Tag Archives: B1G Ten

West region analysis: A big test for the Buckeyes

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It was a good weekend to be a fan of The Ohio State University. The Men’s Basketball team dominated the B1G Ten Tournament this weekend, culminating in a victory against Wisconsin today in the championship.

Ohio State has now won the conference tournament in three of the last four seasons, asserting their dominance in America’s toughest conference (arguably).

Today’s win pushed Ohio State all the way up to to be the no. 2 seed in the West region of the bracket. Some said the Buckeyes got lucky, seeing as their opening round games are going to be held in the friendly confines of Dayton, OH. What they aren’t looking at is the rocky road the Buckeyes will have to take to get to the Sweet 16 and further on in the tournament.

Barring a catastrophic performance against their opening round game against Iona College, the Buckeyes will go on to face the winner of no. 7 Notre Dame and no. 10 Iowa State. It’s assumed that the Fighting Irish will prevail against the Cyclones of Iowa State, no matter how hideous their uniforms are.

The Irish fell to Louisville, the now no. 1 overall seed in the national tournament, in the semi-finals of their conference tournament after stringing together some impressive wins early in the tournament. Though the Irish weren’t a powerhouse squad all season, their ability to rebound and get second-chance opportunities could be a struggle for the vertically-challenged Buckeyes.

Okay, so let’s say the Buckeye’s beat the Irish, most would expect the next opponent to be the University of New Mexico. No, that wasn’t a joke.

The Lobos had an impressive season, sweeping the Mountain West Tournament and regular season title for the second straight year. Being the no. 3 seed in the West Region, the Buckeye’s would presumably have quite the challenge in the Sweet 16.

In a perfect world, the Buckeyes would then advance to the Elite 8, where they would have to face (barring any major upsets) no. 1 seed Gonzaga. The Bulldogs this year have been compared to the Notre Dame Football team, seeing as they have a great record and reputation, but are also plagued with doubts about if they can win the big game.

People across the country were stunned to see the University of Miami (FL) get shafted for the no. 1 seed, including myself. The Hurricanes won the ACC Tournament, and had an impressive record and performances all season long. But hey, I’m not complaining.

The senior leadership and composure the Hurricanes have give them an advantage over a team like Ohio State. They played big games, and beat good teams. The same can’t really be said for Gonzaga.

But, then again, this is basically a “What If?” analysis. This year’s college basketball season was as predictable as Northern Virginia weather. One day the sun shines for a team, the next they find themselves stuck in the cold. Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the tournament.

However, one thing is for sure. The Buckeyes are the hottest team in college hoops, and are going to ride out this momentum all the way through the tournament.

Leave it to Michigan

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Leave it to Michigan to lose.

Leave it to Michigan to let down Ohio State fans the one time we’re cheering for the horrendous pairing that is the maize and blue.

It was painful to watch, really. On their home court in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines fell apart late in their game from the free-throw line Sunday against Indiana, losing 72-71. Had Michigan won, Ohio State would have been able to win a share of the B1G Ten Title for the fourth consecutive year.

Instead, Indiana wins the title outright for the first time since 1993, locking themselves in for the no. 1 seed in the B1G Ten Tournament, March 14-17 (Thursday through Sunday).

The Buckeyes earned a 2 seed, winning the tie-breaker against Michigan State for earning a better record against the Hoosiers. The 2 seeds comes with a first round bye, so it could be worse. We could be Michigan, who lost a fourth place tie-breaker with Wisconsin, leaving them in the fifth seed overall.

The Buckeyes take on the winner of Thursday’s Purdue/Nebraska game on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the United Center in Chicago.

Ohio State Coach Thad Matta’s pockets will be a little lighter after this season, as he lost $20,000 in contract incentives due to only coming in second in the conference. But don’t feel too bad for Coach Matta, he still has a $3.2 million salary, so there’s that!

Regardless of what happens in Chicago this weekend, the Buckeye’s will be heading to the big dance at the end of March for a chance to compete for the national championship. However, a fourth-straight B1G Ten Title would look really good to the selection committee when they start picking seeds.

Thanks for nothing, Michigan.

Bye and Share of B1G Ten Title on the Line in Buckeyes’ Final Week

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Just like last year, the Buckeyes have the ability to earn a share of the B1G Ten Title. But it won’t be easy.

Ohio State needs to win Tuesday at Assembly Hall against Indiana and then again at home against Illinois next Sunday. But wait, there’s more!

The Buckeyes also need Indiana to lose their final game, not to mention at least one loss from Michigan State and Wisconsin. Simple enough, right?

Not so much. Tuesday night is Indiana’s senior night; as if Assembly Hall needs a reason to be more amped up.

Regardless of what happens, Ohio State will still finish in the top 5 of the best conference in college basketball this season. Currently ranked 16th overall, the Buckeyes are looking at, roughly, a 4 or even 5 seed in the national tournament (depending on how good or bad they play in the B1G Ten tournament).

Even though the Buckeyes don’t really control their own destiny, the way the team has played recently should keep fans positive about the upcoming post season.

Shannon Scott has earned a significant amount of playing time, and the team has greatly benefited, especially on the defensive end. Aaron Craft has compiled a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last 3 games, and has started to come into his own on the offensive end.

With Craft taking care of the basketball and Scott locking down opponents on defense, Ohio State is an increasingly better team than on most nights, making then a dangerous force to be reckoned with come tournament time.

Aaron’s Expectations

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At 13th in the country, with a 7-4 record in the B1G Ten, it’s clear to see that Ohio State is under-performing this season. Coming into the season, there was a lot of hype surrounding the return of Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas.

On Wednesday, Craft was interviewed with Head Coach Thad Matta about the focus of the rest of the season and the expectations for Ohio State basketball.

 

 

Really B1G Ten

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If you had told me before the season that Ohio State, at this point, would be 17-6 and ranked 13th in the country, I’d have a heart attack from laughing so hard.

There’s no possible way this team could be a whopping 7-4 in the B1G Ten! With Aaron Craft’s lock-down defense and Deshaun Thomas’ knock-down shooting, the Buckeye’s should be the no. 1 team in the country!

But nobody, including me, saw what the B1G Ten conference was going to be like.

At this point, forget Ohio State. Had you told me that there would be five teams in the Top 25 (1 Indiana, 4 Michigan, 8 Michigan State, 13 Ohio State, 20 Wisconsin) with Minnesota, yes, MINNESOTA, getting votes to be in the Top 25, I would have…honestly…I don’t know what I would’ve done.

The conference has never, EVER been this good before! The Big East was this good in its prime (R.I.P.) and the ACC was amazing when North Carolina used to be a legitimate program (key words: used to). But the B1G Ten? Never.

This is what’s so great about college basketball. The fact that any team, no matter how big, or how well known, can go out and make a run and compete with anybody. Anytime. Anywhere.

It sucks that B1G Ten teams are going to continue to beat each other up, it really does. But, come tournament time, we’re all in for quite a treat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ4K2I8eC8Y