MARCH 15, 2022

Ohio State vs. Loyola Chicago
Date: March 18, 2022
Time: 12:15 p.m.
Venue: PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa.
Watch: CBS
Listen: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Tournament Info: OSU Tournament Central | Bracket
Game Notes: Ohio State | Loyola Chicago
Rosters: Ohio State | Loyola Chicago
Season Stats: Ohio State | Loyola Chicago

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 7 seed Ohio State will begin its NCAA Tournament journey on Friday afternoon when its takes on No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago in an opening round game of the South Regional. The game will tip at 12:15 p.m. and be played at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Reggie Miller and Dana Jacobson will call the action on CBS.

• This is Ohio State’s 31st NCAA Tournament appearance. The Buckeyes are 51-29 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with one title coming in 1960.
• Friday’s game will be the fifth meeting all-time between Ohio State and Loyola Chicago but just the second since 1961. The Buckeyes won 87-75 on Nov. 11, 2006 in Columbus. This is the first meeting in the NCAA Tournament.
• Ohio State is one of 12 teams in the country to earn a bid to each of the last four tournaments (no tournament in 2020).
• Just eight current Buckeyes have played an NCAA Tournament game with Justin Ahrens and Kyle Young as the only two players to appear in multiple games.
• Head coach Chris Holtmann is 7-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is taking his team to the tournament for the seventh consecutive season (3 at Butler & 4 at Ohio State).
• Ohio State played 11 teams that are in this year’s NCAA Tournament field. The Buckeyes went 8-6 against those teams.
• E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham each earned All-Big Ten honors this season. Liddell was named to the first team for the second consecutive season while Branham earned third team accolades and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Liddell was also named to the All-Defensive Team while Branham took home All-Freshman Team honors as well.
• Branham is the eighth Buckeye to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the first since D’Angelo Russell in 2015. Branham has scored in double figures in each of the last eight games and is averaging 20.0 ppg over that stretch.
• E.J. Liddell has scored in double figures in each of the last 41 games. He is averaging 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.5 assists per game this season. Only Jason Thompson (Rider) and Tim Duncan (Wake Forest) have averaged those numbers for an entire season in the last 30 years.
• Branham has scored in double figures in the last nine games which is his longest streak of the season. He is averaging 19.6 ppg over those nine games.
• Joey Brunk stepped into a starting role the last three games and has scored in double figures in two of the three games. He is coming off a 10-point, seven-rebound performance against Penn State last week.
• Jamari Wheeler is six points away from 700 in his career and he is also three assists away from moving to 9th in Big Ten history.

#GoBucks

COURTESY OSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS