Right: UNC-Asheville’s 7-foot-7, 360-pound center Kenny George gets into position for a rebound against North Carolina earlier this season.
InsideCarolina.com Photo

Thad Matta’s Ohio State men’s basketball squad was not one of the 65 teams to have their name called on CBS Sports “Selection Sunday” show, which meant  the Buckeyes had to wait until 9:00 p.m when the National Invitational Tournament announced their parings on ESPN2.

Turns out, Ohio State will face 7-foot-7, 360-pound junior center Kenny George and the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs in the first round of the NIT at Value City Arena, Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and it will be televised on ESPN.

UNC-Asheville finished tied for first in the Big South Conference, but lost in the tournament final to the team they shared the regular season title with, Winthrop, 66-48.

The Bulldogs have an overall record of 23-9.

Ohio State and UNC-Asheville share two common opponents, Tennessee and North Carolina. Like the Buckeyes, the Bulldogs also lost both meetings, dropping a 86-73 decision against the Volunteers in Knoxville, and were handed a 93-81 defeat to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs is 6-foot senior guard Bryan Smithson, who averages 16.4 points per game, while 6-foot-1 senior guard K.J. Garland is second on the UNC-Asheville roster in scoring (13.4 ppg).

George is third in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game, while leading the team in rebounds (6.9 rpg) and blocked shots (3.4 bpg). George’s size is due to an overactive pituitary gland, which makes him tire easily and he’s limited to short stretches.

In the Big South championship game, George played 27 minutes and scored 13 points with four rebounds and a blocked shot. Over the course of 27 games this season, George has only played more than 27 minutes twice, and averages 19.5 minutes per game.

Tags: Buckeye Basketball by Matt Barker
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No, I’m not psychic. I am not talking about Terrelle Pryor and what he might accomplish once he arrives in Columbus.

So if you read the headline and you were thinking that I was writing about the two-sport star from Jeannette, Pa., I guess you can call it my April Fools Day joke a few weeks early.

But the Pryor I am talking about is junior Jason Pryor, who claimed a 5-3 win in epee on Strip 4, Sunday afternoon at Ohio State’s French Field House, that clinched the Buckeyes’ third national fencing championship and the school’s 57th national title overall.

Now since I have no clue about fencing, I will let NCAASports.com do the rest:

With the entire Ohio State fencing team cheering on Pryor beside the strip knowing the Buckeyes needed one more win to clinch the title, he lunged for the fifth and final touch against Teddy Sherrill of Harvard. The green light flashed and Pryor repeatedly jumped in the air as the entire team and head coach Vladimir Nazlymov yelled and hugged.

Notre Dame, which entered the day trailing Ohio State by only two points, had a strong start and tied the competition after about 45 minutes of competition Sunday. But the OSU men’s competitors Pryor and Sean Harder in epee, Andras Horanyi and Ben Parkins in foil and Mikhail Momtselidze and Sergey Smirnov in sabre finished strong to build a seven-point lead late in the team competition.

The Buckeyes have gone on to win the national title by nine points - 185-176.”

WAY TO GO BUCKEYES!

Tags: From Matt by Matt Barker
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Right: University of Toledo’s Glass Bowl, in Ohio.
University of Toledo Photo

Well, well, well.

It seems that new Michigan head football coach Rich Rodriguez is in quite a conundrum.

According to the Ann Arbor News, Rodriguez wants to hold a final scrimmage on April 12 to conclude spring drills, but he needs a venue in which to do so.

Currently, Michigan Stadium is under renovations which will not allow the football team to use the facility. One other possibility could be Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, but that’s unavailable according to Rodriguez.

One reporter, who evidently graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in geography, inquired about Michigan playing at the Glass Bowl, home of the Toledo Rockets, in which Rodriguez replied:

No. What state’s that in?”

Know thy enemy

In other news and notes, the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Ohio State cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson met with University of South Florida defensive coordinator Wally Burnham and secondary coach Troy Douglas, this past week.

South Florida has done quite well against Rodriguez’s spread-option offense the last two seasons, winning both contests against West Virginia as the Bulls held the Mountaineers to an average of 16 points, 160 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry, compared to 41.2 points, 311.5 yards rushing and 6.6 yards per carry against other WVU opponents.

Burnham said:

Johnson said it was because we’ve done such a good job against that offense. And we’ve had some success.”

Terrelle Pryor update

According to the Cleveland Plan Dealer, “the No. 1 high school quarterback in the country, whose recruitment has turned into a months-long saga, told reporters Saturday that he will announce his college choice this week.”

The two-sport star from Jeannette, Pa., Terrelle Pryor, said it has come down to two schools, assuming it’s Ohio State and Penn State, with Michigan and Oregon eliminated.

Next week, I’m going to say the school I’m going to, sign it and get it over with.”

Pryor was going to announce on Signing Day last month that he was going to become a Buckeye, but backed away from the commitment at the urging of his father, who had become enamored with Penn State’s coaching staff.

Pryor had been planning to announce his decision at the conclusion of basketball season, which ended Saturday night when Jennette defeated Strawberry Mansion, 76-72 in overtime, to capture the PIAA Class AA state championship at Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.

Pryor scored 23 points with eight rebounds, five blocks, four steals and four assists.

Hopefully he will continue to play both sports if he does choose Ohio State.

Tags: Big Ten Football, Buckeye Football by Matt Barker
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