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#18 Ohio State 104, Penn State 69 (final)

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Link: http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/010306aaa.html

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Buckeyes Open Conference Play, Host Penn State



No. 18 Ohio State (10-0) remains one of eight teams nationally with unblemished records.
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Senior Je'Kel Foster is connecting on 65.4 percent of his shots from the field.

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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Sans Serif]HEADLINES[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Sans Serif][SIZE=-2]Buckeyes Open Conference Play, Host Penn State
No. 21 Ohio State Remains Undefeated With Last-Second Shot
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Jan. 3, 2006

Complete Release in PDF Format
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Date Jan. 5, 2006
Opponent Penn State (8-3, 0-0)
Site Value City Arena (18,500)
Game Time 8 p.m. EST
Television ESPN Plus
Local TV WBNS 10 TV
TV Talent Tom Hamilton (P-by-P), Bill Hosket (Expert Analysis)
Radio OSU Radio Network (59 stations)
Local Radio WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460
Radio Talent Paul Keels (P-by-P), Ron Stokes (Expert Analysis)

BUCKEYES OPEN 94th SEASON IN BUG TEN CONFERENCE
This is the 94th season of Big Ten membership in men's basketball for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 51-42 (.548) in conference openers, 63-30 (.678) in league home openers and 35-58 (.376) in the first road game of the season in Big Ten play. Ohio State has opened Big Ten play on the road 41 times and has a 17-24 record in those games. The Buckeyes are 34-18 when Big Ten play begins in Columbus. Ohio State has opened the league season on the road in each of the last four seasons but will begin league play this year against Penn State Jan. 5, 2006 in Columbus.
BUCKEYES ONE WIN SHY OF 100 AT VALUE CITY ARENA
Ohio State is playing in its eighth season at Value City Arena in 2005-06. Since the facility opened for the 1998-99 campaign, the squad has won 99 of 121 games (.818). Ohio State has won its last nine games vs. at VCA, including all eight to date this season.
BUCKEYES AMONG TOP 20 IN BOTH AP AND COACHES POLLS
Ohio State cracked the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time (Dec. 19) since March of 2002 when the Buckeyes finished the season rated No. 14. The Buckeyes are currently No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 18 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. The Buckeyes are 313-100 (.758) when playing as a ranked team in the AP poll. Ohio State has cracked the poll at least once in 28 seasons since its first appearance in 1948-49. The Buckeyes are 31-4 overall and 11-1 vs. non-conference foes at Value City Arena when ranked by AP. The only non-conference loss was a 59-54 setback to Notre Dame in the opening round of the 1999 preseason National Invitation Tournament. OSU was No. 4 in that Nov. 16 game vs. the Fighting Irish.

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OHIO STATE VS. THE NITTANY LIONS
Ohio State has won its last four meetings vs. Penn State, including all three meetings a year ago. The Buckeyes have won seven of the last eight meetings and the last three contested in Columbus. Ohio State owns an 11-4 advantage in games played in Columbus. Penn State has dropped its last three games at VCA and is 1-5 overall since 1998. Penn State was the first Big Ten team to face the Buckeyes at Value City Arena, a 70-62 setback Nov. 20, 1998. Ohio State is 4-2 vs. the Nittany Lions when ranked among the Associated Press Top 25.
FOSTER LEADS OFFENSIVELY VS. PSU
In three games a year ago vs. Penn State, Ohio State senior Je'Kel Foster averaged 13.3 points. He made 10 of 14 3-pointers (.714) vs. the Nittany Lions while connecting on 60 percent of his field goal attempts (12-20). Foster also averaged 5.7 rebounds in games vs. PSU. Terence Dials has the most experience vs. PSU with six games played. He averages 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds vs. Penn State. J.J. Sullinger has scored 44 points in five games (8.8 ppg. vs. PSU.
BUCKEYES AMONG EIGHT UNBEATEN
No. 18 Ohio State (10-0) remains one of eight teams nationally with unblemished records. Illinois leads the way with a 14-0 record followed by Florida (12-0), Duke (11-0), Connecticut (11-0), Pittsburgh (11-0), Texas A&M (10-0) and Villanova (9-0).
MATTA OUT TO TOP 3 START AT OHIO STATE
Thad Matta will coach his 50th game of his OSU career Jan. 30 against Florida A&M with a chance to be one of the top three coaches all-time at OSU in winning percentage after the first 50 games at Ohio State. Matta has 42 games under his belt with a 30-12 record to date (.714). The Buckeyes will need to win seven of the next eight games for Matta take over the top spot from Fred Taylor (1959-76) and Randy Ayers (1990-97), who both won 36 of their first 50 contests at Ohio State for a winning percentage of .720. Six victories in the next eight games would tie Matta with Taylor and Ayers. Matta is out to a 10-0 start in this his second season with the Buckeyes. Ayers started 17-0 in year two (1990-91). Taylor guided the Buckeyes to a national title in his second season with a 25-3 record (1959-60).
1st 50 Gms at OSUCoach (Yrs. at OSU)WLPct.Fred R. Taylor (1959-76)3614.720Randy Ayers (1990-97)3614.720Thad Matta (2005- present)3012.714Harold G. Olsen (1923-46)3218.640Lynn W. St. John (1912-19)3119.620Gary Williams (1987-89)3020.600Floyd S. Stahl (1951-58)1733.515George M. Trautman (1920-22)2426.480William H.H. Dye (1947-50)2426.480Jim O'Brien (1998-2004)2327.460Eldon Miller (1977-86)2129.420
BUCKEYES LOOK FOR 9TH NON-CONFERENCE HOME WIN
Since Value City Arena opened for the 1998-99 season, Ohio State has won at least seven home games vs. non-conference teams in seven of eight seasons, which includes the Buckeyes' 8-0 record vs. non-Big Ten foes at VCA this year with one game remaining on the non-conference schedule. Florida A&M travels to Columbus Jan. 30, 2006. The Buckeyes have been undefeated in home non-conference games at VCA twice. OSU was 7-0 in 1998-99 and 8-0 a year ago. The Buckeyes were 8-1 for three-consecutive seasons starting with 1999-2000 through 2001-02. Ohio State is 59-6 overall vs. non-conference foes at VCA. Thad Matta is 16-0 as a Buckeye head coach against non-league foes at VCA.
FOSTER LEADS ALL GUARDS NATIONALLY IN SHOOTING PERCENTAGE
Senior Je'Kel Foster is connecting on 65.4 percent of his shots from the field to rate No. 6 nationally in field goal shooting percentage. He is the only guard listed among the Top 26 players in the country in field goal shooting percentage as of the Dec. 19 NCAA statistics report. Foster also rates No. 3 nationally in 3-point shooting percentage, knocking down 56.9 (29-51) percent from long range. Foster is second in the Big Ten in both shooting categories and also is the league leader in steals (2.7) and 3-pointers made per game (2.9).
FOSTER EARNS NATIONAL, LEAGUE HONOR AFTER 3-0 WEEK FOR OSU
Senior Je'Kel Foster averaged 18 points over three wins over Norfolk State (12/12), Belmont (12/14) and Iowa State (12/17) to earn Sporting News national player of the week honors (Dec. 11-17). Foster also was the Big Ten player of the week after knocking down 63 percent of his field goals (17-27) and 58 percent (11-19) of his 3-point FG tries for the week. His 28 points, on 9 of 12 shooting from the field and 6 of 8 from 3-point range, set a career high vs. Iowa State in a neutral-site contest vs. the Cyclones in Des Moines, Iowa. Foster leads Ohio State with 16.5 points a game. Foster leads the Buckeyes with 27 steals and has made a team-best 83 percent of his foul shots (30-36).
BUCKEYES SET 3-POINT SHOOTING RECORD IN WIN VS. IOWA STATE
Ohio State connected on 10 of 22 3-point attempts vs. Iowa State Dec. 17 to give the team 10 or more made 3-pointers in four-consecutive games, a first for the Buckeyes. Ohio State made 10 of 19 vs. Belmont (Dec. 14), 11 of 19 treys at St. Joe's (Dec. 10) to start the streak and then knocked down 14 of 32 against Norfolk State Dec. 12. Ohio State has made 10 or more from beyond the arc in back-to-back games just six times dating back to the 1986-87 season, the first campaign for the 3-point shot. Opponents have connected on 10+ treys in three-consecutive games or more twice, with both streaks coming during the 1997-98 season. USC (13 of 33), Chattanooga (11 of 25), Kansas (10 of 25) and New Mexico State (16 of 39) set the record with four-consecutive games with 10+ 3-pointers vs. the Buckeyes between Dec. 20 and Dec. 29, 1997. Michigan (10 of 21), Iowa (10 of 24) and Penn State (10 of 22) turned in a streak of three games later that season between Feb. 11 and Feb. 16, 1998. Ohio State and opponents have hit 10 or more 3s in the same game on four occasions. Belmont connected on 10 of 18 in the loss to the Buckeyes Dec. 14. Ohio State is 3-1 in those games. In all, the Buckeyes are 26-5 in the 31 games when scoring on 10 or more 3s while opponents are 29-28 in 57 games with double digits treys made.
OSU 3-pt. Shooting Streak Opp.3 FG-APct.W/L, ScoreDateSt. Joe's11-19.539W, 81-7412/10Norfolk St.14-32.438W, 92-5912/12Belmont10-19.526W, 85-7512/14Iowa St.10-22.455W, 70-6712/17Totals45-92.489
LEWIS GIVES BUCKEYES OFFENSIVE SPARK OFF BENCH
In the first 10 games, Ohio State has had 40 double figure games for an average of 4.0 players per game with 10 or more points. Ron Lewis and Je'Kel Foster have scored in double digits in nine of 10 games this season to lead the Buckeyes in double-digit outings. Lewis has scored 10 or more off the bench seven times this season.
MATTA'S BUCKEYES ALREADY TAKING OVER 3-POINT SHOOTING RECORDS
In less than two full seasons as head coach of the Buckeyes, Thad Matta has put his mark in the OSU record book. Six of the Top 10 team 3-point shooting performances have been established in the last two years, including the Top 4 performances. Ohio State knocked down 18 treys in a double overtime loss at LSU last year to set the record for 3s made in a game at Ohio State. The Buckeyes made 17 vs. Chattanooga last November and then knocked down 15 at Clemson in early December a year ago. The No. 4 effort was put in the books Dec. 12 vs. Norfolk St. when the Buckeyes connected on 14 of 32 3-point attempts. Ohio State made a dozen 3s vs. Iowa last year, the eighth most made in a game and the 11 made at St. Joe's (Dec. 10) ranks 10th. The 32 attempts vs. Norfolk State rank No. 3 all time for 3-pointers attempted by the Buckeyes in a game. Matta's teams own eight of the Top 10 spots for 3-pointers attempted in a game at OSU. His teams have made 10 or more 3s in a game 13 times and have a 10-3 record in those games. Matta's opponents at Ohio State have made 10 or more just three times and are 1-2 in those games.
BUCKEYE OFFENSE CLICKS EARLY, FOUR AVERAGE DOUBLE DIGITS
Ohio State is averaging 79.6 points in the first 10 games of the season, including the most recent win, a 78-76 win vs. LSU. Opponents average 65.1 ppg. The Buckeyes have made nearly 50 percent of their field goals (263-534), while allowing opponents to make just 42 percent (250-597). From the foul line, Ohio State has taken 251 shots, making 185 (.737), while foes have gone to the line 131 times, making 88 (.672). The Buckeyes own the rebound advantage (34.8-31.9). Balance has been the norm with four players averaging nine or more points a game. Je'Kel Foster leads the team with 16.5 points a game. Ron Lewis (12.4 ppg.), Terence Dials (14.7 ppg.) and J.J. Sullinger (9.7 ppg.) all follow. Sullinger averages 7.9 rebounds a game to pace the squad.
MATTA IMPROVES TO 21-3 IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES AT OSU
Ohio State won 11 of 14 non-Big Ten Conference games in 2004-05, the first season at OSU for head coach Thad Matta. With the 10-0 start to date in non-conference action in 2005-06, Matta improved to 21-3 against non-league foes. The Buckeyes are 17-0 in Columbus and 16-0 in Value City Arena under Matta's direction. Ohio State defeated Chattanooga 84-67 in St. John Arena, the former home of the Buckeyes on the OSU campus, a year ago. Ohio State is 8-1 in the month of November with Matta at the helm and 13-1 in December.
OHIO STATE LOOKS TO MOVE TO 11-0
The Buckeyes, off to a 10-0 start, face Penn State with the chance to move to 11-0 for the first time since the 1990-91 season when the Buckeyes started the season 17-0 before a loss at Michigan State (1/31/91). Ohio State has been 11-0 on three previous occasions all-time.
DIALS CLIMBING SCORING CHART
Senior Terence Dials has 1,225 career points, good for the No. 25 spot all-time in scoring at Ohio State. He scored 509 points a season ago and with a similar season in 2005-06, Dials has a chance to crack the Top 10 all-time in career scoring. Robin Freeman (1954-56) scored 1,597 career points during his Ohio State career and is 10th all-time in OSU scoring annals. Dials needs 372 or more points to reach the Top 10. The most recent Buckeye to crack the Top 10 was Michael Redd, who currently plays for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. He finished his OSU career in 2000 with 1,879 career points.
DIALS CLOSE TO 700 CLUB
Senior Terence Dials is on track to become one of Ohio State's Top 10 rebounders of all time. He has 690 boards and will become one of just 12 Buckeyes to reach the 700 mark with 10 more rebounds this season. If he reaches the 253 total rebounds he grabbed as a junior, he will tie for the No. 5 spot all time with Clark Kellogg (1980-82) with 872. There are four players with 900 or more rebounds in Ohio State history led by Jerry Lucas (1960-62) with 1,411, a total reached in just three seasons. Herb Williams (1978-81) is No. 2 with 1,111. Perry Carter (989, 1988-91) and Bill Hosket (910, 1966-68) are the only other two players to record 900 or more career rebounds. Hosket's total also was recorded in three years.
1,000 X 3
Ohio State's roster could soon contain three players who have scored 1,000 or more points in their collegiate careers. Terence Dials and Ron Lewis already have accomplished the feat. Dials' total stands at 1,225 points scored to date, good for 25th on the all-time list at OSU. Lewis, who transferred to Ohio State with 877 points to his credit after two seasons at Bowling Green, has a career total of 1,001, which includes 124 scored as a Buckeye. Senior J.J. Sullinger has scored 983 career points. He played one season at Arkansas, scoring 273 points in 2001-02, and now is in his third year at Ohio State.
PENN STATE TRAVELS WITH 8-3 RCD.
Penn State cruised to its eighth victory of the year with a 65-53 win over Mount St. Mary's last Saturday. The Nittany Lions shot 50 percent from the field (22-of-44) and also won the rebounding battle for the ninth time in 11 games as they completed the non-conference slate with an 8-3 mark, Penn State's best since going 10-1 in 2000-01. Penn State trailed just once when Mt. St. Mary's Mychal Kearse scored the game's first bucket. Penn State answered with 10 points and an eventual 24-2 run as they held The Mount without a bucket from the field for nearly 10 minutes and claimed a 24-4 lead at the 10:10 mark. Three Nittany Lions scored in double-figures led by sophomore Geary Claxton with 16. Freshman Jamelle Cornley added 14 and senior Travis Parker 10 on the day. CLAXTON NITTANY LIONS
Geary Claxton is the top scorer for the Nittany Lions with 14.8 points per game. He also is the top rebounder with 6.5 caroms a contest. Columbus native Jamelle Cornley is second in scoring with 12.3 ppg. Travis Parker is the final of three double digit scorers with 11.1 points a game.
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Let the BUG Ten conference play begin....
 
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1/5/06

Buckeyes undefeated heading into Big Ten season

By Rusty Miller
Associated Press
COLUMBUS | Ohio State has reached the point where it expects to win.

The 18th-ranked Buckeyes, one of only eight remaining unbeaten teams left in Division I, trailed by 10 points with 2½ minutes left Saturday against tall and talented LSU. They came back to win 78-76, not because of superior play or impressive depth so much as their simple refusal to go away quietly.

"Where did it come from?" repeated Je'Kel Foster, the team's floor leader and toughest player. "We stuck together in hard times. I couldn't have better teammates. We were down 10, but we stuck together. Everybody was gasping for air but we just found a way to get it done."

The Buckeyes came into the season under the cloud of additional NCAA penalties for infractions committed during the tenure of former coach Jim O'Brien. Ohio State is to hear within the next two months if it will receive more sanctions for seven violations alleged by the NCAA.

Last year's team was 20-12 under first-year coach Thad Matta and knocked off top-ranked and unbeaten Illinois in the final regular-season game on Matt Sylvester's 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left. That team didn't get to play in the NCAA tournament because school officials, in an effort to mitigate possible NCAA sanctions, decided in December that the team would not play in the postseason.

The NCAA problems add an air of uncertainty to the this season. The Buckeyes have only 10 scholarship players because of self-imposed limitations.

Yet without a household name on the roster, the Buckeyes continue to win.
The latest victory came on Sylvester's 3-pointer from the left baseline with 5.5 seconds left against LSU. Sylvester came into the game shooting just over 30 percent from the field.

Ohio State ran off the final 12 points to move to 10-0 for the first time since the 1990-91 season.

Ohio State features 6-foot-9 Terence Dials, a solid player who isn't as physical or as tall as many other teams' post players. Matta also relies heavily on Foster, a junior-college transfer who has blossomed into a team leader and star shooter.

Foster is hitting 65.4 percent of his shots from the field, best of any guard in the nation. He's also making 57 percent of his 3-pointers, third best in the country regardless of position.

It was Foster who wriggled through two defenders and awkwardly flipped an overhead pass to Sylvester which set up the game-winner against LSU.

"That's a testament to his toughness and tenacity," Matta said. "It was tremendous."

Jamar Butler starts at point guard for the Buckeyes, a former Mr. Basketball in Ohio who seldom turns the ball over and repeatedly delivers it to the team's shooters. J.J. Sullinger is an undersized forward at 6-5 yet leads the team in rebounding. Sylvester starts but shares the floor with Ron Lewis, a transfer from Bowling Green who is averaging double figures off the bench.

Sylvester Mayes fills in at both guard spots, and Matt Terwilliger gives Dials an occasional breather.

Next up for the overachieving Buckeyes is their conference opener Thursday night against Penn State.

A year after having their postseason dreams shattered, they can't wait to turn more heads.

"That was the goal, to go out here and win every game possible," Dials said. "Now we've succeeded and we've got the toughest test yet, the Big Ten."
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1/5/06

OSU MEN’S BASKETBALL

10-0 OSU puts itself to ultimate test in Big Ten

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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At 10-0, Ohio State is one of six undefeated teams left in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. It is nationally ranked entering the Big Ten season for the first time in six years. It is one of the top 10 teams in the country, according to the Rating Percentage Index power ranking.


But how good are the Buckeyes, really, as they open Big Ten play tonight against Penn State in Value City Arena?

They have not played a ranked team, which they will Saturday at Indiana. They have holes in their defense that not only Iowa State and LSU but also some mid-majors slipped through to score. But they have had the wherewithal to somehow find a way to beat them all.

"They’re one of these teams that you would never envision being undefeated at this point in the season," said former OSU All-American Bill Hosket, who as a television analyst has had a courtside seat for most games.

"But they play so hard and they play so well together," Hosket added, "and they seem to play with the knowledge they’re not good enough to just show up and win. They have to play hard, and they realize if they do play hard, really good things are going to happen."

A 20-3 comeback in the last 5:36 against LSU on Saturday was the latest good thing to happen to the Buckeyes. It helped them climb to No. 18 in both major polls this week.

Ohio State was No. 8 in the RPI yesterday despite a strength-ofschedule ranking of 102, higher than 26 of the top 30 teams in the RPI. The fact that the Buckeyes are still undefeated has much to do with their lofty ranking, said Jerry Palm, who operates CollegeRPI.com.

"Is it a good reflection of where Ohio State is relative to these other (top) teams? I don’t know," Palm said.

"At least in early January, most teams are probably closer to their poll ranking than they are to their RPI ranking. The longer you go, the more you see the top 25 in the polls and the top 25 in the RPI start to match."

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who worked Ohio State’s win at St. Joseph’s and said he has seen other games, said he expects the Buckeyes to be a top-20 team all season.

"That does not mean they’re not going to get clipped and lose games," Bilas said. "They can beat anybody, absolutely. But they can lose to a lot of teams, also.

"The game against LSU was a huge win, to come back the way they did. I didn’t think they played particularly well, but to execute at the end and make plays like they did and play to win without fear of losing was pretty impressive. They play with a really good demeanor."

Coach Thad Matta hopes that continues.

"The No. 1 thing we need to do is keep the focus on getting better on a daily basis and not say, ‘Hey, we’re sitting at 10-0, everything’s great,’ " Matta said. "What we need is guys that aren’t satisfied that we’re winning, that have a mind-set that they’re going to come in (to practice) and get better."

Center Terence Dials said the Buckeyes are "getting better every day." But how good they are, or can be, is still to be determined, he said.

"We still have some games to (play) that will let you know where we’re at on a national level," Dials said. "That’s going to be the toughest test yet, seeing how we rate against those folks."

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1/5/06

Freshman Cornley delivers for Lions

Thursday, January 05, 2006




First was Calvin Booth of Groveport and then, briefly, Robert Summers of Gahanna. Tonight it’s Jamelle Cornley of Brookhaven, the latest Penn State big man who returns for a shot at the hometown team that didn’t recruit him.

The Nittany Lions’ game at Ohio State will be the first Big Ten test for Cornley, a freshman. He is averaging 12.3 points and 4.6 rebounds and shooting 59.3 percent from the field.

The fact Cornley is an inside player probably an inch shorter than his listed height of 6 feet 6 is the reason most major conference schools looked past him. The Buckeyes say they won’t overlook him tonight.

"I’m thinking he has something to prove coming back home. He didn’t get a chance to come here and be in an Ohio State jersey. I know how that feels," said guard Ron Lewis, Cornley’s former Brookhaven teammate who played two years at Bowling Green before transferring to Ohio State.

Center Terence Dials said he saw Cornley play in high school.

"I know what he’s capable of," Dials said, "and he obviously has a chip on his shoulder being a Columbus guy and not being able to get a scholarship offer from Ohio State. He’s going to come in here and play his hardest and try to make something happen in front of his home crowd."


— Bob Baptist

[email protected]
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