The Game: Towson (6-3, 0-0 CAA) at No. 21/22 Ohio State (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten)
When: Wednesday, December 8 – 9 p.m.
Where: The Jerome Schottenstein Center – Columbus, Ohio
Broadcast: ESPNU
--Broadcasters: Mike Corey, Mark Adams
Radio/Online Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
--Broadcaster: Spiro Morekas
Series: Ohio State leads 2-0
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Towson University men's basketball team looks to finish its trip through the Buckeye State with a big win, taking on #21/22 Ohio State in Columbus on Wednesday, Dec.8 at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
This game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU, with Mike Corey and Mark Adams on the call.  Check your local listings for channel information, or you can watch online through WatchESPN.  In addition, Spiro Morekas will have the radio call live the Jerome Schottenstein on towsontigers.com.
 
Towson, Colonial Athletic Association member, earned a big 73-58 victory at Kent State to begin this road trip.  The Tigers have won their last three games and stand at 6-3 overall.  Ohio State has won its last two, coming off a 76-64 win at Penn State in the Big Ten opener, to be 6-2 overall.  The Buckeyes are ranked #21 in the AP poll and #22 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
 
Towson and Ohio State will meet for the third time on Wednesday.  The first meeting was in the 1991 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional, with OSU winning 97-86 on March 15.  The pair met again in Columbus on Nov. 15, 2004, with Ohio State winning 74-53.
 
This is Towson's first game against a top-25 opponent this season and first since playing #4 Virginia on Nov. 25, 2020 in the Mohegan Sun "Bubbleville."  Towson is 0-10 against ranked opponents under head coach Pat Skerry, with three of those games occurring during the 2011-12 campaign.
 
THOMPSON - 2020-21 CAA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Charles Thompson was selected to the 2020-21 CAA All-Defensive Team last year, making it the third year in a row where Towson had a representative on the CAA All-Defensive Team.
 
Thompson finished second in the CAA in total blocks with 28, including 26 against league competition, the best mark in league-only play.  He also finished eighth in the league with 6.4 rebounds a contest.
 
Dennis Tunstall '20 was on the CAA All-Defensive Team for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
 
TOP SCORING DEFENSE IN THE CAA
Through the first nine games, Towson stands with the top scoring defense among CAA programs, allowing 62.6 points per game.  Towson has allowed 63 points or fewer in seven of its first nine games, including six of the previous seven.
 
Towson also leads the CAA in field goal % defense at 38.4% and is second in three-point field goal % defense at 29.9%.
 
The Tigers also have the top rebounding margin in the CAA at +8.9.  Before the 2020-21 season, Towson finished the year having led the league in rebounding margin the previous seven seasons, finishing third at +2.2 last year.
   
DOUBLING UP
Towson has been able to rely on a trio of scorers thus far this year, who each have at least six games in double figure scoring.
--Cam Holden: 9 (3 with 20+ points)
--Nicolas Timberlake: 6 (2 with 20+ points)
--Terry Nolan Jr.: 6 (5 games with 5+ assists)
   
TOWSON PREDICTED TO FINISH EIGHTH IN CAA
Towson was predicted to get eighth in the CAA in the league's preseason poll, voted on by the conference's head coaches, SIDs and media.
 
This past year, Towson finished the year at 4-14 overall and 3-9 in the CAA, plus had three pauses due to COVID-19.
 
Delaware is predicted to finish first in the preseason poll with 19 out of 36 possible first-place votes, followed by Northeastern at second with seven.  Reigning league champion Drexel is third followed by James Madison, Hofstra, Elon, Charleston, Towson, UNCW and William & Mary.
 
SKERRY - 150 WINS AT TOWSON
Pat Skerry earned his 150th victory as head coach of the Tigers on Nov. 23, 2021 with Towson's 76-61 win over Penn.  Currently, Skerry has amassed 153 victories at Towson, including six years of at least 18 wins since the 2012-13 season.
 
Skerry is the third Towson men's basketball head coach with at least 150 wins.  Vince Angotti won 229 games as Towson's head coach from 1966-83 while Terry Truax notched 202 wins with the Tigers from 1983-97.  Skerry is also the third longest-tenured coach in Towson history.
 
Including two seasons leading Curry from 1996-98, Skerry has 177 wins as a head coach.  His teams have won double digit victories in 11 out of 13 seasons as a head coach.
 
In June, Skerry served as a court coach for the 2021 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Cup training camp on the campus of Texas Christian University (TCU).  He was one of three coaches across the country selected for this role, working with some of the top up-and-coming talent in the country.  That team went on to win the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in July.
 
Towson vs. Ranked Teams Since 2011-12
Nov. 11, 2011 - #13 Kansas 100, Towson 54
Nov. 14, 2011 - #17 Michigan 64, Towson 47
Nov. 30, 2011 - #23/24 Virginia 57, Towson 50
Dec. 8, 2012 - #15 Georgetown 46, Towson 40
Nov. 22, 2013 - #2/3 Kansas 88, Towson 58
Nov. 20, 2016 - #24 Maryland 71, Towson 66
Nov. 6, 2018 - #5 Virginia 73, Towson 42
Nov. 14, 2019 - #15 Florida 66, Towson 60
Nov. 21, 2019 - #18/21 Xavier 73, Towson 51 --in Charleston, S.C.
Nov. 25, 2020 - #4 Virginia 89, Towson 54 --in Uncasville, Conn.
 
REPPING THE HOME STATE
Towson's represents its home of the Old Line State well, having eight players from Maryland on the roster.
 
Baltimore-native Terry Nolan Jr. is back home after graduating from Bradley, having spent two years with the Braves and two more at George Washington.
 
From Severna Park comes Jason Gibson, who earned All-CAA Rookie Team honors in 2019-20.  Charles Thompson, from Fort Washington, earned a spot on the CAA All-Defensive Team last season.  Joining the team is Mount Airy-native Chase Paar after two years at George Washington.
 
Five more Tigers call Maryland home: Chris Caliguiran from Accokeek, Brandon Held from Marriottsville, Curtis Holland III from Churchton and two Bowie natives: Olugbemi Joseph and Justin Patterson.
 
TU.....TRANSFER U.....
    Towson has six players who have come to Towson from other NCAA Division I programs.
--#0 Antonio Rizzuto, transfer from UAlbany (2018-21)
--#1 Terry Nolan Jr., transfer from Bradley (2019-21) and GW (2017-19)
--#5 Curtis Holland III, transfer from High Point (2018-20)
--#12 Juwan Gray, transfer from San Diego (2016-18)
--#13 Chase Paar, transfer from GW (2019-21)
--#55 Cam Holden, transfer from UT Martin (2020-21)
 
......BIG TIME TRANSFERS
Three of Towson's incoming transfers earned a league award with their respective teams last season.
 
Cam Holden was the second-ever UT Martin player to earn all-league honors, being Second Team All-OVC with 14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds a contest.
 
Antonio Rizzuto was Second Team All-America East last year at UAlbany with 12.5 points a game in 2020-21.
 
Terry Nolan Jr. picked up an MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selection with 11.2 points and 3.3 assists a game last year.
 
SECU ARENA - TRUE HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Since SECU Arena opened in 2013, Towson has defended home court well with a 73-38 record in home games.
 
Of the first eight years, Towson has won at least two-thirds of its home games in five seasons. The 2013-14, the opening year of SECU, Towson went 15-1.
 
NATIONALLY TELEVISED TIGERS
Towson will have several opportunities to shine on the national stage this year with multiple appearances on national television. (all times ET)
--Nov. 19, 6 p.m. at Pittsburgh - ACC Network
--Nov. 25, 9:30 p.m. vs. San Francisco - FS1
--Nov. 26, 2nd game Vegas Invitational - FS1/FS2
--Dec. 8, 9 p.m. at Ohio State - ESPNU
--Jan. 3, 8 p.m. at Drexel - CBS Sports Network
--Jan. 11, 5 p.m. vs. Hofstra - CBS Sports Network
 
In addition, Towson may have other chances to be on the CBS Sports Network as part of the CAA TV package with the channel.  Other CAA regular season games plus the CAA Tournament semifinal and championship contests will air nationally.
 
ALUMNI PLAYING IN THE PROS
Towson currently has several alumni playing in the professional ranks across the world.
 
Mike Morsell signed a contract with the Memphis Hustle in the NBA G League before the 2021-22 season.
 
Dennis Tunstall '20, who signed with Basketball Academic Limburg in the Netherlands for the 2021-22 campaign.  Brian Fobbs '20 got his first professional contract for the 2021-22 season, going to Finland to play for the Vilpas Vikings.  Zane Martin and Alex Gavrilovic are playing in Sweden and Romania respectively.
 
Several of Towson players under Skerry have played professionally.  Signing contracts since 2020 include Tunstall, Nakye Sanders, Brian Fobbs, Alex Gavrilovic, Zane Martin, Timajh Parker-Rivera, Arnaud William Adala Moto and Brian Starr.  Many other players under Skerry have played professionally: Jerrelle Benimon, Mike Burwell, Marcus Damas, John Davis, Bilal Dixon, Four McGlynn and Mike Morsell.
 
CHANGES TO THE COACHING STAFF
11th-year head coach Pat Skerry announced a couple of changes on his coaching staff this season.  Pat O'Connell has been elevated to associate head coach in his sixth year with the program while Parfait Bitee, also in year six with Towson, moves up from director of player development to assistant coach.  Chris Conway joins the team as the new director of player development from Millersville.
 
Returning as well for the 2021-22 season is associate head coach Kevin Clark for his 11th year and director of operations Jordan Malkin for his second season.
 
Skerry, in year 11 with Towson, is the second-longest tenured coach among current CAA head coaches, only behind Bill Cohn of Northeastern, who is in his 16th year with the Huskies.
 
THANKSGIVING RE-RUN
Last season, Towson played San Francisco on Thanksgiving in the Mohegan Sun Bubbleville.  This year on Thanksgiving, Towson again played San Francisco, this time in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.  The game was televised nationally on FS1.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Ohio State has the second-highest three-point shooting rate in the Big Ten at 38.7%.  Preseason All-Big Ten forward E.J. Liddell averages 20.4 points and seven rebounds per game.  Senior forward Justin Ahrens is the main three-point threat at 43.2%, scoring 8.3 points per game.
 
CAM OFF TO A STRONG START
In his first year with the program after transferring from UT Martin, Cam Holden is having a very strong start.
 
Earning five double-doubles this year, Holden thus far is averaging 16.0 points and 10.4 rebounds a contest through the opening nine games, each team-highs.  He currently ranks 14th in all of Division I in rebounding and eighth in double-doubles.
 
ALL HOME GAMES TO AIR ON FLOSPORTS
For the 2021-22 season, all Towson men's and women's basketball home games will be broadcast online on FloSports, the exclusive online broadcast partner of the Colonial Athletic Association. Nearly all CAA conference games will be broadcast on FloSports.
 
Spiro Morekas, the voice of the Towson Tigers, is in his 31st season calling games for the men's basketball team.
 
FOUR TIGERS EARN CAA ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Four Towson men's basketball players were selected to the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll for Spring 2021 for maintaining a 3.0 GPA through that semester.
 
Chris Biekeu, Chris Caliguiran, Jason Gibson and Justin Patterson all earned this honor after the Spring 2021 semester.