Eleven Warriors

Butler has rediscovered driving the rock.

Ohio State 21-13, 10-8 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

March 26, 2008 9:00 PM ET - ESPN2 —— The Schott Columbus, OH

Dayton 23-10, 8-8 A-10 Roster | Schedule

OPPONENT: Dayton got off to a hot start this season, going 14-1 including wins over Louisville and Pittsburgh, then they lost 8 of their next 11 and finished seventh in the A-10 with a 8-8 conference record. They got their dream match-up of Ohio State by taking down Illinois St. on the road 55-48 Monday night. As I write this, there are over 15,000 tickets sold and I'm sure Flyers fans got their share of tickets, ensuring a second straight intense atmosphere--finally!

The Flyers are scoring 68.3 points a game, while giving up almost 64. Overall they shot 47 percent from the floor, 64 percent at the line and 37.6 percent from deep. The three guard attack Dayton employs lead to 13 turnovers a game while only creating 13, but surprisingly they averaged only 11.7 assists and 5 steals.

KEY PLAYERS: Dayton is lead by first team all conference selection Brian Roberts, 6'2" senior who is averaging 18.4 points, 3 boards and 3.5 assists a game. Roberts was 4-12 Monday including 4 of 6 from deep and managed to score 16 points, but he also managed to dish out zero assists. Marcus Johnson is a 6'3" sophomore starter who scores 10 points a game, while grabbing just over 5 caroms.

Chris Wright came back from injury Monday night, scoring 9 points in 10 minutes. Before sitting out 18 games, the 6'8" freshman was averaging 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest in the Flyers first fourteen games. Aside from this trio, Dayton is filled with role players. Andres Sandoval, a 6'4" senior starter averages 6.5 points and 3 boards, while the 6'6" junior Charles Little will come off the bench to score almost 8 points and grab 4.5 rebounds per game.

Jimmy Binnie, a 6'7" senior also starts with 6 points and 4 rebounds per game, while the starting center 6'10" sophomore Kurt Huelsman chips in with 6 points and 4 rebounds. London Warren is a 6 foot reserve who scores 4.4 points and snags 3 boards.

NOTES: Dayton is lead by Brian Gregory, 98-59 in his five seasons... These two teams have not meet since 1988... Brian Roberts has scored 10 or more points in a half 28 times this season... Dayton is 14-1 with Chris Wright in the lineup.

BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN: This Buckeye team has played loose the last two games and it is refreshing to know they have taken a winning mentality into this tourney. OSU has beaten their opponents by an average of 17.5 in the first two games, shooting 56 percent against UNC-Asheville and 50 percent Monday.

Jamar Butler has lead the way with 41 points and 13 assists. He is finally starting to take some shots inside the arc, hitting 16 of 29 shots overall, which has helped his three point shooting (9-19). Othello Hunter has also put in a senior like performance, going for 27 points and 19 rebounds. I think Monday may have been his best game as a Buckeye and I don't see any reason why tonight will be any different.

Is Kosta Koufos finally growing up? Getting out of Big Ten play was the best thing for Koufos. He has used his arsenal of offensive moves to score 32 points, on 15-22 shooting and grab 10 boards. If Kosta comes back and he can bottle this type of play up, this team could be special. David Lighty has also stepped up is game, making 9 of 18 shots and scoring 21 points.

I'm giving Turner the benefit of some type of injury, his defense is still stellar. Diebler however is a lost cause this season. The poor kid has made only 6 three pointers in his last 8 games and is now shooting 28 percent from deep.

Ohio State's defense has played lights out in the first two games. Dayton does have the 3guard system, so it will be interesting to see if the press will be effective. OSU no doubt has the better athletes, but will they continue this level of play or will being back in the Schott provide another slow start? I think OSU pulls away and books their second trip to NYC this season.

NOTES: OSU is 15-7 in eight NIT appearances... Ohio State is 3-2 all time against Dayton... Ohio State would play the winner of Virginia Tech and Ole Miss on April 1st.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the boys up North, it does.

Pickerington product Justin Boren has quit the Michigan football team during spring practice. Boren, an honorable mention all conference selection as a sophomore last season, started 13 games for the Wolverines at center and guard and was one of only two returning o-lineman that had seen any type of significant minutes for the team.

Boren had spoken out about the pace of practices and all of the barking from the new coaching staff that expected its hogs to run back to the line of scrimmage in the Wizard Slinging Snake Oil's hurry-up offense.

The transition year(s) are always rough and some of this is to be expected. Despite not landing LeBron in Cleats, Rodriguez did put together a pretty decent class.

He'll get players and he will win with that system eventually, but you have to wonder about his ability to get his guys to the next level. To be fair, a lot of NFL trends have percolated up from the college ranks (running back by committee, anyone?) and perhaps the NFL will be spread central someday.

But as we saw with the Pryor decision, and Boren more than likely reinforced this, the perception is out there that the offense Rodriguez runs only gets you one Escalade instead of three on draft day.

Boren would look great in Buckeye gear, but the whole sitting out one year and.. oh yeah.. the little rivalry thing (his pops played for Bo) would probably nix that idea. Then again, at least he'd get a chance to earn a pair of gold pants.

The hapless Bears ran into a Buckeye buzzsaw including a 24-4 run to put the game on ice.

Playing the hoops equivalent of the Bad News Bears, Ohio State looked awfully impressive routing Cal 73-56 in front of a raucous sellout crowd tonight in St. John Arena. Props to the 13,276 who raised hell from the opening tip and to Matta's troops for their inspired performance.

It looked like the Golden Bears might make it a game early on but the Buckeyes unleashed a 17-4 run late in the first half to take a 35-23 lead in to the locker room. The blitz featured 3 triples from Jamar Butler who led OSU with 20 points.

The Buckeyes also received 17 points and 6 rebounds from Kosta Koufos in addition to a monster dub-dub from Othello Hunter. The senior showed he's not ready to hang 'em up just yet dominating the Cal frontline with a game high 16 rebounds (7 off) to go along with 11 points, a block and a steal. His activity on the glass yielded 10 free throw opportunities but O converted just five.

The 2-2-1 press contributed to 15 Cal turnovers and the 3-2 matchup zone held Ryan Anderson to a season low 11 points on 4/11 shooting. For the game, the Bears shot just 40% and managed only 6 free throw attempts as the Buckeye zone stifled Cal's offensive flow. In truth, Cal was simply a bad team looking to pull the plug on a 17-16 season but give credit to OSU for executing at both ends for 40 minutes.

The Buckeyes shot 50% (29/58), won the battle of the boards 34-29 and registered 10 steals.

On the downside, Jon Diebler had an 0/5 night (0/4 3's) while Evan Turner stunk it up shooting 1/7 with 4 turnovers. I'm over the fact Diebler will never be anything more than a reserve spot up shooter but I'm a little more concerned about Turner's recent slide. Sure, he's been up and down all year but after 34 games he should be cutting down on the turnovers. Instead, he's got 13 in his last 5 games.

The win sets up a Wednesday showdown with the #3 seed Dayton Flyers following their 55-48 victory over #2 Illinois State.

If nothing else, the game should be much more competitive as the Flyers will be looking to make an in-state-ment. Clever, huh? What do you expect after 4 days in Vegas?

A little token of apology.

Ohio State 20-13, 10-8 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

March 24, 2008 7:00 PM ET - ESPN —— St. John Arena Columbus, OH

California 17-15, 6-12 Pac-10 Roster | Schedule

I apologize for not having a true preview today, but if any of you have spent time in Vegas I hope you understand. Luckily we all made it back alive, but being well is still up for debate. The boys over at Dotting the I have picked up our slack and the Dispatch is pumped for a return to St. John's.

As always the roster and schedule for Cal. is in the preview box. I hope all of our 28 readers (we're slightly growing) will be watching the game and will have an open discussion here. Let's hope Ohio State is not rusty and the refereeing does not resemble the shotty package displayed over the past weekend. Normalcy should return after the game with Chris's recap.

Casino carpet.. it keeps driving my eyes up to the games

The whole crew will be in Vegas until Sunday, so if things get a little light on the posting side, you can bet it's because we're either in the midst of a 43-hour bender, or conversely, the heads are pounding too much to write anything.

Enjoy the opening weekend of the tournament. Best of luck to Wisky, IU, Sparty and Purdue -- the lack of respect leveled at the conference in both major sports demands some banding together, no?

Speaking of the tournament, you can still get into the 11W group (password is "woody") if you haven't already done so. Fame, prizes, all that, to the winner. This is also a subtle reminder to the few that have entered but haven't filled out their brackets yet. Don't be that guy.

Oh yeah.. Pryor. Wednesday may have set some kind of Buckeye blog record. MotSaG lit cigars, ATO is getting artistic, Poe is counting Corvettes, Our Honor Defend points out that Rodriguez is now 0-2 when recruiting all-world quarterbacks to fit his system, and The BBC is relishing rubbing it in.

Thad has already promised Pryor a spot on the hoops team (please, Tress let him play) and SMQ checks in on the topic by echoing the Tebow model and mourning the recruiting services big loss:

He'll probably ease into the lineup in a Tebow-like role behind Todd Boeckman next year, eclipse the pedestrian fifth-year caretaker toward the end of the year, and set his sights on repeating Tebow's trophy-grabbing breakout as a sophomore. That's the plan, anyway. The kid is Tebow, Troy Smith and Vince Young in one.

Michigan and Penn State partisans: he's a bust. Dude's a head case. Don't sweat it. Y'all never wanted him, anyway. Remember, when you said that?

For recruiting gurus, though, there is no silver lining. The ride of their lives has come to an end. Sure, there will be other guys. More hot, young, rippling studs whose raw physical presence will take their breath away. But another Terrelle? Don't tease Rivals' broken heart.

Life is good.

The basketball Buckeyes are showing signs of life in the NIT, I'm heading to Vegas tomorrow and, oh, Tressel just scored his first major victory over Rich Rodriguez by pulling in Vince 2.0.

Despite the promise of immediate playing time at Michigan, Pryor stuck with his gut in signing with the Ohio State. He'll join his boys Shugarts and Adams on an already great class and come to play for a guy that will take care of him.

With his signing, the Buckeyes are automatically preseason conference favorites for the next three seasons. If he pans out in the least bit, you're looking at two, maybe three more national championship appearances over the next four years. He's no lock to see the same success at the next level, but you have to like his chances.

Condolences.

You've read every article published in the past 24 hours. You've parsed every quote from the player, his coaches, family and paper boy. All that remains is a confirmation of your hunch. That will come* soon enough (noon ET - 10TV.com to be precise).

Michigan bloggers don't seem to like their chances:

mgoblog:

I haven't seen anyone say anything other than Pryor to OSU; usually these words are accompanied by other words claiming that anyone else would "shock," "cause widespread devastation," or "bring about seven plagues, the likes of which have been heretofore unseen by man."

So, yeah, don't get your hopes up.

Michigan Sports Center

I know Pryor claimed he was down to two schools, but there is no way he doesn't pick OSU. I would be beyond stunned if his choice was anything different.

Are we tempting fate by assuming it's a done deal? Any chance the Wolverines pull one off?

* All signs are screaming "YES!!", but there's no such thing as a sure thing in the mind of a teenager. That likes attention. And that sort of stuff.

KK: double figures in 16 of last 17 games

Is it just me or did that feel more like a summer league game as opposed to a tournament game?

Regardless, Ohio State took advantage of the Bulldogs' sloppy play and their own hot shooting advancing to the 2nd round of the NIT with a 84-66 romp over UNC-Asheville.

The victory moved OSU to 20-13 giving Thad his 8th straight 20+ win season.

The Buckeyes shot a blistering 56% from the floor and 47% from distance hitting 10 triples in 21 tries. Jamar Butler did most of the damage beyond the arc hitting 5/10 en route to a 21 point, 10 assist night with Othello Hunter adding 16 points on 8/10 shooting.

Kosta Koufos also had the hot hand netting 15 points on 7/12 shooting while David Lighty added 13 points.

Butler, Koufos, Hunter and Lighty combined to shoot 28/47 (60%).

All of Lighty's 13 points came in the first 10 minutes of the game with his last 5 capping a 10-0 run giving OSU a 27-15 lead with 10:06 to play. Although the Bulldogs were an inferior opponent it was nice to see Lighty actually look comfortable and in control.

To their credit, UNC responded with a 12-2 run of their own cutting the lead to 29-27 with 6:40 remaining before the Buckeyes closed with a 14-5 spurt to take a 45-35 lead into the locker room.

The opening half saw OSU score 22 points off 16 NC-Asheville turnovers but the Bulldogs shot 61% including 5/10 from deep to stay in the game.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to 53-46 at the 14:36 mark on a dunk by handsome Kenny George but would get no closer as Butler led a 12-4 run with 7 straight points boosting the lead to 65-50 with 10:36 left.

Vaudeville Kenny showed off his flat footed dunk skills scoring 12 points (6/7 FG) to go along with 11 boards and Reid Augst added 20 points and 8 rebounds in a losing effort.

The Buckeyes await the winner of the Cal / New Mexico tilt scheduled for Wednesday at 11pm. Ohio State will play the winner in St. John Arena on Monday.

Will Koufos repeat his NIT success?

Ohio State 19-13, 10-8 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

March 18, 2008 7:00 PM ET - ESPN2 —— The Schott Columbus, OH

NC Asheville 23-9, 10-4 Big South Roster | Schedule

OPPONENT: UNC Asheville is the first Big South team to be invited to the NIT and they are thrilled to be here, even holding a NIT selection party at the local Wild Wings Cafe. They seem to be experienced and take good care of the rock, winning a share of the regular season title and losing to Winthrop in the tournament final.

The Bulldogs come in with a 23-9 record, 10-4 in Big South play and score 75.4 points a game. On the season they shot 48.7 percent from the floor and 36 percent from threeland. As mentioned their assists (17.4) to turnover (13.3) ratio is outstanding and their rebounding is just as good, with six players grabbing more than 4 a game and 36.8 as a team.

KEY PLAYERS: The Bulldogs feature five players in double digits, all juniors or seniors. Bryan Smithson is a 6'0" senior who leads this team in scoring at 16.4 a game to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists. KJ Garland, a 6'1" senior, scores 13.4 points, grabs 4.4 boards and leads the team in assists with 5.9 per game.

Kenny George is the 7'7" junior who literally doesn't leave the floor to dunk the basketball. George scores 12.4 points a game in just over 19 lumbering minutes and leads the nation in shooting at 69 percent. He also ranks eighth nationally with 3.4 blocks a game.

Vincent James and Reid Augst are the others in double figures, scoring 10.6 and 10.3 respectively. James is a 6'7" senior who also grabs 4.6 caroms and dishes out 1.5 assists per game. Augst, a 6'6" junior averages 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. John Williams, a 6'4" freshman chips in with 6.5 points and 6'6" sophomore Sean Smith will help out with 5.1 points per game.

NOTES: UNC-Asheville lost at North Carolina (93-81) and at Tennessee (86-73)... The Bulldogs are coached by Eddie Beidenbach in his 12th season... UNC-Asheville has an enrollment of 3500... They averaged less than 1100 fans per home game.

BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN: I actually like the fact Ohio State received the NIT bid. This young team needs to gain valuable tournament experience going into next year. I know the NIT is second tiered talent, but that is what OSU seemed to be all year and I will take the extra practice versus a NCAA first round loss.

However, if OSU takes on any type of sulking attitude towards this game, they could suffer a dreaded NIT first round embarrassment. The Bulldogs are excited to play a major conference team and Ohio State needs to match their opening intensity. It is no secret this nucleus of young players must get stronger on the inside and handling the ball, so a run through this tournament can help develop the much needed toughness.

KEY PLAYERS: I think I just expected too much from this team. I should have realized after the exhibition loss to Findlay that the early exit of Michael Conley was going to have a crippling effect. Jamar Butler simply is not a floor general and was hurt most by Conley's departure. While Butler did lead OSU in scoring this year, his shot selection, lack of offensive imagination and untimely turnovers really hurt this team. He will go down as one of the best guards statistically at Ohio State, but I think his play tonight may help define his legacy. He can not let this team have a one and done in this tournament.

Kosta Koufos could have a big game tonight. Koufos will force Andre the Giant to guard him on the perimeter, which will open his driving game and he should be able to beat his defender down the floor to get some early touches and baskets. Kosta has been coming off the bench recently and was a beast early against Michigan State, but once again his teammates stopped feeding him the ball and he became a non-factor.

I really like the recent development of David Lighty and see him separating himself as the next leader of this team. His defense has always been solid and again, offensive expectations were a bit high, but he is scoring over 10 points a game the last three and his slashing has opened up different opportunities for the sometimes futile offense.

The combination of David Lighty, Evan Turner and William Buford is going to be sick next year. Turner has preformed well this season and while his trouble with turnovers have plagued him, his defense probably doesn't get enough credit.

Othello Hunter has scored double digits in three straight and should be able to continue that trend tonight. Beyond Paul Bunyan, UNC-Asheville is not that tall and Hunter will be much faster getting up and down the court. Fellow senior Matt Turwilliger has been playing some good defensive minutes lately, but I'm excited to see Dallas Lauderdale get his minutes next year.

The NIT is also a perfect setting for Jon Diebler to gain some confidence after a tough freshman season. Division II basketball in Ohio is obviously no training ground for Big Ten hoops. Diebler would be smart to take a page from Lighty and Turner's playbook and drive the ball every so often. He played a season low 4 minutes against MSU and looks as if all faith in his shot is gone.

NOTES: If for no other reason, OSU needs a win tonight to get Thad his 20th victory and keep his streak alive... OSU is 4-7 in their last 11 games... The Buckeyes lost to Georgia Tech, 72-58 in their last NIT appearance back in 2003...