No. 19 Ohio State Hosts No. 23 Illinois on Senior Night Thursday
3/4/2020 10:24:16 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)
Radio OSU-IMG Sports Network (67 stations)
Listen Free: Ohio State Buckeyes App | OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Local Radio WBNS-FM 97.1
AM-1460
Satellite Radio Sirius (84) / XM (84)
Radio Talent Paul Keels (Play-By-Play)
Ron Stokes (Expert Analysis)
Live Stats Gameday Live
Game Notes Ohio State | Purdue | Big Ten
Preview Press Conference Ohio State
Follow the Buckeyes on Social Media Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
2019-20 Game Notes Game Notes Archive
Tickets Single Game | Group | Season | Student
Senior Day in Columbus
Just prior to tip vs. Illinois, the Ohio State men’s basketball program will honor five seniors taking the Value City Arena court for the final time. Three student managers, Sean Gill, Matt Plank and Avery Van Reeth along with student-athletes Danny Hummer and Andre Wesson will be recognized along with their families in a pregame ceremony.
Starting Five
- The Buckeyes are 1,163-418 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 on the same team in NCAA Division I this season and one of two sets in the Big Ten (Iowa, McCaffery) 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 most recent Buckeye to reach the milestone with 1,213 career points over his career. He became the 37th Ohio State player all-time to reach 500 rebounds with nine vs. West Virginia Dec. 29. His 14 points vs. Michigan March 1 moved him over the 1,200-point mark.
- Ohio State will play before at least five sold out crowds at Value City Arena in 2020. The Wisconsin (19,049, Jan. 3), Indiana (18,809, Feb. 1), Purdue (18,809, Feb. 15), Maryland (18,809, Feb. 23) and Michigan (18,809, March 1) games are sellouts. There is limited availability for Illinois Thursday.
Off the Bench
- The Ohio State Department of Athletics and the men’s basketball program will recognize the 1960 National Championship Team at halftime of the game vs. Illinois March 5. That team finished the year with a 25-3 record and a 13-1 record in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes defeated California in the national championship game 75-55 at the Final Four in San Francisco March 19, 1960.
- Ohio State is 64-19 all-time when games are sold out at Value City Arena. Ohio State is 56-16 in sold out games against the Big Ten, including a 22-11 record against ranked conference opponents. The last sellout at VCA was vs. No. 19 Michigan March 1, 2020 (W, 77-63).
- Ohio State is 1,708-1,102 all-time, including a 20-9 record 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 Ohio State has played 14 Quad 1 games (6-8) with a total of two Quad 1 (Michigan State) and Quad 2 (Illinois) 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 125 games while junior Kaleb Wesson has taken the court as a Buckeye 94 times. In 334 games played, the Wessons have scored 2,280 points for an average of 6.8 a game. Andre passed Keith in total games played at Northwestern Jan. 28.
- In three seasons as Ohio State head coach, Chris Holtmann teams have made 10 or more 3s 26 times (20-6 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 11-0 this year when make 10+ 3-pointers.
- The Buckeyes have made 30 or more field goals seven times this year (7-0) after doing so three times a season ago (3-0). Chris Holtmann Ohio State teams have scored 30 or more FGs in 22 games during his tenure (21-1) after doing so 12 times in his first year (12-1). Ohio State has won its last nine games when reaching at least 30 FGs made.
Buckeyes Post 20 Wins in 2019-20, Now Have 20+ Wins in 15 of the Last 16 Seasons
Ohio State has 30 seasons with 20 or more wins and three with 30 or more. Chris Holtmann has won at least 20 games in each of his three years at Ohio State and the Buckeyes have won 20 or more in 15 of the last 16 seasons. The Buckeyes are 20-9 this year after the win vs. No. 19 Michigan last Sunday.
Kaleb Wesson Welcomed to Exclusive Club
Ohio State junior Kaleb Wesson has entered both the 1,000 career point and 500 career rebound club with 1,213 points and 661 boards. Wesson became the 29th Buckeye all-time with both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.
The Ohio State vs. Illinois Series
Illinois leads the all-time series with Ohio State 103-73. The Buckeyes are 45-42 in Columbus and 26-60 in Champaign. The teams have met three times on a neutral court with Ohio State owning a 2-1 record in those games. Ranked Ohio State teams are 28-11 against the Illini while Illinois is 36-10 when ranked in games vs. the Buckeyes. When both teams are ranked when facing one another, Illinois leads 6-5. Several Buckeyes have appeared in just three games vs. the Illini in their careers. Kaleb Wesson leads the way with 11.3 points a game and 7.3 rebounds.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois enters the game vs. the Buckeyes at 20-9 overall and 12-6 in Big Ten Conference play. Illinois has won its last four games in league play. The Illini are led by sophomore Ayo Dosunmu’s 16.4 points per game. He is followed by freshman center Kofi Cockburn (13.6 ppg.) and senior guard Andres Feliz (10.9 ppg.). Cockburn is the leading rebounder with 9.0 boards a game.
Ohio State vs. the Big Ten
The Buckeyes own an overall record of 836-738 against current league members. Chris Holtmann faced six league opponents during his six years as a head coach prior to taking over for the Buckeyes in 2017-18. He entered his first year of Big Ten competition with a 4-5 record vs. conference foes. He is 38-32 vs. conference opponents in nine years as a head coach.
Â
