Bryant takes on No. 3 Ohio State Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

FULL GAME NOTES
TV: Big Ten Network
ON CAMPUS: Channel 40
LIVE STATS: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
FOLLOW ALONG ON TWITTER: @BryantGameday

THE PARTICULARS
The Bryant University men's basketball team continues on in BlackRock Gotham Classic action and will take on No. 3/2 Ohio State at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night. The 7:30 p.m. tip will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

THE SERIES
This is the first time the Bulldogs and the Buckeyes have matched up on the hardwood.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State continued its run up the national rankings this week and remains undefeated on the 2013-14 season. The Buckeyes have played seven of their eight contests at home at Value City Arena and have won by 10 points or more in every outing. Four players average double figures, paced by 12.1 points per game from Lenzelle Smith Jr.. LaQuinton Ross (11.4), Aaron Craft (10.6) and Amir Williams (10.5) follow suit, while Williams also paces the team on the glass with 6.9 rebounds each time out. Craft has dished out 40 helpers with 21 steals to open the year, both team bests, and Williams and Sam Thompson have each posted double-digit blocks with 18 and 10, respectively. The Buckeyes average 74.6 points per game but allow only 54.5 while holding opposing shooters to a 37.1 percent clip from the field and a stingy 22 percent mark from 3-point land. Ohio State pulls in 36 boards per contest and shoots 47.7 percent with a .354 mark from beyond the arc.

DID YOU KNOW?
This is the second of three-straight televised games for the Black and Gold. Monday's night's 70-59 loss to the Fighting Irish was seen live on ESPNU, and Saturday's home game against Navy will be broadcast live on Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network.

BRYANT vs. THE BIG TEN
Bryant is 0-4 all-time against current members of the Big Ten, having matched up against three different opponents. The Bulldogs have twice traveled to Assembly Hall to take on the Hoosiers and have also done battle with the likes of Iowa and Michigan. This is the only Big Ten matchup on the Bulldogs' 2013-14 slate.

UP FOR A CHALLENGE
This is not the first time the Bulldogs have taken on an opponent ranked in the nation's top five, and the Buckeyes aren't even the highest-ranked team Bryant has ever faced. Last year, in the program's first year as a fully eligible Division I program, the Bulldogs opened the campaign on the road at preseason No. 1 Indiana. It was the program's first official Division I game.

ON THE PLUS SIDE...
Bryant is currently the only team in the Northeast Conference with a positive scoring margin. While it sits at just +1.9, the Bulldogs' next nearest conference opponent posts a —0.8.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Two days after North Dakota State handed Bryant its first home loss and first loss when holding opponents under 70 points, Notre Dame held the Bulldogs under 60 points for the first time this season in handing the Bulldogs their first back-to-back losses of 2013-14.

A STARK DIFFERENCE
Bulldog leading scorer Dyami Starks averages 22.1 points per outing this season, a number that ranks eighth in the nation and tops in the league circuit in the latest NCAA and NEC rankings (Dec. 8). Starks already has five 20-point games and a trio of 30-point performances to his name in 2013-14 and sits in the conference's top-10 in free throw percentage (.909, second, 25th nationally), 3-pointers per game (3.22, second, 26th nationally), steals (1.33, eighth) and minutes played (36.22, first, 28th nationally).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
With 17 points Monday night against the Irish, senior forward Alex Francis breaks into the top five in the program's list of greatest scorers. He enters Wednesday's contest with 1,653 career points — good for fifth all-time — but will need a few more games to displace No. 4 on the list, Paul Berlo (1,715 points). He is also currently ranked fifth among the program's all-time career rebounding leaders, needing just 16 more to move up to No. 4 on that list. Francis ranks in the program's top-10 in scoring average, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws made and rebounding average as well.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA rankings, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis currently sits among the top active NCAA Division I players in numerous categories. As of December 8, the senior is ranked fourth in career field goals (currently 630), fifth in career double-doubles (27), seventh in total rebounds (790), eighth in total points (1,653), 12th in career scoring average (16.4 ppg), 16th in free throws made (380), 25th in rebounding average (7.9) and 48th in career field goal percentage (.537). He is one of just five active players to have 1,500 points and 750 rebounds to his name. Francis also ranks 31st in field goal percentage, shooting at a .587 clip so far in 2013-14.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NEC RANKINGS
Bryant senior forward Alex Francis has already cracked the top-50 on the Northeast Conference's career scoring list this season, and he enters Wednesday's matchup ranked 34th all-time with 1,653 career points — a number that is also good for tops among active players in the conference. Francis also breaks into the league's top-20 all-time for rebounding after Saturday's nine-board performance and is currently 19th with 790. He is one of 13 just players in NEC history to reach 1,500 points and 750 boards in his career, and the New York City product is currently on pace to become the first player in conference history to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Francis currently ranks in the NEC top-10 in scoring (16.3, sixth), rebounding (6.2, fourth), field goal percentage (.587, first), blocks (1.20, eighth), steals (1.30, ninth) and minutes played (34.80, third).

BULLDOGS ANNOUNCE FIVE-GAME BROADCAST PARTNERSHIP WITH OSN
With six men's basketball games already scheduled for national TV, Bryant University Athletics announced this week that five more will be featured locally on Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network in 2013-14. In partnering with Cox Communications, the Bulldogs bring their exciting brand of basketball into the homes of viewers throughout Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut, as well as across the country with CoxSportsOnline.com. Fans will have the opportunity to witness one of the strongest programs in the state playing in five home games, backed by the best home fans in the Northeast Conference.

All five games will be broadcast LIVE in High Definition on Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network and streamed online at coxsportsonline.com and necfrontrow.com. Mike Mancuso will handle the play-by-play duties and Chris Disano will serve as the color analyst. The five-game package kicks osff on Saturday, Dec. 14 as the Black and Gold host Navy at 12:30 p.m.

Bryant Basketball on OSN
Dec. 14 vs. Navy (12:30 p.m.)
Dec. 30 vs. Lehigh (7:00 p.m.)
Jan. 16 vs. Sacred Heart (7:00 p.m.)
Jan. 25 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (1:00 p.m.)
Feb. 22 vs. Central Connecticut (4:00 p.m.)

HISTORY IN THE MAKING
In what has already been a season filled with milestones, senior forward Alex Francis has one more historic height to reach. With 1,636 points and 786 rebounds, Francis has the potential to become the first player in NEC history to score 2,000 points and pull down 1,000 rebounds in a career. An All-NEC First Teamer last season and unanimous Preseason All-NEC pick, he will need to average 16.5 points per game and 10 rebounds per outing to hit those marks before the conclusion of the regular season.

A former NEC Rookie of the Year and potential Player of the Year candidate this season, Francis has boasted back-to-back 500-point campaigns, but will need to post a career season on the glass (272) to be the first to hit historic mark. Currently, Francis is the NEC's active scoring leader and ranks second in career rebounds among all active players on the league circuit.

1,000 REASONS...
After leading the Bulldogs in nearly every offensive statistic and setting the program's Division I mark for points in a season last year, junior sharpshooter Dyami Starks could become the third player in a two-year span to join the 1,000-point club. He enters Wednesday's contest with 835 career points, 88 of those coming during his freshman campaign at Columbia (2010-11). Starks will need to average just 7.9 points per game — well below both his Bryant and career scoring averages — to eclipse the milestone by the end of the 2013-14 regular season.

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT?
The Bryant men's basketball team will be featured in live national and regional broadcasts 11 times throughout the 2013-14 season. The Bulldogs will see air time on ESPNU at Notre Dame on Dec. 9 and at Robert Morris Jan. 30 (also on ESPN3). The Big Ten Network will carry Bryant's Dec. 11 game at Ohio State, while NEC road matchups against LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 23 (MSG+, Fox College Sports and Cox) and Wagner Feb. 16 (CBS Sports Network) will also air nationally. Bryant's season opener against No. 15 Gonzaga was broacast live on KHQ/Root Sports. Bryant will air five additional home games on Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network throughout Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut — Dec. 14 vs. Navy (12:30 p.m.), Dec. 30 vs. Lehigh (7 p.m.), Jan. 16 vs. Sacred Heart (7 p.m.), Jan. 25 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (1:00 p.m.) and Feb. 22 vs. Central Connecticut (4:00 p.m.).

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs interrupt BlackRock Gotham Classic play and return home to host Navy at the Chace Athletic Center Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The game will air live on Cox Sports throughout Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut and can be seen online at NECfrontrow.com.