Jody Victor: Ohio State enters the second round of the 2008 MasterCard NIT with a 20-13 overall record after a win vs. UNC Asheville 84-66 March 18. Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes will lead Ohio State against second round opponent California (17-15). Ohio State is the No. 1 seed and the Bears are the No. 4 seed. The winner of the game between the Buckeyes and Bears will take on the winner of the game between No. 3-seed Dayton and No. 2-seed Illinois State. The third round NIT game will be played March 25, 26 or 27.

Ohio State is 7-9 overall in the series with California that was first played in 1936 and most recently in 1960. That last game decided the national championship, won by the Buckeyes March 19, 1960 in San Francisco, 75-55. The teams also met in postseason competition in 1946 when Ohio State won the Final Four third-place game vs. the Bears 63-45 March 26 in New York. The Buckeyes are 2-1 all-time vs. Cal in Columbus. The last game was played at the Fairground Coliseum Dec. 23, 1949, a 78-67 Ohio State victory.

Tonights game in Columbus at the St. John Arena will start at 7 pm. You can watch the game and cheer for the Buckeyes - televised on ESPN, the OSU radio network, and local radio WBNS FM-97.1, AM-1460.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Ohio State enters the 2008 MasterCard NIT with a 19-13 overall record. Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, will lead Ohio State against first round opponent UNC Asheville (23-9). Ohio State is the No. 1 seed. The Bulldogs are the No. 8 seed. The winner of the game between the Buckeyes and Bulldogs will take on the winner of the game between California, the No. 4 seed, and New Mexico, the No. 5 seed. The second round NIT games will be played March 21,22 or 24.

The Buckeyes and Bulldogs have met just once previously, a 93-59 Ohio State victory Dec. 4, 1993 in Columbus. UNC Asheville is a member of the Big South Conference. The Bulldogs enter the game with the Buckeyes with a 23-9 overall record after a 10-4 league mark, which tied Winthrop, the Big South Conference Tournament Champions and NCAA automatic qualifier. Ohio State is 6-0 against Big South teams all-time. The Buckeyes are 1-0 vs. Coastal Carolina and UNC Asheville and 2-0 vs. Radford and Virginia Military Institute. The Buckeyes defeated VMI 90-57 Nov. 25 at St. John Arena this season.

Ohio State is making its eighth appearance in the NIT all time. Overall, the Buckeyes have a 13-7 record in NIT postseason tournament competition. Ohio State won the event in 1986, 73-63 over Wyoming, and advanced to the finals in 1988 before a loss to Connecticut 72-67. The Buckeyes last played in the NIT in 2003, a loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta (72-86).

But tonight Buckeye fans can cheer them on. The game is in the Value City Arena at 7 pm, televised on ESPN2.

GO BUCKS!!!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: The field is set for the 2008 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament that will take place this week, Thursday-Sunday, March 13-16, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Wisconsin (26-4, 16-2) claimed the No. 1 seed after capturing the Big Ten title for the third time in Bo Ryan's tenure. Purdue (24-7, 15-3) earned the No. 2 seed, while Indiana (25-6, 14-4) clinched the No. 3 spot. Michigan State (24-7, 12-6) claimed the No. 4 spot and Ohio State (19-12, 10-8) ended the season in fifth place in the conference standings, earning the No. 5 seed. Each of the top five teams receives a first-round bye and will start tournament play this Friday.

The 11th annual Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament will tip off this Thursday, March 13, with No. 8 Iowa (13-18, 6-12) taking on No. 9 Michigan (9-21, 5-13) at Noon EDT on the Big Ten Network. The second game of the tournament will feature No. 7 Penn State (15-15, 7-11) against No. 10 Illinois (13-18, 5-13) at approximately 2:30 pm EDT on ESPN2. The final game on Thursday will include No. 6 Minnesota (18-12, 8-10) and No. 11 Northwestern (8-21, 1-17) at roughly 5 pm EDT on ESPN2.

Day two will begin with top-seeded Wisconsin facing the winner of the Iowa/Michigan game at Noon EDT on ESPN. The Badgers are the No. 1 seed for the third time in tournament history as UW claimed the top seed in back-to-back Big Ten Tournaments in 2002 and 2003. Wisconsin will look to avenge its loss in last years's tournament final to Ohio State. The No. 1 seed has won the tournament only three times with Michigan State claiming the 1999 title, Illinois capturing the crown in 2005 and the Buckeyes winning the tournament last year.

The second game features the No. 4/5 contest at approximately 2:30 pm EDT on ESPN. Fourth-seeded Michigan State and the defending tournament champion No. 5 Ohio State will square off. The Spartans are vying to become the first squad in big Ten Tournament history to win the tourney crown three times, as MSU claimed the 1999 and 2000 titles. Illinois and Iowa also have two tournament crowns each. Earning the highest seed in Boilermaker history, second-seeded Purdue will begin tournament action on Friday at 6:30 pm EDT in the first of two games that will air on the Big Ten Network. The Boilermakers will face the winner of the Penn State-Illinois contest. The second day will conclude with No. 3 Indiana facing the Minnesota-Northwestern winner at apporximately 9 pm EDT on the Big Ten Network.

The Big Ten Tournament semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 15, with the first game beginning at 1:40 pm EDT on CBS. Game two will start 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one at approximately 4:05 pm EDT on CBS. The tournament will conclude with the championship game on Sunday, March 16, at 3:30 pm EDT on CBS.

GO BUCKS !!!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: They're calling it a Gray-Out Game. Fans attending the game tonight are encouraged to wear gray in support of the Buckeys against the league-leading Boilermakers.

Purdue, in a hunt for a title, travels to Columbus with a 23-6 record and a 14-2 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Boilermakers are tied for the lead in regular-season conference play with wisconsin with two games to play. E'Tuaun Moore is the leading scorer for Purdue with 12.1 ppg. Two others average in double figures as well. Robbie Hummel (11.7 ppg) and Keaton Grant (10.7 ppg) have averaged double digits. Hummel is the leading rebounder for the Boilermakers at 5.9 boards per game.

Buckeye senior Jamar Butler averages 12.3 points a game in seven career meetings vs. Purdue. He averages 31 minutes a contest and has made 52 percent of his field goals (26-50) and 14 of 32 3-pointers (.438). In 19 trips to the foul line, Butler has knocked down 16 (.842). Butler also has the most rebounds among his teammates (18) in the Purdue series. Classmate Matt Terwilliger has faced the Boilermakers six times, scoring 11 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Othello Hunter has four games under his belt. He averages nearly four points and three rebounds against the Boilermakers.

Ohio State began its final regular-season stretch run vs. Wisconsin Feb. 24, a 58-53 loss to the No. 11 Badgers in one of three home games ove the final five contests before the 2008 Big Ten Tournament (March 13-16/Indianapolis). The Buckeyes stand in the No. 5 position (tied with Minnesota) in the league standings with games remaining against two teams in front of Ohio State in the standings. The Buckeyes entertain Purdue (14-2) tonight and Michigan State (11-5) Sunday at home to close out the regular season.

You can catch tonight's game on the OSU Radio Network, WBNS FM-97.1 AM-1460, or Channel 161 on Sirius Radio.

Go Bucks!!

Jody Victor