Buckeyes Hold Annual Media Day Tuesday in Columbus
9/24/2019 4:30:24 PM | Men's Basketball
ADDITIONAL INFO
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s basketball team held its 2019-20 media day Tuesday afternoon at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeye upperclassmen and third-year head coach Chris Holtmann met with members of the media to discuss the 2019-20 season.
THIRD SEASON UNDER HEAD COACH CHRIS HOLTMANN
Chris Holtmann, head coach of the Buckeyes, begins his third season in Columbus after posting a 25-9 overall record in 2017-18 and a 20-15 in 2018-19. Ohio State has advanced to the second round of both the 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments. The Buckeyes defeated South Dakota State before falling to Gonzaga in the 2018 West Regional in Boise, Idaho. Last year, Ohio State knocked of Iowa State before falling to Houston in the Midwest Regional in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
BUCKEYES RETURN NINE LETTERWINNERS, THREE STARTERS
Ohio State returns nine letterwinners and three starters from the 2018-19 squad that advanced finished the season with a 20-15 record, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Junior forward Kaleb Wesson is back after pacing the Buckeyes with 14.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest while his brother, Andre, also returns after averaging 8.6 points and 4.1 boards as a junior a season ago. Ohio State also welcomes back a host of rising juniors and sophomores who gained valuable experience in 2018-19. In all, the nine returning Buckeyes have played in 402 career games with 171 starts.
The season is upon us.#Team121 pic.twitter.com/dtXahEpxjz
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) September 24, 2019
NOTING THE 2019-20 SCHEDULE
– Ohio State will play its first seven games of the season, plus an exhibition, at home with six at Value City Arena and one at St. John Arena. Three of the four non-Big Ten games in December will be played outside Columbus (vs. North Carolina in Big Ten/ACC Challenge, vs. Kentucky in CBSSports Challenge (Las Vegas) and vs. West Virginia in Cleveland Classic).
– The Buckeyes again will take part in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Ohio State travels to North Carolina this year Dec. 4.
– Now in its sixth year, Ohio State will again play in the CBSSports Classic. The event will take place in Las Vegas this season Dec. 21. The Buckeyes take on Kentucky while North Carolina and UCLA play in the second game.
– Villanova will travel to Ohio State Nov. 13. The game is part of The Gavitt Games, which pits members of the Big Ten vs. Big East opponents.
– Two Big Ten Conference games will be played in early December after the league expanding to a 20-game, regular-season slate in 2018-19. Ohio State will play Penn State in Columbus Dec. 7 and travel to Minnesota Dec. 15.
– The annual Big Ten Tournament will be contested in Indianapolis in 2020, Chicago in 2021 and then back to Indianapolis in 2022.
– The Buckeyes will have 18 home games in 2018-19 plus an exhibition contest vs. Cedarville Oct. 30. Seven Big Ten teams (Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, Wisconsin and Nebraska) battle the Buckeyes twice during the regular season with three (Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers) traveling only to Columbus. Ohio State hits the road to face Iowa, Michigan State and Northwestern this year.
– Ohio State will play 19 regular-season games against 13 teams that advanced to postseason play in 2019. Fifteen games are scheduled vs. 2019 NCAA Tournament teams (Maryland-2, Minnesota-2, Michigan State-1, Michigan-2, Wisconsin-2, Villanova-1, Purdue-1, Cincinnati-1, Iowa-1, Kentucky-1, North Carolina-1) while four contests pit the Buckeyes vs. 2019 NIT squads (Indiana-2, Nebraska-2).
