Eleven Warriors

I couldn’t bear the thought of waiting on a game pitting a 6-6 Notre Dame team against a mediocre Hawaii team that comes equipped with its own, built-in bowl appearance, so….

What I did was imagine a fantasy game between “all-time” Texas and Ohio State teams. The criteria wasn’t much: I tried to pick players from somewhat recent memory (no 1895 fullbacks made the list), while still showing respect for each program’s rich history. When two players of roughly equal merit were up for a roster spot, I took the one who played most recently. Offensive and defensive line and linebacker spots were considered interchangeable. I also tried to look solely at collegiate accomplishments – pro careers were somewhat irrelevant, though a few sneaked in.

Argue with my picks, cat-call, do what you will. Keep in mind that I am not a Longhorns fan, so I took a good, long look at their history over the weekend, and did the best I could.

Offense

Quarterbck
	Rex Kern, Troy Smith It’s all about the “10s” here, and – Florida disaster aside – Troy was as good as they get.		Vince Young, Bobby Layne The great Bobby Layne (’44-’47) was a four-time All-SWC selection, and a great pro.
Running Back
	Archie Griffin, Chic Harley, Keith Byars, Eddie George, Pete Johnson How do you choose just five? There are three Heisman Trophies here, and Harley might have had three all by himself, had the award existed. Johnson is here to block and pick up key thirds-and-one. I might see an argument for dropping Byars in favor of Hopalong Cassidy, but I’m partial to anyone who could lay out Pepper Johnson.		Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams, Chris Gilbert, Roosevelt Peaks, Cedric Benson Two Heismans, three Doak Walkers and seven All-American selections in this group. Campbell was a monster.
Line
	Jim Parker, John Hicks, Orlando Pace, Korey Stringer, Jim Lachey Lachey was a prototype for the NFL’s new tackle position; Hicks was the greatest lineman ever to grace Ohio Stadium – just try to beat his 1973 season.		Bob Wuensch, Jerry Sisemore, Justin Blalock, Dick Harris, Scott Appleton Harris was a four-time consensus All-American.
Tight End
	John Frank, Jan White White No Hamby = no dropped passes. Hair-challenged? Dr. Frank can help you.		Pat Fitzgerald No, not this guy. Not a position of historical strength for the ‘Horns, either.
Wide Receiver
	Cris Carter, Terry Glenn, Paul Warfield An embarrassment of riches at wideout, but I could only take three: Carter was clutch, Glenn electric, and Warfield versatile.		Roy Williams, Cotton Speyrer, “Hub” Bechtol Bechtol (’44-’46) started his career a Red Raider, finished it a Longhorn, and lived to tell the tale after racking up three consensus All-American selections.

Defense

Line
	Jim Marshall, Bill Willis, Jim Stillwagon, Mike Vrabel, Will Smith Will Smith was under-appreciated at OSU; Jim Marshall was an Ironman defensive lineman in the pros, after excelling on the offensive line at Ohio State.		Tony Brackens, Steve McMichael, Tony Degrate, Kenneth Sims, Casey Hampton Two Lombardi winners are here, as well as Casey Hampton, an All-Pro who plugs the middle for the Steelers’ 3-4 defense.
Linebackers
	Randy Gradishar, Chris Spielman, A.J. Hawk, Andy Katzenmoyer Some might ask for Marcus Marek or Tom Cousineau, but Katzenmoyer taught Big 12 quarterbacks not to run the option, and Gradishar never gets the press he deserves.		Jeff Leiding, Derrick Johnson, Tommy Nobis Not a lot of greats here, until you get to Nobis. Never heard of him? Run – don’t walk – and find out. He was Jack Tatum, only at linebacker, and turned out to be an even better man.
Secondary
	Jack Tatum, Shawn Springs, Antoine Winfield, Chris Gamble, Michael Doss Tatum + Doss = no patterns over the middle, and no draw plays.		Bryant Westbrook, Quentin Jammer, Johnnie Johnson, Michael Huff, Raymond Clayborn Johnson was a unanimous All-American in ’78 and ’79, and went into the College Football Hall of Fame in ’07.

Special Teams

Punter
	Vic Janowicz When even your punter has a Heisman, you’ve got a good program.		Russell Erxleben A straight-ahead kicker who could do it all; he hit a record-setting 67-yarder against Rice.
Kicker
	Mike Nugent Noooooooooge!!!		Russell Erxleben See above.
Returner
	Ted Ginn, Jr. I agonized over this one.		Eric Metcalf Never set the world on fire as a Brown, but tricky, speedy, and tough to find on kicks.

There’s one thing left to do: name the coaches. I don’t think Texas can pass up Darrell Royal, but the Ohio State job is up in the air. I have to tell you: for this particular game, with the talent on the edges, I’m going with Earle Bruce. He’s a Buckeye through-and-through, gives a heck of a pep talk, had a winning record against Michigan, and would probably toss some darned fool triple reverse in there, somewhere. He also wins – and wins big – against teams from Texas when dressed as a gangster. Just what we’d need.

I see a close game, but – all homerism aside – I think Ohio State wins this one in solid fashion – say, by 10 points or so. Anyone want an over/under on the total number of rushing yards?

As the temperatures dropped across the land over the weekend, so did the outstanding performances for the former Buckeyes.

Gonzo started the week off Thursday night with 4 catches for 38 yards, 2 of which went for first downs, in Indy's 31-24 win at Jacksonville. In the Colts 8th straight win, AG upped his season totals to 56 catches for 652 yards and 4 TD's, with 38 of his grabs going for first downs.

Not to be outdone, Ted Ginn took the opening play 31 yards for a touchdown in Miami's 38-31 thrilling victory at Kansas City. On the day, Teddy added 4 receptions for 44 yards and didn't return any kicks.

Perhaps the best story in the NFL is the Atlanta Falcons, who clinched a playoff spot with a 24-17 win in Minnesota. While Roddy White has been a much improved #1, Michael Jenkins has filled the #2 role pretty admirably, going for 50+ receiving yards in 9 of his last 10 games. Sunday was no different, as Jenkins lead Atlanta with 4 catches for 61 yards.

On the defensive side. Antoine turned in the most tackles, with 8 against Atlanta, while Shawn Springs made 5 and defended a pass in Washington's 10-3 win against Philadelphia. Nate Clements only made 3 stops in San Francisco's 17-16 win and Gamble recorded 6 stops in Carolina's 34-28 overtime loss at NY Giants.

The best game of the day may have belong to Jay Richardson, who registered 4 tackles and a sack in Oakland's 27-16 rare win over Houston. Although Donte Whitner was right there with 3 tackles and a forced fumble in Buffalo's 30-23 road triumph in Denver.

But the best stats and winner of his second Buckeye NFLer in the last three weeks is Santonio Holmes. I know the Steelers lost 31-14 to the Titans, but Holmes' 31 yard diving touchdown grab was a thing of beauty and lead to his 5 catches for 91 yards. Santonio also recovered a Hines Ward fumble late in the first half, preserving a field goal attempt.

Holmes has equaled his career high with 52 catches set a year ago, but has 152 less yards this season and only 5 TD's, as compared to 8 in 2007. The Steelers gave up 323 total yards, marking the first time Buckeye great Dick LeBeau's defense has given up more than 300 yards in a game.

Buckeye fans had seen signs of an eruption brewing. The nine points and four rebounds in an impressive first half last Saturday in addition to the strong outings against top flight competition in Notre Dame (11 pts, 7 reb) and Miami (9 reb) served as writing on the wall.

Sure, it was against undersized UNC-Asheville but tonight might have been the coming out party for B.J. Mullens. The big man from Canal Winchester was simply dominating recording career highs with 19 points and three blocks along with eight rebounds (5 offensive) as Ohio State blew past the Bulldogs 83-59 tonight in the Schott.

The big night from Mullens included six dunks contributing to a healthy 8/11 from the floor. He impressed with his ability to get out in transition and did his part defensively with the blocked shots and I continue to salivate over Thad using him to pressure the inbounder.

That strategy paid off once again as Mullens created a turnover off the inbounds as soon as he checked in then threw down an alley oop from Jon Diebler on the following OSU possession. After an Evan Turner layup, Mullens was back at it scoring the next six Buckeye points including back to back dunks before converting a sick left handed putback tip extending the Buckeye lead to 25-12 with 8:50 left in the half.

The euphoria from the Mullens flurry was somewhat tempered as Turner picked up his second foul less than a minute later allowing Buckeye fans the opportunity to watch the offense once again go into the dumper. With Turner on the pine, the Bulldogs would play OSU to a 12-12 standoff bringing the halftime score to 37-24.

Even with the minor blip without Turner, the second half was more of the same as Ohio State turned the game into a rout with a 13-5 run swelling the lead to 50-29 with 15:41 to play.

Though Mullens was the big story, the Buckeyes did unleash a balanced attack placing four in double figures.

Turner put together another outstanding floor game with 17 points (7/12), four assists, three boards and three steals against just one, that's right, one turnover in 27 minutes. Even with his usual stat stuffing performance, he's got to understand his importance to the team and avoid silly fouls. Don't get me wrong, he's still logging heavy minutes but you can bet Big Ten teams will more effectively target him when on the floor playing with two fouls in the first half or three fouls early in the second.

Joining Turner and Mullens in double figures were Wil Buford and Dallas Lauderdale.

My man crush on Buford grows by the game as he's quickly validating all the hype I've been throwing his way. I still say he's on pace to supplant Diebler as the second consistent scoring option and he's proving he can crash the glass. He brought down seven boards tonight, after notching five against Iona, and added 16 points (6/14) and two blocks. He's a born scorer so he's not afraid to pull the trigger but more often than not he does it in the flow of the offense and he's not one dimensional in how he tries to score. The pressure he puts on a defense will only help less aggressive/capable scorers like Diebler get open shots.

Speaking of Diebler, while he struggled to get his shot leading to just three points (1/5 FG, 1/4 3FG) after scoring 16 and 14 in the previous two games, he did contribute a season high six boards along with three assists.

Down low, Lauderdale tallied 11 and seven thanks to a 5/6 night from the floor. He and Mullens also played significant minutes together helping OSU to a 41-30 edge on the glass.

Considering the production from Lauderdale and Mullens, it will be interesting to see if Matta leaves Kyle Madsen in the starting lineup against West Virginia. Matta's post game comments clearly indicated he didn't feel he was getting max effort from Dallas or B.J. leading up to tonight and he reiterated he's comfortable starting Madsen because he maxes out against his capabilities.

I'm all for the rah-rah reward stuff but I'm wondering if Thad's underlying strategy is that he knows he needs to at least get 10-12 minutes from Madsen on most conference game nights and he might be able to more easily disguise Madsen with four other regular starters and no concern for Turner being in foul trouble at the beginning of the game. If OSU gets to the first TV timeout without having to use Mullens or Lauderdale and the score is assuredly close then he's effectively shortened the game while increasing the chances both his bigs will be available down the stretch. Am I over thinking?

Either way, I was very pleased with tonight's effort. Hopefully the Buckeyes will keep focus over the holiday before welcoming Chuggy-Bear's Mountaineers this Saturday.

Etc.

• For the game, the Buckeyes shot 52% from the floor while holding the Bulldogs to 35%.
• Crater took his first collegiate two-point shot, a sweet breakaway jam, four minutes into the second half of his ninth game!
• Titus blew his shot at a Trillion with a steal though he might give him self credit for two bone crushing screens.

#16 Ohio State 8-0, 0-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

December 22, 2008 7:00 PM ET - BTN —— The Schott Columbus, OH

UNC-Asheville 4-7, 1-1 Big South Roster | Schedule

Ohio State faces the Bulldogs for the second time this year, having defeated them 84-66 in the opening round of the NIT back in March, starting the Bucks' current 13 game win streak.

UNC-Asheville has lost 7 of their last 8, including games against UNC, Duke and Tennessee. The Bulldogs went down to Buffalo on Saturday 71-52, while Ohio State disposed of Iona 71-53.

Don't be surprised to see another slow start tonight, due to the quick turnaround for both teams and the expected lackluster crowd because of the severe cold.

#	Name	PTS	REB	ASST	POS	#	Name	PTS	REB	ASST
2	Jeremie Simmons	7.6	2.8	2.6	G	10	JP Primm	9.3	2.6	5.5
33	Jon Diebler	11.4	2.5	1.9	G	15	Sean Smith	9.5	4.0	1.8
44	William Buford	6.4	2.6	0.6	F	20	Reid Augst	14.5	4.4	2.5
21	Evan Turner	16.9	7.3	3.0	F	23	John Williams	11.1	6.0	1.5
52	Dallas Lauderdale	7.6	4.6	0.1	C	45	Jason Ridenhour	8.9	4.8	1.2

Opponent

The Bulldogs come in scoring 71.8 points a game on 44.1 percent shooting, including 32.2 percent from downtown. This team has really struggled defensively without the services of 7' 7" Kenny George, allowing teams to score 83.5 points a game on 46.1 percent shooting.

North Carolina Asheville has 10 players that average over 10 minutes a game, with Matt Dickey and Quinard Jackson leading the way. Their bench produces about 20 points a game, but the primary production will come from the starters, as all 5 play over 25 minutes a contest.

Buckeye Breakdown:

OSU will continue to adjust without David Lighty and I wouldn't be surprised to see Buford getting his first start tonight. Although he got going later in the first, BJ Mullens didn't start off too fast in either half and Buford seems ready to shoot as soon as the warmups come off. Plus with a another smaller opponent, the need for twin towers may not be there tonight.

With that said, the Bucks need to continue to give Dallas and BJ touches inside. Swatterdale hasn't missed a shot from the floor in his last two games, but he has only had 5 attempts. Mullens has shown some impressive footwork and moves lately, but he has had only 7 attempts over the last two, while collecting just 6 boards in his last three. I think Thad benching the duo for most of the second was due to a lack of hustle coming out of the half, so it will be interesting to see how these two are used tonight.

Even though they may not be getting the post entry pass down, the Buckeye wing players have been aggressive in driving to the hoop. I know it sounds like a broken record, but the more you drive, the better chance you have of winning the game. I can't recall the last time OSU attempted more than 25 free throws in three straight games, but their totals 28, 27 and 35 is impressive. Now if they can only improve the 68.8 conversion rate.

The Bucks still rank third in the country by allowing 52.9 points a game and have slipped to 13th with a defensive FG percentage of 36.5. They have raised their scoring output to 67 points a game and are shooting 45.5 percent, moving them up to eighth in the conference.

Etc

• OSU is tied for fourth nationally with 7.4 blocks a game.
• Turner and Diebler have combined for 35 FT attempts in the last two games.
• The great Tom Hamilton and former Buckeye Tony White will call the game tonight.

We covered #11-6 last week and are back with the top five Buckeye moments of 2008. We're sure these will spur some disagreement, but hopefully they are all enjoyable for you to relive in one way or another. Be sure to let us know if we missed any.

5. Boeckman Throws a Bullet
True, it was late and insignificant in regards to the outcome of the game, but still, it was one more moment of joy on the field for Todd Boeckman. And it came against the Wolverines.

The senior captain had lost his job a couple of months earlier to the nation's top quarterback recruit and though it must have hurt in a way that few of us could imagine, he was the consummate team player, never once spouting off to the media, instead saying the right thing when inevitably asked how he felt about a freshman taking his job.

Despite several lopsided scores, Boeckman had rarely seen the field since the USC game yet hopes were high that he'd get some action on senior day against Michigan.

With the Buckeyes up 35-7 in the 4th quarter and having just recovered a Boubacar Cissoko fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Boeckman came on to the field to cheers from the Horseshoe partisans. After handing off twice to Mo Wells for minimal gains, the Buckeyes faced a 3rd and 6 from the Michigan 18 yard line.

Boeckman took the snap out of the shotgun, paused for a second and then fired a laser to Brian Hartline up the right seam for an 18 yard score. And good feelings were had by all.

4. Pryor's First Comeback Win
Coming off an ugly home win that had seen the Buckeye offense kept out of the end zone and Purdue pile up nearly 50% more yards than they had -- at home, no less -- Pryor had gone to Tressel and asked to be yanked if the team got off to another slow start against the Badgers the following week in Madison.

Tressel shrugged it off, but for most of the Saturday night matchup at Camp Randall, the offense was sluggish. The team had put together a nice opening drive that resulted in a 33 yard Beanie Wells touchdown scamper, but had only been able to muster two field goals and were hanging on to a precarious three point lead over the Badgers in the 4th quarter.

After PJ Hill scored from two yards out to put the Badgers up 17-13 with a little over six to play, Pryor was getting his first challenge on the road.

After Beanie welcomed him to manhood on the sidelines before the drive, Pryor went 3-3 for 59 yards and the offense found itself facing a 2nd and 8 from the Badger 11 with just over a minute left in the game. Seeing the Wisconsin linebackers confused, Pryor called for a quick snap and kept the ball on an option to the left side, racing into the end zone to put the Buckeyes up.

After a Malcolm Jenkins pick on the very next play, the victory was in the bag. Pryor had taken a partial step into manhood and Mark May had his answer to whether Pryor could deliver in a hostile environment on the road.

3. Jenkins Takes the Thorpe
Malcolm Jenkins is a Buckeye that was always appreciated by the fans, but by returning for his senior season, he may have elevated himself into rarified status amongst Buckeye greats.

While Laurinaitis got a good portion of the ink, astute followers of the team realize that it was Jenkins that was the defensive MVP of the team from his cornerback position. He commanded so much respect that he was rarely challenged and when he was, he was usually there to break up a pass or force an interception.

He notched two blocked punts on the seasons, both paramount to the outcome of the game. The first, against Purdue, proved to be the only Buckeye touchdown on the afternoon as Ohio State pulled through 16-3 in what was otherwise one of the most boring games ever televised. The second, at the end of the 1st quarter of the Illinois game, put the Buckeyes up 9-7 and the team subsequently scored a touchdown off of the free kick turning a close game into a 16-7 lead that the team would never relinquish.

When Jenkins wasn't disrupting opposing passing attacks or blocking punts, he was blitzing from the edge, causing havoc in the backfield. It was a Jenkins blitz, after all, that forced the fumble that led to Thad Gibson's romp and the put-away score in East Lansing.

I'm not sure whether it's because I thought the Thorpe Award was destined to land in Eric Berry's hands, or whether his winning the award made Jenkins only the 2nd Buckeye ever to have done so (despite a strong lineage of cornerbacks), but Jenkins will fondly be remembered with the best of the Buckeye defensive backs. Whatever the case, his name is now etched alongside Winfield, Springs and others.

2. Beanie Hops
2008 may not have gone as Beanie and much of us envisioned it would for him, what with the toe injury suffered in the opener, but when he did return to action, he gave us the gift of hop.

The first one came against the Gophers in his first game back from injury. With the Buckeyes up 13-3 and time running out in the first half, the team had just taken possession of the ball after a gang-tackle-delayed-whistle fumble that sent Minnesota coach Tim Brewster into a minor rage.

After an incomplete pass to Hartline, Beanie took the ball from the Gopher 35, cut right and hurdled defensive back Kyle Theret on his way to a 21 yard gain. The foot appeared fine and a couple of plays later, Pryor found Robo on a fade to make it 20-3 with a little over 30 seconds remaining the half.

Three weeks later, Wells delighted us again with a stiff-arm side-hop combo for six to put the Buckeyes up 28-0 in East Lansing. But the encore was yet to come.

With the Buckeyes nursing a 23-13 lead in Champaign, Wells took a handoff up the middle and again cut back to the right, breaking through the first level and hurdling Illini defensive back Donsay Hardeman on the way to a 25 yard run. Though he would eventually fumble the ball away inside the Illini 20 a few plays later, a new threshold for airborne excellence had been set for Buckeye running backs.

1. Pryor Committing
The wooing had been fierce for the services of the Jeannette quarterback, believed to be the next coming of Vince Young. The Buckeyes had maintained a solid position, but Michigan hiring Rich Rodrguez threw a wrinkle into things. As did the last minute appeal by Joe Paterno and Penn State.

On signing day, the only Pennsylvania prep to have ever thrown for and rushed for 4,000 yards in high school announced that he would not be making a decision and the fanbases of three major college programs held their breath. The star of the Army All-American Bowl had teased Buckeye fans from the sidelines, but now there were so many what-ifs.

We followed along as Pryor led his basketball team to a state championship and were on the edge of our seats when he said he'd make his official announcement within a week of winning his final game on the hardcourt. Finally, March 19, he signed his name on the line, becoming a Buckeye and ending all suspense.

Pryor had chosen the Buckeyes over Michigan, where he could have played right away, and Penn State which was his father's preferred destination. He had decided to come to a place where he'd likely be facing a first year of mop-up duty and clipboard rocking. Little did he know how quickly he'd be depended on.

After getting his first start against Troy in the fourth game of the season, Pryor went on to lead the Buckeyes to an 8-1 record under his guidance. His only setback, a late fumble against Penn State, was quickly owned up to and added to the list of things he would work to learn from. Along the way, he led the Big Ten in passing efficiency, the first freshman to do so since the late 1970s and when you consider the play of the Ohio State offensive line and the early injury to Wells, he's the primary reason the team is facing down yet another BCS bowl game and a chance to finish in the top five teams in the nation.

You could argue that there were bigger moments, whether on-field or elsewhere, for the Buckeyes in 2008, but when we look back on his career in a few years, the signing of the man Mack Brown believes will lead Tressel to another title has to factor as the top event of this year.

---

Honorable Mention
Honorable mention goes out to Beanie's run against LSU and Ray Small's punt return against the Bobcats. The 65 yard run got the Buckeyes off to a quick start and was a beautiful thing to see, but ultimately, what took place in the other 59 minutes of that game work against it. Small's return was amazing, but we'd have to point out the suck that went into it -- meaning that the Buckeyes essentially needed that late score to put away a pretty mediocre Ohio team.

Playing their first game without David Lighty, Ohio State struggled early but used an Evan Turner fueled 20-6 run early in the second half to rout Iona 71-53 today in Value City Arena.

The Buckeyes improved to 7-0, extending the program winning streak to 13, thanks in large part to Turner, Jon Diebler and Wil Buford.

Despite his habitual four turnovers, Turner led the Buckeyes with 21 points (6/10 FG) and six rebounds with 12 of those points coming during the decisive 20-6 run that saw OSU turn an early second half 31-28 deficit into a 48-37 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.

Turner got the blitz started with a triple to tie it at 31 before flashing a brilliant spin move from the right elbow on his way to converting a conventional three point play. Moments later, he picked up two blocks spawning fast breaks led by Jeremie Simmons who converted one into a layup and fed Wil Buford to complete an alley oop on another.

Iona cut the lead to 54-47 with seven minutes left but the Buckeyes answered with a 17-2 run sparked by six points each from Buford and Diebler.

Buford saw a season high 32 minutes and responded nicely with 10 points (3/7 FG) and a season high five rebounds. Taking Turner's spot on the wing of the zone, he proved not as active as Turner but held his own as he and the rest of the Buckeye zone held Iona to 36% from the floor (20/55) and stuffed penetration to the tune of allowing just nine free throw opportunities.

Conversely, the Buckeyes continued their recent surge in actually attempting to penetrate the defense helping generate 35 free throw attempts though I should mention Diebler got fouled shooting threes on at least two occasions. Diebler and Turner did the majority of the damage from the stripe with Diebs going 11/12 and Turner 8/13.

Though the first half was mostly tough on the corneas, one positive was the inspired play of B.J. Mullens. Starting in tandem with Lauderdale, the freshman from Canal Winchester sparked a 13-4 run scoring nine points featuring a nasty three point play thanks to a heady spin move to his right to avoid the double team before converting the hoop and harm. He also scored off a putback and flushed a slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am-jam off a perfect lob from Anthony Crater.

Mullens would finish the first half with nine points (4/5 FG), four rebounds and a block in only 11 minutes of action. Somewhat mysteriously, Mullens would see only five more minutes of playing time though Iona did go with a small lineup once their big guys got in foul trouble combined with Matta's obvious desire to get Madsen some minutes (10) with the front line further depleted with the loss of Lighty. Still, I'm a little curious if there was any other reason. The kid needs minutes with conference play just around the corner. Sixteen isn't enough.

As for Crater, he has still yet to take his first collegiate two point shot attempt after missing two threes. He did dish out two nice dimes in 15 minutes but the story at point guard was the slight improvement shown from Simmons.

He's still cold as ice from the floor (2/7 FG, 7 pts) but he showed increased focus on setting up his teammates and playing D leading to four assists, five rebounds and two steals against only one turnover in 22 minutes. Not bad.

With Lighty out, I found it interesting Matta chose to start Mullens instead of Buford mostly because he's been reluctant to put B.J. and Dallas on the floor together out of concern for lack of front line depth. Of course, those two didn't log many minutes together today anyway. Personally, I think the right move is to start Buford and shift Turner down to the block in the zone for a couple reasons.

Most notably, if Mullens and Lauderdale play together and the Buckeyes press, that means Dallas is out on the wing of the 2-2-1 acting as a trap defender and the thought of him picking up reach in fouls 20-40 feet from the hoop gives me heart palpitations. Thoughts?

Before I wrap this up, I thought Turner and Diebler both tried to step up as on-court leaders and I was very pleased to see Diebler's increased activity/movement at the offensive end. Clearly, Matta sees them both as the new leaders and main point producers as evidenced by Diebler's 40 minute effort and Turner's 39.

Still, my favorite takeaway from today's game is Buford seeing 32 minutes. I have zero doubts about what he can become and the increased minutes will only expedite the learning curve, especially with regard to understanding what it takes to be a great defender.

Next up: UNC-Asheville at 7pm Monday night. Sadly, the Bulldogs no longer have the services of 7'7" Kenny George after having his right foot amputated earlier this year.

#16 Ohio State 7-0, 0-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

December 20, 2008 12:00 PM ET - BTN —— The Schott Columbus, OH

Iona 4-6, 0-2 MAAC Roster | Schedule

Wow, things can change in a hurry. No sooner does Ohio State run their winning streak to 12 and they are hit with the news David Lighty will be out 6-12 weeks, due to a broken bone in his foot.

Lighty is clearly the leader of this team and is coming off perhaps his finest game as a Buckeye, going for 21 points and 7 boards on Wednesday. I think he probably hurt it when he avoided the charge on a fast break in the second half, dropping a four foot tear drop instead. He fell on a Dolphin when he came down and limped back down the court.

This is definitely a temporary set back for Thad's young team, but it excites me to potentially have William Buford out there for 30+ minutes. The Bucks have two games to work out the kinks before Bob Huggins and WVU stumble into the Schott.

#	Name	PTS	REB	ASST	POS	#	Name	PTS	REB	ASST
2	Jeremie Simmons	7.6	2.4	2.4	G	11	Milan Prodanovic	6.7	1.4	1.8
33	Jon Diebler	10.7	2.4	1.9	G	15	Jermel Jackson	4.8	2.6	2.2
21	Evan Turner	16.3	7.4	3.1	F	5	Rashon Dwight	6.4	3.0	2.6
44	Willaim Buford	5.9	2.3	0.7	F	1	Kashif Pratt	8.7	2.1	0.9
52	Dallas Lauderdale	7.7	5.0	0.1	C	30	Jonathan Huffman	6.6	3.3	0.3

Opponent

Due to production deadlines, the numbers used for the Gaels do not include their 68-55 loss to 2-8 Western Michigan on Thursday and their starting lineup in the preview box is a wild guess, considering they have used about 10 different combinations.

The Gaels have 11 freshmen and sophomores on their roster, thus the many lineups, but coach Kevin Williard will run 10 players, as 9 of them log more than 13 minutes a game. Due to constant fresh legs, Iona will use an in your face defense, allowing teams to score just 60.7 points and shoot only 40.9 percent this season.

Iona's best player Gary Springer was hurt a few games ago, so they don't have a regular that averages in double digits, but they do have 8 players that score between 5-9 points a contest. As a team, they rank 240th in the country with 65.4 points on 43.4 percent shooting.

I don't think Iona will pull the upset, but they did take Wisconsin to overtime earlier this year and have lost 4 games by a total of 6 points. The shock of losing Lighty may still be lingering on Saturday, so don't be surprised to see another close game.

Buckeye Breakdown:

The good news for Ohio State was the performance of Jeremie Simmons and Jon Diebler on Wednesday. Simmons scored in double figures for the first time since the opener, also adding 4 dimes and 3 boards, while Diebler scored 14 to go along with 4 assists. Diebler is really squaring up his body on the jumper and it is starting to show in his confidence, connecting on 41.9 percent from deep thus far.

I'm still concerned with the lack of inside scoring from Dallas and BJ, but they simply don't get enough opportunities. The two combined for only 3 shot attempts against Jacksonville, after getting just 11 in the Butler game. Mullens has now had 3 games with only 1 FG made and has only 4 FT attempts in the last two. I still don't think we will see them at the same time, but the Bucks have to get inside touches if they are going to have success in the Big Ten.

As mentioned, William Buford should start logging heavy minutes, with spells from Walter Offut and perhaps Kyle Madsen. I like Buford's scoring touch and he could turn out to be more of an offensive threat, but he has to step it up on the defensive end. Lighty is OSU's second leading rebounder and one of the reasons the team is cleaning the glass better this year, Buford is grabbing 2.3 in his 15 minutes, but has to continue Lighty's pace.

The keys for tonight will be tightening up the defense, limiting offensive rebounds and continue to drive the ball on offense. As mentioned, don't be surprised to see a close game, especially with a guaranteed slow start, but expect OSU to pull this one out.

Etc

• Thad Matta is now 101-4 when leading with 5 minutes left. Incredible!
• Seven players have scored in double figures for the Bucks this season.
• OSU has won their last 27 at the Schott as a ranked team.

Just a gentle reminder that bowl season kicks off tomorrow and if you haven't already done so, get your picks in for the 11W Bowl Challenge (there are still a few empty entries). Winner gets their choice of a t-shirt (or dogware should you choose) from the 11W Shop. The relevant bits:

Group Name: 11W Bowl Challenge
URL: http://games.espn.go.com/bowlmania/group?groupID=6934
Password: outofhound

Bucknuts reported earlier today that junior David Lighty will miss 6-12 weeks with a broken bone in his foot, one day after tying his career high with 21 points and seven rebounds against Jacksonville.

The loss is obviously significant as the Buckeyes lose their captain and lone junior leader after beginning the season with seven straight wins.

Lighty underwent successful surgery Wednesday.

The loss of OSU's best defender and solid rebounder could force Matta to play Lauderdale and Mullens more often at the same time while also affording guys like Wil Buford more minutes.

It's also likely Turner could find himself on the back line of the matchup zone on occasion to take advantage of his rebounding prowess and Kyle Madsen (gasp) could also see increased minutes until Lighty returns.

Regardless, what a bad 'break' for Lighty and the Buckeyes.

Huntington Park, the new ballpark under construction in Columbus's Arena District and future home of the Clippers was just announced as the host for the 2009 Big Ten Baseball tournament.

Games begin May 20th and it will be the first time the baseball tournament has been held at neutral facility since 1994.

While we don't follow Buckeye baseball as well as we probably should (though these guys do a great job of it), it's nice to see the event coming to Columbus.

Now if we could just get a Final Four at Nationwide Arena...