MBB Hosts Ohio State Sunday
Feb 05 | Men's Basketball
| No. 20/20 Ohio State at Rutgers | |
| Date | Sunday, February 8, 2015 |
| Time | 5:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Piscataway, N.J | The RAC |
| Television | Big Ten Network Kevin Kugler and Jon Crispin |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin & Dick Lloyd Rutgers Student Radio - WRSU (88.7 FM) |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Ohio State |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Ohio State | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
Rutgers Game Notes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After a pair of hard-fought Big Ten road games, Rutgers (10-14, 2-9) returns home to host No. 20/20 Ohio State (17-6, 6-4) in a 5:30 p.m. (ET) tip-off on Sunday (Feb. 8) at the RAC. RU is seeking a return to the win column, while the Buckeyes are looking for their fourth win in five games. The Scarlet Knights' schedule is currently rated No. 18 nationally in the ESPN Daily RPI. Ohio State is currently No. 41 overall in the NCAA RPI.
Sunday's match-up is sold-out to the general public. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive free mascot bobble-heads.
Sunday's game will be televised live nationally on BTN with Kevin Kugler calling the action and Jon Crispin providing the analysis. On the radio, the contest will be broadcast live on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, WOR 710 AM in New York and WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Dick Lloyd will provide commentary. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also broadcast the game.
The contest will mark the second meeting on the collegiate hardwood between RU and Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights defeated the Buckeyes, 97-96, in triple overtime to win the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 30, 1978. James Bailey had 31 points, Daryl Strickland had 17 and Abdel Anderson contributed 16 in the victory. A Bailey slam dunk with 34 seconds remaining proved the decisive score.
Senior forward Kadeem Jack posted 17 points and nine rebounds, and senior guard Myles Mack added 16 points, but it was not enough, as Rutgers fell at Illinois, 66-54, on Tuesday evening. The Scarlet Knights established a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint in a contest that featured three ties and nine lead changes. Illinois shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) and was 9-of-9 at the free throw line to earn the victory. The Scarlet Knights made 42 percent (21-of-50) of their field goal attempts but were out-scored 21-12 beyond the arc.
Mack, who is among Rutgers all-time leaders in steals (2nd), assists (4th), three-pointers (4th), free throws (t-8th) and points (9th), is expected to make his 100th career start on Sunday versus the Buckeyes.
Ohio State, under the leadership of 11th-year coach Thad Matta, has been ranked as high as No. 12 this season. The Buckeyes dropped a 60-58 decision at Purdue on Wednesday night. Freshman guard D'Angelo Russell scored 20 points, but his 40-foot desperation heave at the buzzer came up short in a game that featured 12 lead changes. Russell leads OSU in both scoring (19.4) and rebounding (5.7). The Buckeyes rank third nationally in field goal percentage (50.3), fifth in scoring margin (17.5), seventh in turnover margin (5.0) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48).
