Rise and shine Buckeye faithful. It's time to start your day by bringing down the collective efficiency of your employer in a bit of a primer for the drag you'll really put on your company when the real Madness starts next Thursday.
The B1G Tourney gets underway in just a few hours with Iowa and Illy squaring off around lunchtime. The first day of action has some pretty janky matchups though you should spend some time getting your scout-on as #6 Purdue takes on #11 Nebraska with the winner earning a shot at the Buckeyes tomorrow night around 9pm Eastern.
Things heat up significantly on Friday with Wisconsin likely matching up with the Whining Crean's around 2:30 Eastern before Michigan takes on the Northwestern/Minny winner ahead of the Buckeyes to close out the quarterfinals.
Assuming both Ohio State and Michigan get past their first matchup, a donnybrook with the Wolverines is slated for roughly 4:15pm Eastern on Saturday after a potential Sparty/Wisky slugfest so clear your calendar, stock the fridge with 312's and send the wife to the mall to wrangle up some celebratory skimpiness.
Also, remember we've got you covered with liveblogs for all the OSU action and I'll be courtside in Indy providing updates via twitter in addition to our usual previews and recaps. For those of you making the trip, hit me up at @Chris11w and the first round is on me.
In the meantime, let's see what's going on in today's skully which is apparently being sponsored by Samoas, Tagalongs and The Pharcyde's essential Labcabincalifornia.
THE VILLAIN GETS HIS. Hitting just six of 27 shots over the last three games prompting rumors of a mystery issue being to blame for his woes, Evan Turner went off for a career high 26 points on 11/19 shooting with nine rips in a 103-71 blowout of the C's last night in Philly.
Turner's heroics come at just the right time. Losers in eight of their last 10, the Sixers lead in Atlantic Division had dissolved to just one game, keeping them in line for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. It looks like ET will get a chance to keep his name in the starting lineup so keep an eye on him as the regular season unfolds.
Earlier in the night, Turner was on the Big Ten Network going HAM on the Wolverines in the cult 2010 B1G tourney classic in which he eliminated the maize and blue with a 37 foot rainbow of joy. Do yourself a favor and relive the glory of that moment as a good luck ritual for this weekend.
ACHES AND CRAFTS. It's no secret Aaron Craft has been playing with a flat tire for nearly a month and clearly aggravated his right ankle injury this past Sunday against Sparty. While William Buford's ability to deliver consistent offensive production is the chief factor in determining how much noise the Buckeyes can make in March, a physically limited Craft, especially on defense, would be just as big a killer as a 2/12 stinker from the WB.
The good news for now is Matta noted yesterday that Craft should be no more limited than he's been in the last few weeks despite playing through pain. With another battle against Trey Burke looming should both teams hold serve on Friday, Craft's defensive mobility will go a long way in deciding whether or not the Buckeyes will get a shot to bring home their 3rd straight conference tournament crown.
Coombs practices yelling at Travis Howard
COOMBS IS OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL. Urbz finally made it official yesterday, announcing Kerry Coombs as Ohio State's new cornerbacks coach:
Kerry Coombs had an incredible record of achievement as a high school head coach and he is highly regarded as one of the great coaches in Ohio high school football history. I have watched him coach in high school and at the University of Cincinnati and I have great respect for the way he works. He is a strong recruiter. He knows defense and special teams. And he is an excellent teacher.
Not only does the man come with an excellent track record, he's another guy with incredibly strong Ohio ties along with a genuine sense of thankfullness for an opportunity to coach in Columbus under Meyer:
I am incredibly excited to be on this coaching staff. I am overwhelmed by the quality of everything, especially the coaches and the players. When you grow up in Ohio, there are things you don't allow yourself to dream about. I watched Woody and Archie and Pete Johnson and Cornelius Greene...and now I get to coach here? This is unbelievably humbling and gratifying for me. This team is full of Ohio kids wanting to win a national championship for their state school. It's hard for me to imagine having a better opportunity than this.
We likey.
FROM THE ONION... OH, WAIT, THIS IS ACTUALLY REAL. You ever wanted to blow through 15 large with little to no yield? If so, Michigan's got you covered. In what is being dubbed as a business seminar offered to executives sexily titled, "Leaders and Best: Winning the Leadership Game", the Harvard of the midwest will take your $15,000 donation to take part in a six day educational program featuring the trio of David Brandon, Brady Hoke and John Beilein.
These leadership legends will take you through classes such as "new ways of doing things" played out in Michigan Stadium and other athletic sites with Domino's Pizza slated for lunch. This thing sure smells more like a fundraiser than a seminar but there's certainly nothing wrong with raising dough in an effort to stay competitive with Urbz and Matta.
KICKOFF RULE CHANGES CALLED INTO QUESTION. Late last month the NCAA announced rule changes effective this fall aimed at increasing player safety on kickoffs. Changes include moving the kickoff line from the 30 to the 35 yard line and giving coverage players no more than a five yard running start. The modifications are intended to increase touchbacks and slow defenders running down to cover kicks.
According to Colorado coach John Embree, those changes may not have the desired effect thanks to another rule change that moves touchbacks to the 25 yard line instead of the 20.
Embree seems to make some sense when he surmises teams may opt to have kickers try to pooch kicks to around the five yard line and take advantage of the extra five yards to race down the field and stop the return man inside the 25, potentially increasing collisions via less touchbacks and a compressed playing field.
JUNK DRAWER. Paternoville sign found... CBS smartly keeps Kenny and Charles off the Selection Show... Ferentz takes a page from Tressel's book... Selection committee chairman acknowledges Dawson's shredded ACL will likely hurt Sparty's seeding... A fantastic gift idea for any Buckeye fan... The Wire bracketology, as if anyone but Omar could win though I'd take Bunk plus the points.
