Nov. 18, 2005

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Date: Nov. 20, 2005
Opponent: Chicago State
Site: Value City Arena (18,500)
Game Time: 2 p.m.
Television: ESPN Plus
Local TV: WWHO UPN Ch. 53
TV Talent: Tom Hamilton (Play-by-Play), 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)

OHIO STATE SEASON OPENER VS. CHICAGO STATE ON WWHO
The Buckeyes open the season at 2 p.m. Nov. 20 at Value City Arena against Chicago State. The game will be produced by ESPN regional television for broadcast on WWHO Ch. 53 in Columbus. Normally the game would be televised locally on WBNS 10 TV but NFL football telecasts necessitated the move to WWHO.

BUCKEYES END EXHIBITION SEASON WITH WIN OVER ASHLAND 100-67
All 10 Ohio State players on the 2005-06 roster scored at least eight points and played at least 12 minutes as head coach Thad Matta shuffled lineup combinations in a 100-67 win over Ashland last Sunday in Columbus. Junior Ron Lewis led all scorers with 18 points with senior Terence Dials adding 12 and junior Ivan Harris hitting for 10 points. Senior J.J. Sullinger was the top rebounder in the game with 11. Ohio State shot 55 percent from the field (37-67) while holding Ashland to 36 percent shooting (24-67). Sophomore Jamar Butler dished out eight assists with just one turnover for the Buckeyes. Ohio State scored 46 of its points in the paint and more than half of its points (53) came from nonstarters. LEWIS LEADS BUCKEYES DURING EXHIBITION SEASON
Newcomer Ron Lewis, a transfer from Bowling Green who sat out a season ago while practicing with the Buckeyes, was Ohio State's top scorer in two exhibition games leading up to the season opener vs. Chicago State. Lewis averaged 19 points in wins vs. Findlay and Ashland. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds and made 62 percent of his field goal attempts (16-26). Senior Terence Dials also averaged in double figures at 17.0 ppg. Senior J.J. Sullinger was Ohio State's top rebounder at 10.5 rpg. and sophomore Jamar Butler's 12 assists led the squad. Junior college transfer Sylvester Mayes topped the steals list with five while also handing out six assists. As a team, the Buckeyes connected on 54 percent of their field goals (69-128) and 71 percent from the foul line (30-42).

PAYNE ADDED TO ROSTER
Columbus native and Linden McKinley graduate Samuel Payne was added to the Ohio State roster in early November. The 6-foot-2-inch guard averaged 22 points, six rebounds and four assists for LMHS as a senior. The Panthers were Ohio Division II sectional and regional champions and advanced to the Division II Final Four, played at Value City Arena.

MATTA WELCOMES ONE OF NATION'S TOP CLASSES TO COLUMBUS FOR `06
Thad Matta, Ohio State's second year head coach, announced the addition of five student-athletes to the Ohio State program for the 2006-07 season. Greg Oden, a 7-foot center from Indianapolis, is considered to be the best high school player in the country this year. He heads a class of four prep players ranked by various recruiting analysts to be among the Top 30 players nationally. Mike Conley, a 6-1 point guard and Oden's teammate at Lawrence North High School, also signed on with the Buckeyes. Two Ohio natives, Dayton Dunbar's Daequan Cook, a 6-4 guard, and Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph's David Lighty, a 6-5 guard, also will start their academic and athletic careers in the fall of 2006. The fifth member of the class is a junior college transfer from Tampa, Fla. Othello Hunter, a 6-9 forward from Winston-Salem, N.C., will be a junior at Ohio State next season after spending two years at Hillsborough Community College.

OHIO STATE ON THIS DATE
Ohio State will play its third Nov. 20 game when Chicago State visits Columbus for the season opener. Ohio State is 2-0 in the previous two contests played on this date, both of which were played at Value City Arena. The first was the initial Big Ten game played at VCA, a 70-62 win vs. Penn State in 1998. That contest also was the earliest a league game was every contested in Big Ten history. Ohio State's other victory on this date was an 87-62 win vs. Albany in 2001 at VCA.

THE CHICAGO STATE SERIES
The game Nov. 20 vs. Chicago State will be the third in the series vs. the Cougars. The Buckeyes first met CSU Dec. 8, 1990 at St. John Arena, the former home of the Buckeyes, in Columbus. Ohio State, ranked No. 9 at the time by Associated Press voters, defeated Chicago State 112-54. Less than a year later, Nov. 30, 1991, the two teams squared off again at St. John with Ohio State again reaching the century mark with a 116-44 victory. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 4 in the second meeting.

OHIO STATE VS. THE MID-CONTINENT
The game vs. Chicago State will the seventh all-time vs. teams currently representing the Mid-Continent Conference. Ohio State is 5-1 in the previous six meetings with the lone loss coming at the hands of Valparaiso at the Great Alaska Shootout in 2000. The five victories have come against Chicago State (2), IUPUI (1) and Oakland (2). Ohio State has never faced Centenary College, Missouri-Kansas City, Oral Roberts, Southern Utah or Western Illinois.

OHIO STATE IS 87-19 IN HOME OPENERS
Ohio State opens its 107th season of men's basketball against Chicago State. The Buckeyes are 83-23 (.783) all-time in season openers. In the first road game of the year, Ohio State is 50-55 (.476). The Buckeyes did not play a road game in 1900-01. Ohio State is 87-19 (.821) in home openers.

BUCKEYES CLOSE ON 100 Ws AT VCA
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 91 of 113 games for a winning percentage of .805.

MATTA UNBEATEN IN OPENERS
Ohio State is the third stop as a head coach for Thad Matta. In his five previous debuts, Matta defeated Eastern Illinois (90-73) in his first game at Butler in 2000. In his first game as Xavier head coach in 2001, Matta's squad downed Coastal Carolina 72-41. He also guided the Musketeers to season-opening wins in 2002, an 87-48 win over St. Peters in the preseason NIT, and in 2003, a 62-37 victory over Coppin State. In his first game as a Buckeye a year ago, the Buckeyes knocked off Towson University 74-53 in the opening round of the Guardians Classic in Columbus in 2004.

NEW FLOOR INSTALLED AT VCA
The Ohio State basketball teams will play on a new floor in 2005-06. The previous court served seven seasons. The new hardwood has an updated Ohio State logo at center court as well as new Value City logos. Ohio State's scarlet color has been updated after a change was made in 2003. Another change is the removal of the painted areas in the free throw lanes.

OHIO STATE TO FACE SEVERAL TEAMS RANKED IN PRESEASON
The Buckeyes are scheduled to face several teams ranked in the USA Today/ESPN and the Associated Press preseason polls this season. Michigan State (No. 5 in USA Today/No. 4 in AP), Illinois (17/17), Iowa (20/20), Indiana (22/23) and Iowa State (23/25) will face the Buckeyes, who are just outside the Top 25 rankings in 27th place (USA Today) with 72 votes and 30th in the AP with 74. Other teams receiving votes in the preseason polls scheduled to face Ohio State this year are: Wisconsin, LSU and Michigan. The Buckeyes play 11 games against the eight teams on the 2005-06 schedule in the Top 25 or receiving preseason votes.

DIALS, LEWIS PACE BUCKEYES IN EXHIBITION WIN VS. FINDLAY
Senior center Terence Dials and junior guard Ron Lewis combined to score 42 points in Ohio State's 83-53 win against Findlay Nov. 5 in the exhibition opener for the Buckeyes. Dials led all scorers with 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field. He also added six rebounds in 23 minutes of court time. Lewis, a transfer from Bowling Green playing in his first game as a Buckeye, scored 20 points, making 8 of 13 field goals. He also tied for the team lead with three steals. All 10 Buckeyes played double-digit minutes, including seven players with 20 or more. Sophomore Jamar Butler led the team with four assists against a single turnover. He also had two blocks.

The Buckeyes connected on 52.5 percent of their shots (32-61) from the field and 70 percent from the foul line (14-20). Senior J.J. Sullinger led Ohio State to a 44-25 rebounding edge with 10 caroms to compliment 10 points and two assists. Using multiple combinations, Ohio State raced to a 17-6 lead in the early going and a 40-32 edge at the half. The Buckeyes outscored the Oilers 43-21 over the final 20 minutes behind a 54-24 edge in points scored in the paint.

MATTA NAMES SENIOR CAPTAINS
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach, named his captains for the 2005-06 season. Terence Dials, a senior from Youngstown, Ohio, was the lone captain a year ago. He is joined this year by Je'Kel Foster (Sr., Natchez, Miss.), J.J. Sullinger (Sr., Columbus, Ohio) and Matt Sylvester (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio).

A LOOK AT 2005-06
Thad Matta begins his second year as head coach knowing what door to enter to get to his office and where to go to find Ohio State logo apparel for the recruiting trail. Such was not the case a year ago when he was hired to coach the Buckeyes and left recruiting before he was formally introduced as the 13th head coach in OSU history July 9, 2004.

With Value City Arena keys in hand and the combination to the equipment room door committed to memory, Matta has settled in Columbus.

With just over a year in the books, the Ohio State coaching staff is somewhat less frazzled but nonetheless relentless in preparations for the 2005-06 season, the 107th in the history of the program.

Year One produced 20 victories for Matta's squad. One of the most notable triumphs was the 65-64 thriller to end the regular season over undefeated and No. 1-ranked Illinois at Value City Arena.

That victory and the return of five of the top six scorers from a 20-12 squad have expectations on the rise for Ohio State basketball in 2005-06.

DON'T TOUCH THAT DIALS
Senior center Terence Dials is the top returning scorer for the Buckeyes. He led the team with nearly 16 pts. and 8.0 rebs. a game a season ago. He was able to post those numbers despite Ohio State setting numerous Top 10 individual and team 3-point shooting records. Dials has improved his scoring and rebounding numbers in each of his seasons at Ohio State. He reached 500 points and 250 rebounds for the season as a junior and eclipsed 1,000 points and 600 boards for his career. He will be a candidate for All-Big Ten recognition as one of the league's top returning post players this year.

A JOLT TO THE OFFENSE
Ohio State lost 12.0 points a game with the graduation (sociology) of Tony Stockman. In his roster spot enters Ron Lewis, a transfer from Bowling Green, who led the Falcons with an average of 17.0 points a contest as a sophomore. He will have two years of eligibility with the Buckeyes.

Lewis scored 877 points in two years at BGSU. He was a prolific foul shooter during his tenure at Bowling Green, knocking down 81 percent (340-420) of his free throws in his two-year career. Despite his ability to score, Lewis set up his teammates with 164 assists while recording 60 steals in 60 games as a Falcon.

DIALS CLIMBING SCORING CHART
Senior Terence Dials finished his junior year with 1,078 career points, good for the No. 35 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 519 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.

ADDED "O" PART II
Ron Lewis is expected to add a threat offensively but he is not the only addition known to put the ball in the cylinder. Sylvester Mayes averaged 19.6 points at Redlands (Okla.) Community College a year ago. The 6-foot-1-inch guard from South Bend, Ind., scored 609 points, 17th nationally in the junior college ranks as a sophomore. His teams won 59 games with just six losses the last two seasons. Mayes also added 88 assists, 96 rebounds and 91 steals (22nd nationally) last year.

Brayden Bell, a freshman from Salt Lake City, Utah, also is expected to give the Buckeyes a lift offensively. Despite his 6-foot-8-inch, 255-pound frame, Bell has demonstrated an ability to step away from the basket to knock down the 3-pointer and mid-range jumper. He averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds as a Brighton High School senior a year ago.

A PAIR OF FIRST TEAMERS
Sylvester Mayes was a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) First Team All-American for Redlands Community College as a sophomore. He shot 51 percent from the field (201-397), 42 percent from 3-point range (68-164) and 77 percent from the foul line (139-181) in leading Redlands to a 27-4 record in 2004-05. He is one of two first team NJCAA All-Americans on the Ohio State roster. Je'Kel Foster earned the same recognition before joining the Buckeyes a year ago. Foster played at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. Last year, Foster averaged 7.7 points a game for Ohio State while knocking down 43 percent of his 3-point attempts (62-145). He added 78 assists and 43 steals as well. He also grabbed 104 rebounds. His all-around effort earned him a starting spot the final 12 games of the season, helping Ohio State to a 20-12 overall record.

TOP 5 OF 6
Though Matta is looking forward to the newcomers and their possible contributions, he has not overlooked the return of five of the top six scorers from last season. Senior Terence Dials, a candidate for first team All-Big Ten honors this year, is the top returning scorer at 15.9 points a game. The 6-9 center also is the team's top returning rebounder with an average of 7.9 a contest. Also back are senior guard J.J. Sullinger (9.7 ppg./5.4 rpg.), senior wing Matt Sylvester (8.0 ppg.), senior guard Je'Kel Foster (7.7 ppg.) and junior wing Ivan Harris (7.3 ppg.). In all, Ohio State returns 74 percent of its offense and 81 percent of its rebounding.

MATTA GOES FOR 6TH 20
Thad Matta doesn't know what it's like to end a season with fewer than 20 wins during his head coaching career. The second year Ohio State coach came to the Buckeyes with a streak of four 20+ win seasons at Butler (24 wins in 2001) and Xavier (26 in all three years from 2002-04). With 20 victories a year ago at Ohio State, Matta is one of two coaches nationally to record 20 or more wins in the first five seasons of his coaching career. Mark Few of Gonzaga is the other with 20+ in all six years with the Bulldogs.

CLOSING ON 2 MILLION
For the seventh-consecutive season, all of which played at Value City Arena, Ohio State finished among the Top 18 teams nationally in average attendance. The Buckeyes averaged 13,850 fans last year in 16 home games at VCA. Overall, in 113 games at VCA, a total of 1,853,038 fans, an average of 16,399 per game, have helped the Buckeyes to a record of 91-22 at the facility. Ohio State will exceed the 2 million mark in home attendance at VCA during the 2005-06 season when fan No. 146,962 enters the building. The Buckeyes have won 14 or more home games in five of the seven years at VCA and 11 or more in six of seven.

OHIO NATIVES DOMINATE BUCKEYE ROSTER
Eight of the 11 players on the roster this year chose to stay in state, play for the Buckeyes and pursue their education in Columbus. Seniors Terence Dials (Youngstown), Matt Sylvester (Cincinnati), J.J. Sullinger (Columbus); juniors Ron Lewis (Columbus) and Ivan Harris (Springfield); sophomores Jamar Butler (Lima) and Matt Terwilliger (Troy) and freshman Samuel Payne (Columbus) all played high school basketball for their hometown teams in Ohio.

BUCKEYES LOOK TO ELDERS
Terence Dials, J.J. Sullinger and Matt Sylvester are the Top 3 returning scorers for Ohio State. The three have been in Columbus a combined total of 14 years entering the 2005-06 season. All were fifth-year seniors when school started in September. Both Dials and Sylvester have spent all five years at Ohio State with each missing a season with injury. Dials sat out most of the 2002-03 season with a back ailment while Sylvester missed the majority of 2001-02 with leg and back injuries. Sullinger played one year at Arkansas before leaving for Ohio State. He sat out the 2002-03 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules. In addition to these three, Je'Kel Foster again will be a significant contributor in 2005-06. He too is a senior with three years playing experience, two at the junior college level and one season in Columbus.

UNDERCLASSMEN WILL GET A SHOT
With experience throughout the roster this year, Ohio State's returning underclassmen still will get opportunities to perform. Sophomore Jamar Butler started the final 12 games of the season at the point position and is the early leader to run the Ohio State offense this year. Matt Terwilliger, a reserve post player a year ago, has bulked up in the offseason. He will work with newcomer Brayden Bell to add depth in the post behind Dials.

TERWILLIGER PLAYS IN SPAIN WITH BIG TEN TEAM
Sophomore Matt Terwilliger traveled with the summer Big Ten touring team to Spain Aug. 9-19. The squad was coached by Bruce Weber of Illinois. Terwilliger played in 15 games as a freshman a year ago for the Buckeyes. He averaged just more than five minutes of court time a game, contributing 23 points and 12 rebounds on the season. The Big Ten team finished with a 2-3 record in Spain with Terwilliger averaging 5.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in the five games.

2007 NCAA TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO COLUMBUS
The NCAA tournament will return to Columbus for the opening rounds of the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the organization announced in July 2004. Ohio State played host to the first and second rounds in March 2004. Games were played at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, which will again be the site of the event in 2007. Ohio State will act as the host institution for the event.