Coatney's Call: Ohio State Game Preview

#20 Nebraska (15-2, 4-1) vs. #10 Ohio State (17-1, 4-1)
Thursday, Jan. 19, 5:01 p.m.  (central)
Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
Radio: 25-Station Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
B107.3 FM-KBBK (Lincoln); The Wolf 93.3 FM-KTWI (Omaha); 1400 AM-KCOW (Alliance); 960 AM-KNEB (Scottsbluff); 1230 AM-KHAS (Hastings)
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com
Live Television: Big Ten Network (Andrew Catalon-PBP; Debbie Antonelli-Analyst) 

This Thursday night's Husker women's basketball game at Ohio State game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. It is apropos that the TV color analyst for that game will be Debbie Antonelli, because one of Debbie's favorite sayings is, 'What were we put on the earth to do?  Score!" 

It will be a matchup of the No. 1 and No. 3 scoring offenses in the Big Ten, the team with the best field goal percentage in the league (Ohio State) versus the team that has made more three-pointers than any other Big Ten team (Nebraska) and will feature four of the top 10 scorers in the conference.  The No. 20 Huskers will look to rebound from their first Big Ten loss when they face the No. 10 Buckeyes in Columbus.

Nebraska is 15-2 overall and in a three-way tie for second in the Big Ten with a 4-1 record after Sunday's 93-73 loss to Penn State in Lincoln.  The Huskers held a six-point halftime lead over the Lady Lions, but were unable to match the preseason league favorite's offensive production in the second half. Still, Nebraska gained a season-split with Penn State as junior point guard Lindsey Moore led the Huskers with 18 points, while sophomore forward Jordan Hooper and freshman forward Emily Cady added 13 points each. 

The statistical similarities between Nebraska and Ohio State offensively are striking.  OSU leads the league in scoring offense (77.6 ppg) while NU is third (75.7 ppg).  The Buckeyes are first in scoring margin (+18.0) while the Huskers are third (+15.5).  Ohio State leads the league in field goal percentage (.471) and is second in three-point field goal percentage (.359).  Nebraska leads the league in three-pointers made per game (7.4).  Individually, OSU point guard Samantha Prahalis leads the league in assists per game (6.8), while NU point guard Lindsey Moore is second (5.9).  In fact, the two top-scoring tandems in the league will square off, as Buckeye guard Tayler Hill leads the Big Ten in scoring (21.4 ppg), with NU's Hooper third (19.8 ppg), Prahalis fourth (18.2 ppg) and Moore seventh (16.5 ppg). 

Ohio State has won three consecutive Big Ten Tournament titles and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament every season under 10th-year head coach Jim Foster. Last year the Buckeyes slipped during the regular season and finished third in the league with a 10-6 mark.  However, they caught fire in the postseason, winning the conference tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 for the third time in 10 years. OSU has won 28 of its last 30 games, with setbacks to NCAA No. 1-seed Tennessee in the 2011 Dayton Regional last March and a 73-62 loss at Michigan on Jan. 7.  The loss to the Wolverines ended OSU's 15-0 start to the season, the best in school history. 

Ohio State is one of only eight teams to have at least 20 wins in each of the past nine seasons.  Surprisingly, OSU is one of the youngest teams in the league, with only one senior on the roster and nine freshmen and sophomores, combined.  Ohio State lost four-time league Player of the Year Jantel Lavender to graduation prior to this season, yet the Buckeyes have rolled to a 17-1 record, a top-10 national ranking and a three-way tie with Nebraska and Michigan State for second place in the Big Ten.

Combining points and assists, Hill and Prahalis have had a hand in over 80 percent of Ohio State's field goals this season. Hill, a 5-10 junior, left Minneapolis South High School as the state's all-time leading scorer with a staggering 3,888 points.  The 2008 and 2009 Minnesota High School Player of the Year, Hill was the first eighth grader to lead the state in scoring.  She was named to the Big Ten All-Defense team last season and was honorable-mention all-conference. Hill currently leads the league and is 10th nationally in scoring (21.4).  Her 50 three-pointers also are the most by any Big Ten player. Hill had a career-high 31 points against a common Husker opponent, Florida State, as the Buckeyes squeezed by the Seminoles 78-75 in overtime on Nov. 30, just three days after Nebraska defeated FSU in Tallahassee. 

The 5-7 Prahalis is the only senior on the Ohio State roster, and as such is one of only three players who will suit up Thursday night who have played in an OSU-NU game previously. Husker seniors Kaitlyn Burke and Harleen Sidhu saw limited action, but Prahalis started as a true freshman and had six points, eight assists and seven turnovers in Ohio State's 69-65 non-conference win in Lincoln in 2008.  Prahalis is the all-time leader in assists in OSU history and is only 62 assists away from being the league's all-time record holder.  She is on the Wooden and Wade post-season National Player of the Year watch lists and shared the coaches' pre-season Big Ten Player-of-the-Year award with Penn State's Alex Bentley.  Prahalis was the 2009 league Freshman of the Year and was first-team All-Big Ten in 2010.  Named second-team All-Big Ten last season, Prahalis leads the league in minutes per game (36.4) and is second on the team in scoring (18.2 ppg).

Amber Stokes, a 5-10 forward, missed the entire 2008-09 season due to a shoulder injury. Now a redshirt-junior, Stokes is one of four Buckeyes to start every game this season. She is third on the team in scoring (7.3 ppg).  Center Ashley Adams, a 6-5 sophomore, has filled the void left by the graduation of Lavendar with solid play. Adams is second in the Big Ten in blocks (40) and is tied for the team lead in rebounds (5.3 rpg).  Adams adds 6.9 points per game.  

Forward Kalpana Beach, a 6-1 freshman, rounds out OSU's probable starting lineup.  Beach missed two games earlier this season due to concussion-like symptoms, but has started the other 16 games, including the last nine in a row.  Beach's father Sanjay is a former NFL wide receiver, playing for the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers. In fact, Beach was on the receiving end of Packer great Brett Favre's first official NFL pass completion.  (Actually it was Favre's first completion to another teammate. His first NFL pass completion was batted back and Favre caught it and lost seven yards on the play.)  Kalpana Beach is tied with Adams for the team lead in rebounding and adds 5.1 points per game.

Jim Foster has been very successful at each of his three coaching stops. He is just the second collegiate coach, men's or women's at any level, to win at least 200 games at three different schools. (Current Rutgers' coach C. Vivian Stringer is the other).  Foster won 248 games at St. Joseph's and 256 at Vanderbilt before taking over at Ohio State.

Ohio State has won three consecutive games against the Huskers and leads the all-time series with Nebraska 3-2.  NU was victorious in the first meeting ever, defeating OSU in Columbus 63-54 in 1990. The Huskers upset the 13th-ranked Buckeyes 60-55 in 2003 in Lincoln in Connie Yori's second season as Nebraska coach.  The teams have played four times in non-conference action in the Connie Yori and Jim Foster coaching eras.

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and me for Nebraska women's basketball on the Husker Sports Network.  Our radio broadcast Thursday evening begins with the Husker Courtside pre-game show at 4:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 5:01 p.m. on the Husker Sports Network, including Lincoln affiliate KBBK 107.3 FM (B107.3), KTWI (The Wolf) 93.3 FM in Omaha, KCOW 1400 in Alliance, KHAS 1230 in Hastings, KNEB 960 in Scottsbluff and available to our entire 25 network stations.  All Husker women's basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com.  I hope you can join us. 

There are a number of ways to get enhanced information about our broadcast and Husker women's basketball via social media.  You can learn more about the team on the Nebraska Women's Basketball Facebook  page or follow the team on their official Twitter  page @huskerswbb.  I also invite you to friend me on Facebook (Matt Coatney) or follow me on Twitter @coatman1.

Go Big Red! 

Matt