Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball

The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances (plus four additional appearances that were later rescinded). The Buckeyes share a classic rivalry with the Michigan Wolverines, in which OSU has a 83–70 series lead. The Ohio State University is one of only two teams (the other being Villanova) to make an NCAA tournament appearance every decade since the 1930s.

The Buckeyes play their home games at Jerome Schottenstein Center which opened in 1998. The official capacity of the center is 19,200. Ohio State ranks 18th in the nation in average home attendance.

Thad Matta was named the head coach of Ohio State in 2004 to replace coach Jim O'Brien after being involved in NCAA violations which cost Ohio State over 113 wins between 1998 and 2002.

Team history

Early years and Olsen era (1898–1958)

The first basketball team at the Ohio State University was formed in 1898, playing their first game against East High. Sparing success followed the Buckeyes throughout their time as an independent school. In the year 1912, some thirteen years after forming their first basketball team, the Buckeyes joined the Big Nine Conference, which would eventually be known as the Big Ten Conference. Within the first years in the Big Ten conference, the Buckeyes were not able to mount a sustained run and continued to waiver inside the conference standings, never finishing higher than second in the conference standings^[1]. In 1923, Harold Olsen became head coach for the Buckeyes, launching the longest basketball coaching dynasty for OSU (24 seasons) Harold Olsen began to see success at Ohio State with the Buckeyes first conference championship during the 1922–1923 season. The Olsen era is also highlighted by appearing in the final game for the first ever NCAA Championship Tournament in 1939 where the Buckeyes lost to Oregon 33–46. The Buckeyes would make three more Final Four appearances under Olsen, along with winning five Big Ten championships. Following Harold Olsen as head coach Tippy Dye and Floyd Stahl made their stints with the Buckeyes. While not seeing the same amount of success as Olsen did, Dye and Stahl with one NCAA Tournament appearance between the two men. With the closing of the 1950s, the Ohio State basketball team was not considered a national powerhouse and continued to grown and develop and led to the hiring of a man who would change basketball at Ohio State and bring national fame to the university.

Success and Fred Taylor era (1959–1997)

Of all other Buckeye coaches, it was Fred Taylor who would give Ohio State basketball its greatest claim to fame. With the hiring of Taylor in 1958, not much was expected following an 11–11 season during the 1958–1959 season. However in 1960, the second year coach, Taylor, and All-American player, Jerry Lucas, led the Buckeyes to their first NCAA Championship Title, defeating California 75–55 in the final game. The 1960 championship season is the only NCAA Tournament championship that the Buckeyes have compiled since that date. Taylor's Buckeyes continued their dominance by being the runner-up the following two seasons, and making a total of five tournament appearances during Taylor's 18 seasons tenure. With the departure of his championship team, Taylor began to see teams accustomed to Ohio State basketball of the past. Taylor's last season at Ohio State in 1976 saw the Buckeyes going 6–20, the worst record only to be eclipsed by the team in 1995. Taylor also achieved seven conference titles and an impressive overall winning percentage of over 65%. Past the Taylor era, Ohio State saw Eldon Miller, Gary Williams, and Randy Ayers took the reins as head coach. Between 1976 and 1997 the Buckeyes made the NCAA Tournament only eight times, while being crowned conference champions only twice.

Jim O'Brien and NCAA Violations (1998–2003)

In 1997, Jim O'Brien was hired to replace head coach Randy Ayers. During his seven years as head coach, O'Brien drove the team to four 20+ win seasons, two Big Ten regular-season co-championships, the 2002 Big Ten Tournament Championship, and a school record four-consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. Controversy erupted when Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger fired O'Brien over alleged NCAA rules violations. A two-year NCAA investigation found that player Boban Savovic had received improper benefits and committed academic fraud while he played for Ohio State. On March 10, 2006, the NCAA gave Ohio State three years' probation and ordered it to pay back all tournament money earned from 1999–2002 when Boban Savovic was on the Buckeyes' roster. In addition, Ohio State had to remove all references to team accomplishments from those years including a 1999 visit to the Final Four.

Thad Matta era (2004–present)

Evan Turner set new Big Ten records for number of career and single season Player of the Week awards during the 2009–10 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season.

In 2004 the Ohio State Buckeyes named Thad Matta as the new head coach, and he rapidly produced a promising Buckeye team. Under his leadership, OSU has already claimed four Big Ten Conference Titles, three Conference Tournament championships, and five NCAA tournament appearances, going as far as the championship game in 2007 where the Buckeyes lost to Florida 84–75. In 2008, despite having lost four starters for the second year in a row, including three first-round NBA Draft picks, the Buckeyes won the NIT, defeating UMASS, 92–85 at Madison Square Garden. In the 2010 NCAA tournament they beat UC-Santa Barbara in the first round 68-51. The next round they beat Georgia Tech 75-66, but went on to lose to Tennessee 76-73 in the Sweet 16. Matta's winning percentages for overall (78.6%) and conference (72.9%) are better than any previous Buckeye coach with more than two seasons. In 2010-11.

Facilities

St. John Arena

The Ohio State Buckeyes presently play their home games in 19,200-seat Jerome Schottenstein Center. The first official home court for the Buckeyes was the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum. Constructed in 1918, the Buckeyes called this arena home between the years 1920 to 1955. The facility had a capacity of 7,000 people.

In 1955, a new facility was built on the campus of Ohio State named the St. John Arena named after Lynn St. John, an Ohio State basketball coach and athletic director. This building, while hosting the men's basketball team, also hosted (and still to this day hosts) volleyball, gymnastics, and wrestling. The capacity of St. John Arena is 13,276. This building is the only Buckeye arena to serve as home for an Ohio State men's basketball championship team in 1960.

With the aging St. John Arena over 40 years old, the Ohio State University decided to build the Schottnstein Center to hold men's and women's basketball as well as hockey. It was completed in 1998.

Coaches

See also: List of Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball head coaches

The Buckeyes have had 14 coaches in their 110-year history. Thad Matta is the current coach. The only Ohio State coach to win a national championship was Fred Taylor in 1960.

Current Coaching Staff

• Thad Matta - Head Coach, 6th year
• Jeff Boals - Assistant Coach
• Dave Dickerson - Assistant Coach
• Brandon Miller - Assistant Coach
• Dave Richardson - Strength and Conditioning Coach
• Vince O'Brien - Athletic Trainer
• David Egelhoff - Director of Basketball Operations
• Greg Paulus - Video Coordinator

Season-by-season results

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Unknown (Independent) (1898–1902)
1898–1899	Unknown	12–4
1899–1900	Unknown	8–4
1900–1901	Unknown	1–3
1901–1902	No Team
Unknown:		21–11
D. C. Huddleson (Independent) (1902–1904)
1902–1903	D. C. Huddleson	5–2
1903–1904	D. C. Huddleson	10–4
D. C. Huddleson:		15–6
Unknown (Independent) (1904–1908)
1904–1905	Unknown	12–2
1905–1906	Unknown	9–1
1906–1907	Unknown	7–5
1907–1908	Unknown	5–6
Unknown:		33–14
Tom Kibler (Independent) (1908–1910)
1908–1909	Tom Kibler	11–1
1909–1910	Tom Kibler	11–1
Tom Kibler:		22–2
Sox Raymond (Independent) (1910–1911)
1910–1911	Sox Raymond	7–2
Sox Raymond:		7–2
Lynn St. John (Independent) (1911–1912)
1911–1912	Lynn St. John	7–5
Lynn St. John:		7–5
Lynn St. John (Big Ten Conference) (1912–1919)
1912–1913	Lynn St. John	13–7	4–5	6th
1913–1914	Lynn St. John	10–4	5–1	2nd
1914–1915	Lynn St. John	6–10	3–9	8th
1915–1916	Lynn St. John	9–13	2–8	8th
1916–1917	Lynn St. John	15–11	3–9	7th
1917–1918	Lynn St. John	13–7	5–5	T-7th
1918–1919	Lynn St. John	7–12	2–6	9th
Lynn St. John:		73–64	24–43
George Trautman (Big Ten Conference) (1919–1922)
1919–1920	George Trautman	17–10	3–9	7th
1920–1921	George Trautman	4–13	2–10	9th
1921–1922	George Trautman	8–10	5–7	T-6th
George Trautman:		29–33	10–26
Harold Olsen (Big Ten Conference) (1922–1946)
1922–1923	Harold Olsen	4–11	1–11	T-9th
1923–1924	Harold Olsen	12–5	7–5	T-4th
1924–1925	Harold Olsen	14–2	11–1	1st
1925–1926	Harold Olsen	10–7	6–6	T-5th
1926–1927	Harold Olsen	11–6	6–6	7th
1927–1928	Harold Olsen	5–12	3–9	7th
1928–1929	Harold Olsen	9–8	6–6	T-5th
1929–1930	Harold Olsen	9–15	1–9	9th
1930–1931	Harold Olsen	4–13	3–9	9th
1931–1932	Harold Olsen	9–9	5–7	6th
1932–1933	Harold Olsen	17–3	10–2	T-1st
1933–1934	Harold Olsen	8–12	4–8	8th
1934–1935	Harold Olsen	12–7	8–4	4th
1935–1936	Harold Olsen	12–8	5–7	6th
1936–1937	Harold Olsen	13–7	7–5	5th
1937–1938	Harold Olsen	12–8	5–5	3rd
1938–1939	Harold Olsen	16–7	9–2	1st	NCAA Runner-up
1939–1940	Harold Olsen	13–7	7–4	3rd
1940–1941	Harold Olsen	10–10	7–5	3rd
1941–1942	Harold Olsen	6–14	4–11	9th
1942–1943	Harold Olsen	8–9	5–7	6th
1943–1944	Harold Olsen	15–6	10–2	1st	NCAA Final Four
1944–1945	Harold Olsen	15–5	10–2	2nd	NCAA Final Four
1945–1946	Harold Olsen	16–5	10–2	1st	NCAA Final Four
1946–1947	Harold Olsen	15–6	10–2	1st	NCAA Final Four
Harold Olsen:		275–205	150–129
Tippy Dye (Big Ten Conference) (1946–1950)
1946–1947	Tippy Dye	7–13	5–7	6th
1947–1948	Tippy Dye	10–10	5–7	6th
1948–1949	Tippy Dye	14–7	6–6	4th
1949–1950	Tippy Dye	22–4	12–1	1st	NCAA First Round
Tippy Dye:		53–34	28–21
Floyd Stahl (Big Ten Conference) (1950–1958)
1950–1951	Floyd Stahl	6–16	3–11	9th
1951–1952	Floyd Stahl	8–14	6–8	T-5th
1952–1953	Floyd Stahl	10–12	7–11	7th
1953–1954	Floyd Stahl	11–11	5–9	7th
1954–1955	Floyd Stahl	10–12	4–10	10th
1955–1956	Floyd Stahl	16–6	9–5	3rd
1956–1957	Floyd Stahl	14–8	9–5	T-3rd
1957–1958	Floyd Stahl	9–13	8–6	4th
Floyd Stahl:		84–92	51–65
Fred Taylor (Big Ten Conference) (1958–1976)
1958–1959	Fred Taylor	11–11	7–7	T-5th
1959–1960	Fred Taylor	25–3	13–1	1st	NCAA Champions
1960–1961	Fred Taylor	27–1	14–0	1st	NCAA Runner-up
1961–1962	Fred Taylor	26–2	13–1	1st	NCAA Runner-up
1962–1963	Fred Taylor	20–4	11–3	T-1st
1963–1964	Fred Taylor	16–8	11–3	T-1st
1964–1965	Fred Taylor	12–12	6–8	6th
1965–1966	Fred Taylor	11–13	5–9	8th
1966–1967	Fred Taylor	13–11	8–6	T-7th
1967–1968	Fred Taylor	21–8	10–4	T-1st	NCAA Final Four
1968–1969	Fred Taylor	17–7	9–5	T-2nd
1969–1970	Fred Taylor	17–7	8–6	T-3rd
1970–1971	Fred Taylor	20–6	13–1	1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1971–1972	Fred Taylor	18–6	10–4	2nd
1972–1973	Fred Taylor	14–10	8–6	T-3rd
1973–1974	Fred Taylor	9–15	4–10	8th
1974–1975	Fred Taylor	14–14	8–10	6th
1975–1976	Fred Taylor	6–20	2–16	10th
Fred Taylor:		297–158	158–102
Eldon Miller (Big Ten Conference) (1976–1986)
1976–1977	Eldon Miller	9–18	4–14	10th
1977–1978	Eldon Miller	16–11	9–9	6th
1978–1979	Eldon Miller	19–12	12–6	4th	NIT Semifinals
1979–1980	Eldon Miller	21–8	12–6	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1980–1981	Eldon Miller	14–13	9–9	T-5th
1981–1982	Eldon Miller	21–10	12–6	T-2nd	NCAA First Round
1982–1983	Eldon Miller	20–10	11–7	T-2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1983–1984	Eldon Miller	15–14	8–10	T-5th	NIT First Round
1984–1985	Eldon Miller	20–10	11–7	T-3rd	NCAA Second Round
1985–1986	Eldon Miller	19–14	8–10	7th	NIT Champions
Eldon Miller:		174–120	96–84
Gary Williams (Big Ten Conference) (1986–1989)
1986–1987	Gary Williams	20–13	9–9	6th	NCAA Second Round
1987–1988	Gary Williams	20–13	9–9	6th	NIT Runner-up
1988–1989	Gary Williams	19–15	6–12	6th	NIT Third Round
Gary Williams:		59–41	24–30
Randy Ayers (Big Ten Conference) (1989–1997)
1989–1990	Randy Ayers	17–13	10–8	6th	NCAA Second Round
1990–1991	Randy Ayers	27–4	15–3	T-1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1991–1992	Randy Ayers	26–6	15–3	1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1992–1993	Randy Ayers	15–13	8–10	7th	NIT First Round
1993–1994	Randy Ayers	13–16	6–12	T-8th
1994–1995	Randy Ayers	6–22	2–16	10th
1995–1996	Randy Ayers	10–17	3–15	10th
1996–1997	Randy Ayers	10–17	5–13	9th
Randy Ayers:		124–108	64–80
Jim O'Brien (Big Ten Conference) (1997–2004)
1997–1998	Jim O'Brien	8–22	1–15	11th
1998–1999	Jim O'Brien	*27–9	*11–4	34 games vacated by NCAA	NCAA Final Four
1999–2000	Jim O'Brien	*22–7	*13–3	T-1st (*16 games vacated by NCAA)	NCAA Second Round
2000–2001	Jim O'Brien	*20–11	*11–6	Entire season vacated by NCAA	NCAA First Round
2001–2002	Jim O'Brien	*24–8	*12–5	T-1st (*Entire season vacated by NCAA)	NCAA Second Round
2002–2003	Jim O'Brien	17–15	7–9	T-8th	NIT First Round
2003–2004	Jim O'Brien	14–16	6–10	9th
Jim O'Brien:		132–88	61–52	113 games vacated by NCAA
Thad Matta (Big Ten Conference) (2004–present)
2004–2005	Thad Matta	20–12	8–8	6th	Ineligible
2005–2006	Thad Matta	26–6	12–4	1st	NCAA Second Round
2006–2007	Thad Matta	34–4	15–1	1st	NCAA Runner-up
2007–2008	Thad Matta	24–13	10–8	5th	NIT Champions
2008–2009	Thad Matta	22–11	10–8	5th	NCAA First Round
2009–2010	Thad Matta	29–8	14–4	T-1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2010–2011	Thad Matta	32–2	16–2	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Thad Matta:		187–56	85–35
Total:		1,580–1,037 (.604)
National Champion         Conference Regular Season Champion         Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Division Champion

Postseason Results

National championships

Year Coach Opponent Score Record 1960 Fred Taylor California 75-55 25-3 National Championships 1

1960 NCAA Tournament Results

Round	Opponent	Score
Semifinals	Western Kentucky	98-79
Regional Finals	Georgia Tech	86-69
Final Four	NYU	76-54
Championship	California	75-55

Final Four history

1939- Finalist	1944- Semifinalist	1945- Semifinalist	1946- Semifinalist
1960- Champion	1961- Finalist	1962- Finalist	1968- Semifinalist
*1999- Semifinalist	2007- Finalist
* vacated by NCAA

Awards

Consensus All-American selections

Wes Fesler (1931)	Jimmy Hull (1939)	Dick Schnittker (1950)	Robin Freeman (1955)
Jerry Lucas (1960, 1961*, 1962*)	Gary Bradds (1964*)	Jim Jackson (1991, 1992)	Evan Turner (2010*)
Jared Sullinger (2011)

*National Player of the Year

First-Team All-Big Ten

Harold "Cookie" Cunningham (1925)	Johnny Miner (1925)	Bill Hunt (1927)	Wes Fesler (1931)
Bill Hosket, Sr (1933)	Howard Mattison (1933)	Tippy Dye (1936, 1937)	Bob Lynch (1939)
Jimmy Hull (1939)	Dick Fisher (1941)	Arnold "Smokes" Risen (1944)	Don Grate (1944, 1945)
Jack Underman (1946)	Paul Huston (1946)	Dick Schnittker (1949, 1950)	Bob Donham (1950)
Paul Ebert (1952, 1953, 1954)	Robin Freeman (1955, 1956)	Frank Howard (1957, 1958)	Jerry Lucas (1960, 1961, 1962)
Larry Siegfried (1961)	John Havlicek (1961, 1962)	Gary Bradds (1963, 1964)	Bill Hosket (1967, 1968)
Dave Sorenson (1969, 1970)	Jim Cleamons (1971)	Luke Witte (1971)	Allan Hornyak (1971, 1972, 1973)
Kelvin Ransey (1978, 1979, 1980)	Herb Williams (1980)	Clark Kellogg (1982)	Tony Campbell (1983, 1984)
Brad Sellers (1986)	Dennis Hopson (1987)	Jay Burson (1989)	Jim Jackson (1991, 1992)
Scoonie Penn (1999, 2000)	Michael Redd (2000)	Ken Johnson (2001)	Brian Brown (2002)
Terence Dials (2006)	Mike Conley, Jr. (2007, media only)	Greg Oden (2007, consensus)	Evan Turner (2009, 2010 consensus)
Jared Sullinger (2011)

Big Ten Player of the Year

Dennis Hopson (1987)	Jim Jackson (1991, 1992)	Scoonie Penn (1999)	Terence Dials (2006)
Evan Turner (2010)

Big Ten Coach of the Year

Eldon Miller (1983)

Randy Ayers (1991, 1992)

Jim O’Brien (1999, 2001)

Thad Matta (2006, 2010)

All award data taken from^[1]

All-Time statistical leaders

Career leaders

Points Scored: Dennis Hopson (2,096)

Assists: Jamar Butler (517)

Rebounds: Jerry Lucas (1,411)

Steals: Jay Burson (204)

Single-season Leaders

Points Scored: Dennis Hopson (958, 1987)

Assists: Mike Conley, Jr. (238, 2007)

Rebounds: Jerry Lucas (499, 1962)

Steals: Mike Conley, Jr. (87, 2007)

Single-game leaders

Points Scored: Gary Bradds (49, 1964)

Assists: Curtis Wilson (14, 1988)

Rebounds: Frank Howard (32, 1956)

Steals: Troy Taylor (8, 1983)

All statistical data taken from.^[2]

References

1. ^ History and Tradition/Honors and Awards
2. ^ Record Book/Records

External links

• Ohio State Buckeyes Men's Basketball official website