The No. 15 Buckeyes (8-1, 2-0) finally return to the court after a long break due to final exams. They host Bucknell (4-3) Saturday afternoon. Ohio State is coming off of a conference win against Illinois nine days ago, while Bucknell comes into this game following a win at La Salle 10 days ago.
Opening Tip
Who: Bucknell at Ohio State
What: Men’s Basketball
Where: Columbus, Ohio — Value City Arena
When: 12:00 pm (BTN)
Why: Because you’ve got a basketball jones and it’s been too long.
The Buckeyes
Three-Point Territory
+ Ohio State is ranked No. 15/14 in the most recent Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. The Buckeyes are 18-7 all-time when ranked in the No. 15 position and are 507-149 when ranked among the Top 25 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes were 10-5 as a ranked team in 2017-18. Ohio State was ranked No. 17 in the final game of the season vs. No. 6 Gonzaga a year ago in the NCAA Tournament (L, 90-84).
+ In each of the last two years, Ohio State has started the Big Ten Conference regular-season race with 2-0 records. Each year the league schedule began in December with teams playing one home and one road game in conference play. A year ago, Ohio State win at Wisconsin and vs. Michigan at home. This year, the Buckeyes defeated Minnesota in Columbus and Illinois at the United Center in Chicago.
+ Ohio State and Bucknell have met just once, a 90-62 win for the Buckeyes Nov. 29, 1986 in Columbus. Ohio State placed five in double figures in that game led by 21 points from Dennis Hopson, 16 from Jay Burson, 14 from Jerry Francis, 13 scored by Curtis Wilson and 10 by Tony White. The Buckeyes own an overall record of 21-3 against teams that currently make up the Patriot League. Ohio State has faced each league member at least once with the exception of Boston University and Lehigh. The last Patriot League member to take on the Buckeyes was Navy Nov. 11, 2016 at the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Maryland. Ohio State won that game 78-68.
The Bucknell Bison
What You Should Know
+ Bucknell is 3-0 on the road this season. It is the first time the Bison have started 3-0 on the road since 2005-06. Bucknell is one of just six teams in the country still unbeaten on the road with at least three true road games played thus far (through Monday’s games).
+ Senior center Nate Sestina has lived up to his Preseason All-Patriot League billing thus far. The Bison are 4-1 this season with Sestina in the lineup — he missed the Fairfield and Canisius games with an injury — and he leads the team in scoring (17.0) and rebounding (9.0). Sestina, who served as the backup center behind former Patriot League Player of the Year Nana Foulland for the last three seasons, is shooting 56.9% from the field, 40.0% from the 3-point arc, and 80.8% from the foul line in his first year as a starter. He is coming off a careerbest 24-point game at La Salle.
+ On Nov. 28, Bucknell allowed a season-high 96 points to Northeastern in an 18-point home loss. In the two games since then, the Bison have ramped up the defense. Just three days after the Northeastern loss, Bucknell conceded only 43 points in a rout of Monmouth, and then they held La Salle to 33.8% shooting last time out. The 53-point defensive improvement was two shy of the school record. Bucknell has improved defensively by 55 points on three different occasions in its 124-year history, most recently in 2000-01. That season, the Bison followed a 105-61 loss to Iona with a 64-50 win over Rider. It also happened in 1973-74 (110-53 loss to Syracuse followed by a 56-55 win over Lehigh) and 1947-48 (99-71 loss to Rhode Island backed up by a 55-44 win over Lehigh).
+ Bucknell has been a second-half team thus far in 2018-19. In addition to 13-point comeback wins over St. Bonaventure and Vermont, the Bison rallied from 15 down to tie the game in the final seconds against Fairfield, only to see the Stags win it on a shot with 0:03 left. Against Canisius, Bucknell cut a 20-point second-half deficit down to six before the rally stalled.
+ Bucknell’s shot chart from the La Salle game was a statistical analyst’s dream. In a game in which the Bison scored 92 points, all 29 made field goals were either dunks (6), layups (12), or 3-pointers (11). In fact, Bucknell did not attempt a 2-point shot outside the paint all night.
