career.
- Locking down the opponent’s leading scorer has been key to Ohio State’s success this season. The Buckeyes’ 12 opponents’ leading scorers have shot 33.3% (46-138) from the field and 23.4% (11-47) from 3-point range. Ohio State has limited the group, which is averaging 14.9 points per game on the year, to 10.6 ppg.
Off the Bench
- Ohio State is 1,699-1,094 all-time after an 11-1 start this season.
- In the first NCAA NET rankings of the year, released Dec. 16, Ohio State was rated the No. 1 team nationally after its 9-1 start. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 1 in the first NET rankings a year ago as well. This year (as of 12/24), Ohio State is 2-1 in Quad 1 games with a total of 16 Quad 1 (12) and Quad 2 (4) games remaining on the schedule.
- When the then-No. 5 Buckeyes tipped vs. the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats Dec. 21 in Las Vegas, the Wesson family reached 300 games played as Buckeyes. Keith Wesson, who lettered for Ohio State from 1983-87, played in 115 games. Senior Andre Wesson has appeared in 108 games while junior Kaleb Wesson has taken the court as a Buckeye 77 times. In 300 games played, the Wessons have scored 1,873 points for an average of 6.2 a game.
- In three seasons as Ohio State head coach, Chris Holtmann teams have made 10 or more 3s 20 times (14-6 rcd.). Ohio State made 10+ from distance five times in 2017-18 and posted a 4-1 record in those games. The Buckeyes were 5-5 in 2018-19 and are 5-0 this year when make 10+ 3-pointers.
- The Buckeyes have made 30 or more field goal attempts six times this year (6-0) after doing so three times a season ago (3-0). Chris Holtmann Ohio State teams have scored 30 or more FGs in 21 games during his tenure (20-1) after doing so 12 times in his first year (12-1). Ohio State has won its last eight games when reach at least 30 FGs made.
- Ohio State has won its last three home games by 32 or more points with wins over Morgan State (90-57, +33), Penn State (106-74, +32) and Southeast Missouri State (80-48, +32). The last time the Buckeyes downed three-consecutive home opponents by 32 or more points was in 2014 vs. North Carolina A&T (97-55, +42), Miami, Ohio (93-55, +38) and Wright State (100-55, +45). Ohio State, 9-0 at home, has downed the last eight opponents by at least 19 points and own six wins by 25 or more. The Buckeyes have a scoring margin of 32 or more points in 48 wins in Value City Arena History.
Kaleb Wesson Nears Exclusive Club
Ohio State junior Kaleb Wesson is close to entering both the 1,000 career point and 500 career rebound club with 973 points and 492 boards. Wesson would become the 29th Buckeye all-time with both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.
The Ohio State vs. West Virginia Series
Ohio State and West Virginia have met 16 times since 1940 with the Buckeyes owning a 9-7 record. The Mountaineers have won seven of the last eight after the Buckeyes won the first eight contests. The teams have never met on a neutral court. The game Sunday will be the fourth in which Ohio State has been ranked among the Top 25. West Virginia has been ranked in two previous meetings.
Ohio State vs. The Big 12 Conference
Ohio State is 28-23 all-time against teams currently representing the Big 12 Conference. Ohio State has played each school at least once with Baylor being the only team who has not faced the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes last faced a Big 12 team when they took on Iowa State in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Buckeyes won that game 62-59 (3/22/19).
Carton Wins First B1G FOW
After helping the Buckeyes to a pair of wins over Southeast Missouri State and then vs. No. 6 Kentucky in Las Vegas, Ohio State freshman D.J. Carton was named the Big Ten’s Co-Freshman of the week last Monday. Carton averaged 12.5 points over the two wins while shooting 60% from the field (9-15), going 4-for-4 at the foul line, handing out seven assists, blocking a pair of shots and recording a steal in 25.5 minutes per game off the bench. Against Kentucky, he led the Buckeyes in scoring with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds, had two assists, two blocks and a steal.
