Ohio State Basketball Games Near Sellouts

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Ohio State Basketball Games Near Sellouts





Feb. 24, 2005



COLUMBUS, Ohio - A pair of Ohio State basketball games are close to sellouts Sunday in Columbus.

The Buckeye men's team will play host to No. 20 Wisconsin at 2 p.m. Sunday at Value City Arena (19,200). The Ohio State women's team, ranked No. 4 nationally, will play host to No. 22 Penn State at 6 p.m. at the VCA. Tickets for both games are available but not many, Richelle Simonson, Ohio State associate athletics director, said Thursday. More than 17,000 tickets have been sold for each game.

Ohio State could be playing for a share of the Big Ten women's title and a No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament Sunday against the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes, 25-3 overall and 12-2 in league play, are at Purdue today and a win in West Lafayette would set up the chance for Ohio State to win a Big Ten title. The Buckeyes last earned a league championship in 1992-93. Ohio State finished No. 2 nationally that year after advancing to the NCAA title game. OSU lost to Texas Tech in the championship game.




The Big Ten record for attendance at a women's basketball game was set Jan. 20, 2002 at Wisconsin's Kohl Center. The Badgers played Minnesota before a record crowd of 17,142.

The Ohio State men's team has had a week off to prepare for the Badgers. The Buckeyes are looking for win No. 8 in league play and will celebrate the return of Ohio State great John Havlicek during a halftime ceremony. The No. 5 worn by Havlicek during Ohio State's three-consecutive trips to the NCAA championship game from 1960-62 will be officially retired.

Current Buckeye Terence Dials also will be looking for a milestone performance Sunday. He is 10 points away from becoming Ohio State's 42nd player all-time to record 1,000 career points. Ohio State is 18-9 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play under first-year head coach Thad Matta, the second winningest rookie coach in Ohio State history.

The women's game vs. PSU is the last home game of the season and the final game for seniors Caity Matter and Beth Howe in Columbus. Senior day for the men's team will be held March 6 vs. No. 1 Illinois, which already is a sellout.

Ticket information for the games Sunday is available by calling 1-800-GO-BUCKS or online at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

Traffic patterns after the men's game and before the women's game may be altered to aid outgoing and incoming traffic, Simonson said. Fans are asked to be patient and to follow the directions of officers working the streets surrounding Value City Arena. Shuttles will be operating to and from the Buckeye lots to accommodate the men's and women's fans.

Its great to see both programs getting attention from the fans, we need to pack the place for both games.