Ohio State Buckeyes
From Hoopedia
| |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Location |  Columbus, Ohio
|
| Head coach | Thad Matta |
| Arena | Jerome Schottenstein Center |
| Colors | Scarlet and Gray |
| Mascot | Brutus Buckeye |
The Ohio State University (OSU) is a coeducational public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. The university was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and, with an enrollment of 52,000, is currently the largest university in the United States.
Ohio State's basketball teams are called the "Buckeyes" (after the state tree, the Buckeye), and participate in the NCAA's Division I and the Big Ten Conference. The school colors are Scarlet and Gray. "Brutus" the Buckeye is the Ohio State mascot.
A "Buckeye" is a small, shiny, dark brown nut with a light tan patch that comes from the official state tree of Ohio, the buckeye tree. According to folklore, the Buckeye resembles the eye of a deer and carrying one brings good luck. “Buckeyes” has been the official Ohio State nickname since 1950, but it had been in common use for many years before.
The first recorded use of the term Buckeye to refer to a resident of the area was in 1788, some 15 years before Ohio became a state. Col. Ebenezer Sproat, a 6’4" man of large girth and swashbuckling mannerisms, led the legal delegation at the first court session of the Northwest Territory in Marietta. The Indians in attendance greeted him with shouts of "Hetuck, Hetuck" (the Indian word for buckeye), it is said because they were impressed by his stature and manner. He proudly carried the Buckeye nickname for the rest of his life and it gradually spread to his companions and to other local settlers. By the 1830s, writers were commonly referring to locals as “Buckeyes.”
Ohio State's mascot is Brutus Buckeye.
The men's and women's basketball teams play their home games at the Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, a 19,200-seat multi-purpose arena located on the campus of The Ohio State University. The arena opened in 1998 and is part of the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
Ohio State is one of only three universities (the University of Michigan and the University of California being the others) to have won an NCAA national championship in baseball, basketball and football.
Men's Basketball
Ohio State's men's basketball team has played in nine NCAA Final Fours, winning the championship in 1960, when they were led by Basketball Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek. Twenty-three times a Buckeye has been named first team All American including five two-time All Americans and one three-time All American. Between 1960 and 1964 Ohio State won five consecutive Big Ten championships, an achievement that has yet to be matched.
In 2004, The Ohio State University fired men's basketball coach Jim O’Brien for recruiting violations and imposed upon itself a one-year penalty, including a ban on post-season play and reduction of scholarships. In light of these self-imposed penalties, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions merely placed OSU on three years probation for the violations, and gave heavier penalties to Coach O’Brien and a former assistant coach. The lightness of this judgment was seen as encouragement for schools to be proactive in responding to violations. Nevertheless, O’Brien successfully sued Ohio State for improper termination.
