# 1961–62 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 1961–62 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University. The team's head coach was Fred Taylor.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular season ||||||
| December 2* | No. 1 | Florida State | W 72–57 | 1–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| December 6* | No. 1 | at Pittsburgh | W 99–79 | 2–0 | Pittsburgh, PA |
| December 8* | No. 1 | Wichita State | W 85–62 | 3–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| December 9* | No. 1 | at No. 3 Wake Forest | W 84–62 | 4–0 | Winston-Salem, NC |
| December 16* | No. 1 | Loyola (IL) | W 92–72 | 5–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| December 18* | No. 1 | at Saint Louis | W 61–48 | 6–0 | |
| December 23* | No. 1 | Penn State | W 92–49 | 7–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| December 27* | No. 1 | vs. Washington LA Holiday Classic | W 59–49 | 8–0 | Los Angeles |
| December 28* | No. 1 | vs. UCLA LA Holiday Classic | W 105–84 | 9–0 | Los Angeles |
| December 30* | No. 1 | vs. USC LA Holiday Classic | W 76–66 | 10–0 | Los Angeles |
| Big Ten Regular season ||||||
| January 6 | No. 1 | at Northwestern | W 85–62 | 11–0 (1–0) | Evanston, IL |
| January 13 | No. 1 | Michigan | W 89–64 | 12–0 (2–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| January 20 | No. 1 | at Minnesota | W 90–76 | 13–0 (3–0) | Minneapolis, MN |
| January 22 | No. 1 | Purdue | W 91–65 | 14–0 (4–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| January 29 | No. 1 | at Purdue | W 94–73 | 15–0 (5–0) | West Lafayette, IN |
| February 3 | No. 1 | Northwestern | W 97–61 | 16–0 (6–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| February 5 | No. 1 | Iowa | W 89–63 | 17–0 (7–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| February 10 | No. 1 | Minnesota | W 91–66 | 18–0 (8–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| February 12 | No. 1 | at Michigan | W 72–57 | 19–0 (9–0) | Ann Arbor, MI |
| February 17 | No. 1 | at Michigan State | W 80–72 | 20–0 (10–0) | East Lansing, MI |
| February 24 | No. 1 | Illinois | W 102–79 | 21–0 (11–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| February 26 | No. 1 | at Iowa | W 72–62 | 22–0 (12–0) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| March 3 | No. 1 | at Wisconsin | L 67–81 | 22–1 (12–1) | Madison, WI |
| March 10 | No. 1 | Indiana | W 90–65 | 23–1 (13–1) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 16* | No. 1 | vs. Western Kentucky NCAA tournament Mideast Regional semifinal | W 93–73 | 24–1 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| March 17* | No. 1 | vs. No. 3 Kentucky NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional final | W 74–64 | 25–1 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| March 23* | No. 1 | vs. Wake Forest NCAA Tournament National semifinal | W 84–68 | 26–1 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| March 24* | No. 1 | vs. No. 2 Cincinnati NCAA tournament championship game | L 59–71 | 26–2 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Coaches | Not released | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

* John Havlicek, First Team All-Big Ten
* Jerry Lucas, All-America selection
* Jerry Lucas, Chicago Tribune Silver Basketball
* Jerry Lucas, First Team All-Big Ten
* Jerry Lucas, USBWA College Player of the Year

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 6 | Jerry Lucas | Cincinnati Royals |
| 1 | 9 | John Havlicek | Boston Celtics |
| 12 | 90 | Mel Nowell | Chicago Zephyrs |