Saturday, December 26, 2015

SCSU Bulldogs and OSU Buckeyes tip at 6 p.m. Sunday on Big Ten Network

The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-5) vs. South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-8)

PDF Icon OSU Notes |  PDF Icon SCSU Notes |  PDF Icon Big Ten Notes |

Date: Dec. 27, 2015
Site: Value City Arena (19,049)
Game Time: 6 p.m.
Television: BTN
Talent: Tome Werme (Play-By-Play)
Shon Morris (Expert Analysis)
None (Sideline)
Radio: OSU-IMG Sports Network (56 stations)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 84/XM 84
Local Radio: WBNS-FM 97.1, AM-1460
Radio Talent: Paul Keels (play-by-play)
Ron Stokes (Expert Anelysis)

Starting Five
• Ohio State has shot better from the field than its opponent in 11 of 12 games this season and is 7-5 to date. Ohio State outshot 23 opponents a year ago and was 23-0 in those games. In the Matta era, the Buckeyes have outshot foes 297 times and are 269-28 in those games (.906).
• Since Thad Matta took over the Ohio State program in 2004-05, the Buckeyes have the second most rebounds among Big Ten teams with 13,999. Ohio State also is No. 2 in defensive boards with 9,813. The Buckeyes also are No. 2 in blocks with 1,699.
• Opponents are shooting 75.6 percent (152-201) from the foul line against the Buckeyes, the eighth best nationally. Tulsa foes are shooting 77.9 percent to lead the country. Only one power five conference team is among the Top 20 in free throw percentage defense--Ohio State at No. 8.
• Thad Matta has coached 405 games at Ohio State, the third most in school history. Harold G. Olsen (1923-46) and Fred Taylor (1959-76), have reached 400 or more games at Ohio State. Olsen coached 456 (259-197) and Taylor 455 (297-158).
• Currently, Matta has the second longest tenure in the Big Ten with 12 years on the sidelines in Columbus. Tom Izzo at Michigan State has been with the Spartans over the last 21 seasons.

Matta Owns 11 Wins vs. Top 5 Foes at OSU
Over Thad Matta’s tenure in Columbus (2005-present), the Buckeyes have defeated 11 opponents ranked among the Top 5 in the weekly Associated Press Poll. The most recent win was a 74-67 win over No. 4 Kentucky at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 19, 2015. That game marked the second time an unranked Matta team knocked off a Top 5 foe. The other was his first win over a Top 5 foe while coaching the Buckeyes, a 65-64 win over No. 1 and previously undefeated Illinois March 6, 2005 in the regular season finale for both teams in Columbus. Matta’s Buckeyes have knocked off the nation’s No. 1 team twice, No. 2 three times, No. 3 twice, No. 4 twice and No. 5 twice. Ohio State has four home wins vs. Top 5 in the Matta era, two true road wins and five neutral site victories.

Matta’s 11 wins vs. Top 5 Opponents
Date Opponent AP Rank Score OSU-Opp
3/6/05 Illinois No. 1 65-64
2/25/07 Wisconsin No. 1 49(2)-48
3/11/07 (1) Wisconsin No. 3 66(1)-49
3/24/07 (2) vs. Memphis No. 5 92(1)-76
11/29/12 (3) Duke No. 3 85(2)-63
3/4/12 @Michigan St. No. 5 72(10)-70
3/24/12 (4) vs. Syracuse No. 2 77(7)-70
1/13/13 Michigan No. 2 56(15)-53
2/24/13 Michigan St. No. 4 68(18)-60
3/5/13 @Indiana No. 2 67(14)-58
12/19/15 (5) vs. Kentucky No. 4 74-67
(1)-Big Ten Tournament, United Center, Chicago
(2)-NCAA South Regional Finals, Alamo Dome San Antonio
(3)-Big Ten/ACC Challenge, Value City Arena, Columbus
(4)-NCAA East Regional Finals, TD Garden, Boston
(5)-CBSSports Classic, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

Buckeyes Seldom Rejected
In 12 games this season, opponents have blocked just 21 of Ohio State’s 679 field goal attempts, tied for the 10th fewest in the country. Ohio State has blocked 71 of its 685 opponent shot attempts, tied for 17th most5 nationally. Ohio State opponents have rejected just 3.1 percent of the Buckeyes shot attempts while Ohio State swats 10.4 percent of its foes attempts. The Buckeyes are second in the Big Ten in average blocks per game with 5.9.

Ohio State in the Big Ten
Jae’Sean Tate is tied for the No. 7 spot in rebounding with 6.9 boards a game and is No. 3 in steals with 20 total (1.7 spg.). JaQuan Lyle is No. 7 in assists with an average of 4.4 helpers a game. Daniel Giddens is No. 4 in the league in blocks per game at 2.1 a game while Trevor Thompson is No. 10 in rejections with 1.4 a game. Loving is sixth in minutes per game (34.6). As a team, Ohio State is third in steals with an average of 6.9 thefts a game.

Matta Reaches Career, Ohio State History
Thad Matta has made a habit of achieving records and milestones over his coaching career, which spans 16 years. After a season at Butler, three at Xavier and the last 12 in Columbus, Matta coached his 500th career game as a head coach Dec. 13 vs. Morehead State. As an Ohio State head coach, the 13th in the history of the program, Matta set the all-time wins record, surpassing Fred Taylor’s 297 career victories over 18 seasons from 1959-1976, with a 79-73 win vs. Minnesota March 12, 2015 in Chicago. The Minnesota victory also gave him his 400th career win (408-128). Matta teams have never failed to win at least 20 games. His Ohio State teams have averaged 27.2 victories over his 11 full years in Columbus. He coached in his 400th career game (306-98) at Ohio State when the Buckeyes defeated VMI Dec. 5 (89-62).

Scouting South Carolina State
Ohio State and South Carolina State are meeting for the first time. The Bulldogs have started the season 5-8. Wins this season have come against Voorhees College, Longwood, Allen University, Florida A&M and Jacksonville. Losses are to College of Charleston, Eastern Kentucky, Ball State, Kansas State, Bethune-Cookman, Duquesne, St. Bonaventure and Eastern Carolina. The Bulldogs are led by junior guard Eric Eaves (14.3 ppg.), sophomore guard Ed Stephens (13.8 ppg.) and senior forward Gabe McCray (11.1 ppg.) with double digits offensively. Senior center Daryll Palmer is the team’s leading rebounder with 5.5 boards a game.

Ohio State vs. the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Ohio State is 18-0 all-time vs. the current alignment of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Buckeyes are facing the Bulldogs of South Carolina State for the first time. The Buckeyes own wins vs. all conference members except Maryland-Eastern Shore and North Carolina Central, who have never faced the Buckeyes. The last time Ohio State took on a MEAC affiliate was a season ago when the Buckeyes met North Carolina A&T at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 12 at the time, won 97-55. D’Angelo Russell led Ohio State with 21 points followed by Marc Loving and Kam Williams, each with 15. Shannon Scott handed out 12 assists and recorded seven steals. The Buckeyes made 20 of 22 foul shots (.909) and shot 35 of 62 (.565) from the field overall.

COURTESY OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

No comments:

Post a Comment