Tag Archives: Wisconsin

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.

Buckeye Honors

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Even though it’s been a rough season for the Buckeyes, it’s still been one for the record books for the Junior duo of Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft. Both players played in their 100th career game as a Buckeye in last weeks’ victory against Northwestern.

In their 100 games on the court, the Buckeyes are a stellar 83-17 overall, with a 36-11 record in Big Ten play.

As far as individual success is concerned, both Craft and Thomas are making their way into the Big Ten and Ohio State record books, respectively.

Craft is currently 13 steals shy of moving to the Top 7 in all-time steals in Big Ten history. With 219 steals under his belt already, he is currently 8th behind Dee Brown (Illinois, 2003-2006).

With 6 more rebounds, Thomas will be the 24th player in Ohio State history to score 1,000 points and pull down 500 rebounds in a career as a Buckeye. With his 18 point performance last week against Wisconsin, Thomas also became the 18th player in Buckeye history to score 500 points in a season multiple times (2).

 

Top 5 Ohio State Athletic Traditions

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“O” – “H” – “I” – “O”

“O” – “H” – “I” – “O”

“O” – “H” – “I” – “O”

The cheer circles around the Schottenstein Center and The Horseshoe during every home Ohio State athletic event. As I listened to the student section during last night’s game against Wisconsin, I couldn’t help but think of how great a tradition “The Ohio Chant” truly is.

I then began to think about the rest of the great traditions surrounding Ohio State athletics, and proceeded to compile the following list: The Top 5 Ohio State Athletic Traditions.

  1. Block-O: Overlooking the opposing team’s end zone, “Block-O” is the section of the stadium reserved for Ohio State students only. The section was created in 1938, and has grown to become the largest student organization on Ohio State’s campus (not to mention one of the rowdiest).
  2. The Victory Bell: Residing in the southeast tower of The Horseshoe, the bell is rung following every Buckeye victory. Given as a gift from the classes of 1943-1945, the bell can be heard (on a calm day) from up to five miles away.
  3. Carmen Ohio: Composed by freshman Fred Cornell following an 86-0 loss to The State Up North (M*ch*gan), Carmen Ohio is the oldest song still used by the university. After every home game the Ohio State Marching Band leads the team and fans in the singing of the first verse.
  4. Script Ohio: Before every home game, The Best Damn Band in the Land spells out “Ohio” in what is considered one of the best pregame performances in all of sports. Usually, the ceremonial “Dotting of the I” is done by the drum major. However, many famous Buckeye alums have been given the honor.
  5. The Game: Finally, we come to my favorite Buckeye tradition: the Michigan game. “The Game” is played at the end of every season, and any true Buckeye will tell you it’s the most important game of the season. Ohio State-Michigan is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, so what better way to end the season than with a victory against The State Up North?