Ohio State Men’s Basketball to host second annual ‘Student Night’
COLUMBUS- The Ohio State Men’s Basketball team will hold its second annual student night on Wednesday, Nov. 28 against Syracuse at the Schottenstein Center.
The tradition, whereby Ohio State students can get a free ticket to one game of the season, started in 2017.
Head coach Chris Holtmann was at the forefront of the idea and has continued to be the face of the campaign.
Holtmann has shown enthusiasm and passion towards engaging with the university and growing the student section at home games since he was appointed Head Coach at the start of the 2017–18 season.
“Last year we had an incredible turnout. Over 6,500 students collected their free ticket and made it an incredible environment,” Holtmann said in the ‘Pack the Nuthouse’ campaign video released on Nov. 13.
Similar to this year, the first student night was held for Ohio State’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge Matchup, attracting a crowd of 17,189 to watch the Buckeyes lose to Clemson 79–65.
A similar crowd of approximately 17,000 is expected to attend the 2018 student night against Syracuse.
Holtmann is hoping the larger attendance will provide a home court advantage to the team.
“The students add a tremendous energy to our games,” he said.
The passion and cheering Holtmann wants to hear on Wednesday will come from some Buckeye fans that have never been to a basketball game before.
Kerrie Patterson, an Irish exchange student studying at the Ohio State University this semester, said she didn’t consider going to a game until the student night opportunity was presented to her.
“I’m excited,” Patterson said. “I’m looking forward to a packed crowd and lots of cheering. And of course, I’m hoping for a Buckeye win.”
However, the likelihood of an Ohio State win rests heavily upon their ability to combat Syracuse’s infamous zone defense.
Ohio State guard, C.J. Jackson, said their defensive set up is the first thing he thinks about when the team is mentioned.
“It’s a little bit different than we are used to, because they are going to play their custom zone for the full 40 minutes,” Jackson said. “We are going to have to adjust a little bit, but we still have to be aggressive and attack the same way we would if it was a man defense and look to hit our spots early.”
Student night will also increase the attendance for the return of Thad Matta, who was Ohio State’s head coach from 2005 to 2017.
A ceremony will be held at half-time and a banner will be raised to recognize the achievements of the program’s all-time wins leader.
“We are recognizing Coach Matta and his family and their incredible contributions to this university, and obviously the basketball program,” Coach Holtmann said. “It should be a really rewarding night for him and his family as they get a chance to come back.”
Ohio State is hoping a passionate atmosphere, a challenging opponent and the tribute to Coach Matta will make the second student night even more successful than the first.
Meanwhile, Holtmann is just hoping the tradition will encourage more Ohio State students to come and support the team.
“I miss [the students] when they are not there, I really do. I think our team misses them when they are not there,” Holtmann said. “We just can’t wait to have them back.”
