12/2/2022

SELECT GAME NOTES VS. OHIO STATE (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)

OPENING TIP
• Saturday’s game between Ohio State and Saint Francis marks the second meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• The Buckeyes won the meeting 110-47 in Columbus.
• Saint Francis head coach Rob Krimmel was an assistant coach for the Red Flash the last time the two teams played.

THE WORD ON OHIO STATE
• Ohio State comes into the contest ranked No. 25 in the nation and 5-2 on the year. The Buckeyes are coming off an 81-72 loss to Duke in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge on Wednesday.
• Zed Key  paced Ohio State against the Blue Devils with 21 points.
• Sean McNeil added 14 points, Justice Sueing had 12 points and Bruce Thornton chipped in 11 points.
• Sueing and Brice Sensabaugh power the team with 14.1 points per game. Key (13.7 ppg.) and  McNeil (10.4 ppg.) are also averaging double figures for the Bobcats.

LAST TIME WE MET
• Ohio State defeated Saint Francis 110-47 on November 28, 2009.
• Cedric Lattimer paced the Red Flash with 16 points, while Devin Sweetney had 10 points.
• Jeremie Simmons paced the Buckeyes with 18 points, while Jon Diebler (17 points), Evan Turner (16 points), William Buford (15 points), Dallas Lauderdale (11 points) and P.J. Hill (10 points) also had double-figure point games for Ohio State.

LAST TIME OUT 
• Saint Francis finished its run against the Patriot League and its third game against the league in nine days with an 89-65 loss to Bucknell on Wednesday.
• Redshirt junior Josh Cohen paced the Red Flash with 18 points and seven rebounds while his Jersey Force teammate redshirt junior Brad McCabe posted a season-high 12 points along with five rebounds and three assists.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the squad’s second non-NCAA sanctioned win against the Big 10 in program history
• Be the squad’s first road win of the year
• Be the first win against a ranked opponent since defeating No. 13 St. Bonaventure 92-81 on January 25, 1959
• Be the first Power 6 Conference win since defeating Pittsburgh (ACC) 80-70 in the 2019-20 season opener

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saint Francis is looking for its second competition win against the Big 10 after defeating Rutgers 73-68 in 2014-15. The Red Flash is also credited with a win against Michigan from the 1994-95 season due to the Wolverines using an illegal player. Michigan had won the game 84-52.
• The Loretto program is 2-11 all-time against the Big 10 Conference counting the Michigan contest.
• Saint Francis also has a 80-70 win against the ACC and Pittsburgh in the 2020-21 season opener but is 3-79 overall against teams from a Power 6 Conference and 3-71 on the road.
• The squad lost at Butler 95-67 on November 17 and will travel to Miami on December 17 for its other contests against Power 6 Conference teams.
• It will be the 22nd time head coach Rob Krimmel has faced a Power 6 opponent with wins against Pittsburgh and Rutgers on his resume.
• Krimmel is 1-4 against the Big 10. Along with the win against Rutgers, his team played Penn State, Maryland, Indiana and Illinois.
• Illinois was the last Big 10 opponent the Red Flash faced on December 18, 2021, while Krimmel’s first game as a head coach was also where he grew up in State College, Pa., against Penn State on November 9, 2012.
• With Ohio State currently ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll, Saint Francis will be playing a ranked opponent for the 62nd time dating back to the 1953-54 season.
• The Red Flash is 2-59 against a Top-25 team all-time. The squad is looking for its first win against a Top-25 opponent since the Red Flash downed No. 13 St. Bonaventure 92-81 on January 25, 1959. An 82-72 victory against Duquesne, the second ranked team in the country at the time, on January 8, 1955 is also on the squad’s resume.
• It will be the 12th time Krimmel and his team will face a ranked opponent and the first since playing No. 15 Virginia on December 1, 2020.
• It will be the second time the two teams will meet with Ohio State ranked after the two squads tangled for the only other time on November 28, 2009.
• Saint Francis athletics is looking for its second win against a ranked Ohio State team in 2022 after the Red Flash downed the No. 13 Buckeyes 3-1 in Loretto on March 12, 2022 in men’s volleyball action.
• Saint Francis sophomore Brendan Scanlon is the grandson of Ohio State graduate Gary Milliken, who played seven games for the Buckeyes from 1958-61. Milliken was a member of the 1960 national championship team.
• Saint Francis is 75-67 against teams from Ohio.
• This game will be the only trip to the Buckeye state this season, but the squad also played NCAA Division III Franciscan in Loretto on November 23.
• It will be the fifth game in the state under Krimmel. The squad also played Youngstown State (2012-13), Dayton (2013-14), Cincinnati (2014-15) and Ohio (2020-21) in his time leading the Red Flash.
• Youngstown State (39 games) and Franciscan (39 games) are the two most common opponents Saint Francis plays from the state of Ohio.
• In the last game in the state, Saint Francis was edged 78-75 by Ohio U on December 4, 2021. The Red Flash had a chance to tie the game in waning seconds but could not get the bucket to fall.
• It will be the second time in three years junior Maxwell Land will play in his home state. A Cincinnati, Ohio native, Land will be playing about 110 miles from his home. In the game last season against hte Bobcats Land had 15 points.

COURTESY ST. FRANCIS PA. ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS