Buckeye Basketball

Game Notes from Sullinger’s Big Night
By Brandon Castel


COLUMBUS, Ohio — It wasn’t a solo effort for Jared Sullinger, but it was a remarkable one.
The young freshman out of Columbus Northland did something that Jay Burson, Jimmy Jackson, Lawrence Funderburke, Michael Redd, Terence Dials, Greg Oden and Evan Turner never did before him, which is score 40 points in a game.
It was the most points ever scored by an Ohio State freshman, breaking Redd’s 13-yeard old record of 30 points set in December of 1997 against USC. That was one year before the Buckeyes opened Value City Arena, and Sullinger’s 40-point game also set a new mark for that venue.
The old record had belonged to Turner, who scored 32 points in a win over Iowa this past February. Turner was also the last Buckeye to score 30 points in game, something he did in the Sweet Sixteen loss to Tennessee this past March.

More Sullinger Notes:
- Greg Oden held the previous honors for highest point total as a freshman under Head Coach Thad Matta. He dropped 29—one shy of Redd’s all-time freshman mark—in a game against Iowa in January, 2007.

- Sullinger had a career high in free-throw attempts, making 16 of 23. Evan Turner was the last Buckeye to make at least 10 free-throws in a game. Turner was 10-12 vs. Illinois on 3/13/10 in the Big Ten Tournament last year.

- With 16 made free-throws, Sullinger’s performance places him tied for third all-time at Ohio State in free-throws made in a game.

- Sullinger’s 16 made free-throws and 23 attempted free-throws are both freshman records. It ties for the most free-throws made and is a free-throw attempt record by an Ohio State player in Value City Arena (Brent Darby was 16-18 vs. Illinois on 1/29/02).

- The 23 free-throw attempts by Jared Sullinger were five more than any Ohio State opponent attempt total this season (18 vs. NC A&T).

- Sullinger became just the second freshman in Big Ten history to tally 40 or more points in a game. The other was Iowa’s Dick Ives, who scored 43 against Chicago on Feb. 5, 1944.

Ohio State Team Notes:

- Ohio State moved to 128-23 (.850) at Value City Arena, improving to 74-5 vs. non-conference opponents.

- The official announced attendance Thursday night was 11,410.

- Ohio State has won 38 of its last 40 games when ranked in the top 10 nationally.

- Ohio State’s four returning starters for the game have combined for 320 career starts and 419 games played

- Ohio State freshmen have accounted for 51 percent of total scoring for the season, including 42 of Ohio State’s 75 total points against IUPUI.

- Ohio State went on a 21-4 run over 6:28 in the second half to turn a nine-point deficit into 61-54 lead.

Coaching Notes:

- Thad Matta improved his career record to 265-53 overall and 163-54 at Ohio State.

- This is the third time in eight seasons at Ohio State that Matta has led his team to a 7-0 start.

- Matta is 84-17 vs. non-conference competition at Ohio State and 79-37 vs. Big Ten foes (regular season and Big Ten tournament games) for an overall record of 163-54. He also is 104-10 in Columbus.

- Matta’s teams at Ohio State are 80-6 when shooting better than 50 percent from the field.

- With the win, Ohio State is 36-6 in the month of December under Matta.

Other Player Notes:
- Senior Jon Diebler made three 3-pointers, pushing his Ohio State career record to 280.

- With three made 3-pointers, Diebler remains in 8th-place all-time in Big Ten career 3-point field goals made, three behind A.J. Guyton (Indiana 1997-00) for 7th place.

- With three made 3-pointers, Diebler extends his streak to 23 games with at least one 3-pointer made.

- With 13 points against IUPUI, Diebler passed Jamaal Brown (1,139) and Frank Howard (1,147) to move into 31st-place at Ohio State in all-time career scoring with a total of 1,148 points.

- Senior David Lighty recorded his 102nd win as a Buckeye vs. the Jaguars on Thursday. He had 35 as a freshman, 25 as a sophomore, 29 as a junior and 7 during the 2008-09 season when he received a medical redshirt due to a broken foot.

- With three steals vs. IUPUI, Lighty passed Michael Redd (149) for eighth place on the all-time career steals list with 151 in his career.

- Junior William Buford had 14 points to push his career total to 973, 27 shy of becoming the 47th player in Ohio State history to record 1,000 points.

- Senior Dallas Lauderdale recorded one block to move his career total to 178, 9 shy of tying Brad Sellers for third all-time in Ohio State history.






Sullinger Nets 40 for the Buckeyes
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jared Sullinger missed No. 2 Ohio State's shootaround earlier Thursday while he said goodbye to one of his favorite uncles at a funeral home.
He got in his shooting later.
Sullinger set an Ohio State freshman record with 40 points, leading the Buckeyes back from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat IUPUI 75-64.
"I got to see my uncle for the last time," Sullinger said of the viewing for Harold Sullinger. "It was really tough. This game really does go to him."

Fast facts

• Jared Sullinger had his fourth double-double of the year. He's second among Division I freshmen behind Terrence Jones of Kentucky, who has five.

• Ohio State's 7-0 start is the Buckeyes' third-best under Thad Matta, after starting 11-0 in 2005-06 and 9-0 in 2008-09.

• Before Sullinger, the last player to put up 40 points and 10 rebounds without making a 3-pointer was Blake Griffin in 2009 vs. Texas Tech (40 points, 23 rebounds).

• IUPUI is now 0-10 all-time against ranked teams since becoming a Division I program.

The 6-foot-9 Columbus native hit 12 of 17 shots from the field and 16 of 23 free throws -- both of which were also records -- and had 13 rebounds as the Buckeyes (7-0) escaped on a night when the pesky Jaguars (4-6) shot 51 percent from the field and constantly applied pressure.
The Buckeyes finished the game on a 34-14 run -- with Sullinger scoring 22 points.
"I thought our post guys could have a big night," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "I didn't know it would be this big."
During a timeout early in the second half, Matta told Sullinger -- last year's Naismith Award winner as the top prep player in the country -- to start asking for the ball. So he did.
"Normally I don't do that because that shows signs of selfishness and that's not me," Sullinger said. "But he's the head coach and you have to listen to him."
It was the 23rd 40-point game ever by a Buckeye, and the first since Dennis Hopson scored 41 in 1986 against Dayton. It was only the fourth time an Ohio State player has scored 40 points or more in a game in the last 45 years.
IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said his game plan was to shut down Ohio State on the perimeter and force the Buckeyes' big men to do the job inside.
"We just ran into a wall," Hunter said.
William Buford added 14 points and Jon Diebler 13 for the Buckeyes, who looked rusty at times after a nine-day layoff.
Alex Young had 20 points, Leroy Nobles 16 and Donovan Gibbs 12 for the Jaguars.
Despite Sullinger's gaudy numbers, it was anything but easy for the Buckeyes.
The Jaguars hit their first five shots of the second half and went on to build a 50-41 lead at 12:43 on a 3-pointer by John Ashworth late in the shot clock. There was an uneasy rumble in the crowd as Ohio State brought the ball down the court.
The Buckeyes, who missed nine of their first 11 shots in the half, then found the range.
Diebler made a 3 from the left wing and after a miss at the other end, Sullinger took a feed from Buford for a vicious dunk to cut it to 50-46. Again IUPUI misfired and this time Buford drove through traffic and hit a scoop shot to cut the gap to two. Sullinger hit two more foul shots and then scored inside to complete the 11-0 run and put the Buckeyes in front 52-50 with 8:37 left -- their first lead in more than 10 minutes.
The Jaguars pulled even at 54 on a jumper by Gibbs before Diebler hit a 3 from the left wing and then fed Sullinger for a jam and a 59-54 lead. They pulled away from there.
"It helps when you have that guy going for 40 because it opens it up on the outside," Diebler said.
During one span, the Buckeyes outscored the Jaguars 24-4 -- with Sullinger scoring 14 and Diebler hitting two 3s.
"I was surprised they didn't double him," Buford said. "He was hot so we just got him the ball and they couldn't stop him."
The previous freshman scoring record at Ohio State was held by Michael Redd, who had 30 points against Southern California on Dec. 20, 1997.
Sullinger credited his uncle -- whom he said yelled at him during a recent game when he only had three rebounds -- for inspiring him. He said respect for his teammates' outside shooting left him wide open.
"It's pretty nice when you have outside shooters," he said, mentioning several of his teammates by name. "It's obvious you can't double-team the post. It was easy for me to score inside."