Tuesday, March 18th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Value City Arena (19,200) -- Columbus, Ohio. Television: ESPN2. NIT Record: UNC-Asheville 0-0, Ohio State 13-7. Series Record: Ohio State leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes will host the eighth-seeded UNC-Asheville Bulldogs in the first round of the NIT Tuesday. The winner will face the New Mexico/California winner in the second round on Thursday. The Bulldogs, co-regular season champs of the Big South Conference, are the first Big South team ever to play in the NIT. Their 23 wins on the season were a school record. However, UNCA had its five-game win streak snapped by Winthrop in the conference championship game on Saturday. OSU finished with a 10-8 record in the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes were ousted by 19th-ranked Michigan State in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney, 67-60 on Friday. It was certainly a disappointing loss for the Buckeyes, who closed out the regular season with back-to-back wins over then 15th-ranked Purdue and that same Spartans squad. Ohio State is 13-7 all-time in the NIT, winning the event in 1986. In the only other meeting between these two programs, OSU cruised to a 93-59 victory over UNC-Asheville during the 1993-94 season.

The Bulldogs couldn't have picked a worst time to put up a clunker their last time out, as they shot just 33 percent from the floor in Saturday's Big South title game. They trailed by only four points at the half despite making just six field goals in the opening frame. But Winthrop got dialed in from three- point range in the second stanza, while also outscoring the Bulldogs from the foul line, 16-6. Kenny George paced Asheville with 13 points off the bench. Reid Augst added 12 points and six rebounds, and Bryan Smithson contributed 10 points in the loss. Five players on the team are averaging double figures this season, led by Smithson with 16.4 ppg.

OSU is fueled by the tandem of Jamar Butler (14.6 ppg) and Kosta Koufos (13.7 ppg). Butler leads the team in minutes (36.6 per game) and three-point shooting (84-of-219), while Koufos is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.8 boards per game. The Buckeyes have been able to rely on some stifling defense to win games this season, as they are holding opponents to 38.5- percent shooting from the floor. They did a solid job by holding the Spartans to 36.7 percent shooting last Friday, but OSU struggled from the perimeter in the second half, shooting just 1-of-9. Koufos led the way with 19 points, while David Lighty (12 points), Butler (11 points) and Othello Hunter (10 points, seven rebounds) each made solid contributions.

Asheville has enjoyed a fine season, but the Bulldogs appear to be outmatched in this one, at least on paper. If the Buckeyes come out and play their game, an invitation to the second round should not be all that hard to come by.

Predicted Outcome

Ohio State 75, UNC-Asheville 68