Court Report: Alcorn State vs. OSU
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Alcorn State Braves (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)
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vs.
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No. 17/16 Ohio State Buckeyes (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
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Monday, November 9
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7:00 p.m. ET
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Value City Arena (capacity 19,049) – Columbus, OH
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| TV: | Big Ten Network with Tom Hamilton and Bill Hosket. |
| Radio: | 97.1 the Fan/WBNS-AM 1460 in Columbus are the flagship stations for the 60-station Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network. “Big Daddy” Paul Keels will call the play-by-play and will be assisted by former Buckeye Ron Stokes. |
| Latest Line: | Ohio State is a 33-1/2-point favorite. |
| Series History: | This is the first meeting between the two schools. |
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When writing game previews, I generally find all of the information I need on an opponent’s own web site. Generally, each school not only has their current year’s media guide available for download, but game notes in PDF form ready to be printed up as well.
Alcorn State, meanwhile, has nothing informative on their athletics web site which makes my job even tougher. But here’s what I do know:
The Braves have already played two exhibition games before their season-opener against the Buckeyes. Alcorn State went 1-1 in their preseason slate, losing big to NAIA Division I member Tougaloo College, 109-86, before eking out a 63-61 win over NCAA Division III participant Mississippi College.
Last season, Alcorn State went just 6-25 and head coach Larry Smith lost his top three scorers from a year ago that combined to average 40.3 points per game. That’s a huge hole to fill in an already struggling squad.
The Braves did face another Big Ten team last year, losing to Michigan State 118-60 in East Lansing. During the 2008-09 campaign, Alcorn State allowed their opponents to score 83.5 points per game on them, worst in the SWAC.
In the Braves’ last exhibition game against Mississippi College, JaMarkus Holt, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound center led Alcorn State with 17 points and 18 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Two others scored in double figures with Keith Searcy adding 11 and Ian Francis chipping in 10 points for ASU.
