By Danielle Daniels

3 26 2024

Ohio State vs. Georgia
Date: March 26, 2024
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Value City Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Watch: ESPN
Listen: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Tournament Central: NIT Tournament Page
Game Notes: Ohio State | Georgia
Rosters: Ohio State | Georgia
Season Stats: Ohio State | Georgia

TICKETS: Tickets are on sale now. Visit TicketMaster.com or call the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center at 1-800-GOBUCKS.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State has reached the quarterfinals of the NIT for the sixth time and will host Georgia on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN. Tom Hart and Corey Alexander will call the action.

• This will be just the second all-time meeting between Ohio State and Georgia on the basketball court. The Bulldogs won the first meeting, beating Ohio State 84-80 in overtime on the first day of the Louisville Holiday Classic in Louisville on Dec. 28, 1977.
• The Buckeyes are now 21-8 all-time in the NIT, including 13-3 at home. This is the first time reaching the quarterfinals since winning the event in 2008.
• Ohio State is coming off an 81-73 victory over Virginia Tech in the second round on Saturday night. Jamison Battle was a career-best 17-of-18 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 21 points. Felix Okpara had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with a couple of blocks. Bruce Thornton had a good all-around game with 12 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals.
• Jamison Battle notched his first double-double of the season against Virginia Tech, pulling down 10 rebounds to go along with his 21 points. He enters Tuesday just six points from 2,000 in his career.
• Battle also joined Thornton with 500+ points this season. That marks the first time in which multiple Buckeyes have scored 500 points in the same season since Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas and William Buford all reached the mark during the 2011-12 season. Roddy Gayle Jr. is just 25 points away from 500 points this season as well.
• Felix Okpara has now blocked a shot in 41 consecutive games, which is the longest streak in program history. He passed Ken Johnson, the Big Ten’s all-time leader in blocked shots, who had a streak of 40 games from 1998-2000.
• Okpara has played well through the first two NIT games, averaging 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting nearly 60 percent. He has scored 10 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
• Bruce Thornton is second nationally with a 3.85 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has 36 assists and just seven turnovers in the last five games.
• Dale Bonner has averaged 7.8 points per game over the last six games, which is his best stretch since November. The Buckeyes are 14-2 this season when he makes a three-pointer.
• Georgia enters with a record of 19-16 on the year. The Bulldogs took down Xavier at home in the opening round and then went to Wake Forest and made 14 three-pointers in a 72-66 victory on Sunday. Noah Thomasson (12.9 ppg) and Jabri Abdur-Rahim (12.2 ppg) are the two Bulldogs averaging in double figures.

#GoBucks

COURTESY OSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS