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On Friday night, the OSU Men’s Basketball team opens regular season play against North Carolina A&T. Let’s take a look at the Aggies in preparation for this week’s game…
| School: | North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University |
| Location: | Greensboro, NC |
| Founded: | 1891 |
| Student Population: | 10,345 |
| School Type: | Public |
| Division: | NCAA |
| Conference: | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) |
| Stadium: | Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center |
| Seating: | 5700 |
| Built: | 1978 |
| Head Coach: | Jerry Eaves |
| Year: | 8th |
Nothing says “agriculture” like a bulldog! The North Carolina A&T team is led by head coach Jerry Eaves, currently entering his 8th season. The Aggies last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1995, reflecting the struggles the program has faced recently, although apparently they do enjoy a home game atmosphere that an Ohio State fan might envy (at least until this year, we hope). The team’s schedule features a number of decent opponents this year, including #11 Florida and a string of major-conference teams in December, including Mississippi State, Stanford, Arizona State, and Arkansas. Last year the Aggies finished the season with a record of 11-22, and may be in for another tough season with the loss of their three leading scorers from last year’s team. Guard Nic Simpson (6’3, 205) and forward/center Thomas Coleman (6’9, 220) will anchor the team this year. The Aggies have added some size to their lineup in the past couple years, and currently boast several players between 6’7 and 6’9 that should match up well with the lineups the Buckeyes will be putting on the floor this year. Ohio State will likely use this first game to experiment with a variety of pairings and should be able to wear down their opponent by consistently rotating in fresh talent.
Here’s a look at the projected starting lineups, with stats from last year:
| North Carolina A&T | GP | MIN | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| Nic Simpson | 33 | 23.7 | 9.5 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 0.37 | 0.813 | 0.343 |
| Thomas Coleman | 32 | 27.1 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 0.543 | 0.534 | 0 |
| Marc Hill | 33 | 18.1 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0 | 1.6 | 0.348 | 0.725 | 0.281 |
| DaMetrius Upchurch | 27 | 9.9 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.51 | 0.563 | 0.25 |
| Austin Witter | 33 | 15.7 | 2.5 | 2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.313 | 0.5 | 0.307 |
| Ohio State | GP | MIN | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| William Buford | 37 | 34.4 | 14.4 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 0.438 | 0.754 | 0.383 |
| Jon Diebler | 37 | 37.2 | 13 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.438 | 0.873 | 0.42 |
| David Lighty | 37 | 36.3 | 12.6 | 4.5 | 3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 0.492 | 0.632 | 0.383 |
| Aaron Craft | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jared Sullinger | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The game will be played at 7:00 on Friday night in Columbus.
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