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Buford leads Ohio State to 81-74 win over Florida November 15, 2011 Source: Associated Press - "I didn't know how we were going to play tonight," coach Thad Matta said of his team, which has just one senior (Buford) and one junior. "During the drive in the morning I was saying, ‘What if? What if?' But I thought we played with good composure. They knocked us early by making shots and our guys did a nice job of continuing to play and weathering the storm."...
Sullinger Says He Will Come Back
The Ohio State basketball season is done but don't expect to see Jared Sullinger leaving with the three Ohio State seniors after this season. The freshman forward told the media only minutes after a crushing 62-60 loss that he would be back for his sophomore season...We caught up with Sullinger after the game and got his thoughts as well as head coach Thad Matta. Source: BuckeyeGrove.com 3/26/11
Ohio State has played like the top seed in the tournament, but will they turn in another impressive performance against Kentucky on Friday? Join Jason Horowitz and Jon Rothstein for an in-depth look at this game.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas held a teleconference to give his thoughts on the NCAA Tournament, which of course includes UK and Ohio State. He thinks Ohio State is the favorite not only in this game, but to win the title as well. Here are some of his thoughts:
"Ohio State is the better of the two teams, because they’re a lot older. And they’re really balanced. Having that kind of experience and the talent they have is a terrific combination. Kentucky has talent, but it’s inexperienced talent."
Bilas talked about the matchup problems freshman center Jared Sullinger creates for defense:
"If he gets a foot in the lane, he’ll score or get fouled or both. I think you only go on Sullinger once he puts it on the deck. But once he does, he’s usually in a move pretty quick. You have to push him out a little bit, catch it off the block."
On the potential strategy of doubling down on Sullinger:
"If you’re going to double on Sullinger, you will give up open shots."
On who UK could possibly leave to help on Sullinger:
"Certain shooters you have to stay with. Diebler is a no-leave guy. You have to find him and not leave him. Cannot (take a player) off of him. Lots of teams have doubled off (Aaron) Craft. But you have to mix it up."
Speaking of Craft, the freshman point guard:
"Aaron Craft is beyond his years. I haven’t seen a guard put better pressure on the ball than he does and be a better defender."
On Ohio State’s short but talented rotation:
"They’re not deep, but they can go deep with (Dallas) Lauderdale, or they can go small and bring Deshaun Thomas off the bench. He’s had 22 in a big game. Really good 7-man roster."
On Josh Harrellson:
"Underrated. Had a really good year. Had a really good job on the glass. Been really impressed by second and third effort on the glass. Finishes plays and takes advantage of plays."
Buckeyes Preview NCAA Source: OSU Official Site 3/16/11
Thad Matta 3/16/11 Press Conference Source: OSU Official Site 3/16/11
Talented mix, supporting cast could be difference for top-seeded Ohio State March 17, 2011 Source: USA Today - "...This week, Lighty and the Buckeyes are in Cleveland (Lighty's hometown), where overall top seed Ohio State (32-2) opens the NCAA tournament Friday against Texas-San Antonio (TNT, 4:40 p.m. ET)...."
East Region Breakdown Ten first impressions (Welcome to murders row), Five players to watch (Jon Diebler), Three future possibilities (3. Ohio State-Kentucky. ) and more Source: ESPN 3/14/11
East Region & Tourney Team Preview: Ohio State
Buckeyes Claim Big Ten Tournament Title: Ohio State defeated Penn State 71-60 in the Big Ten tournament final on Sunday (3/13/11); View Photos, Box Score, Play-by-Play, Final 2011 BTT Bracket, Postgame Notes, Ohio State Quotes, Penn State Quotes. Source: OSU Official Site
Ohio State, which hit 6 of 7 3-point attempts while building a 15-point halftime lead, set a pair of NCAA records in the win. The Buckeyes hit 93.3 percent from 3-point range (14 of 15) and followed a miss on their first attempt with 14 straight 3s. The previous mark for consecutive 3-pointers made was 11 by Niagara in 1987.
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Ohio State players gather around the Big Ten regular-season trophy after beating Wisconsin 93-65 in an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, March 6, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
No. 1 Ohio State rips Wisconsin in Big Ten finale CBSSports.com wire reports
March 6, 2011 COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the midst of a raucous locker room after No. 1 Ohio State's 93-65 payback victory over 10th-ranked Wisconsin, Jon Diebler said he was sorry to his teammates.
"I apologize for missing that one," he said.
Everyone laughed.
Diebler lived up to his "3-bler" nickname Sunday by hitting 7 of 8 shots behind the arc while scoring 27 points, as Ohio State (29-2, 16-2 Big Ten) set NCAA Division I records by making 14 of 15 3-pointers (93.3 percent) and hitting 14 in a row - after missing the first.
"On our best day this year, we hit 11 of 17 and thought we'd hit the jackpot," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. "Fourteen of 15? I don't think people do that very often. Either that, or I'm living in the wrong part of the country."
Still smarting from their first loss of the year, a 71-67 setback at Wisconsin on Feb. 12, the Buckeyes unleashed their best game of the season - shutdown defense at one end and 68-percent shooting from the field at the other.
"I don't know if you could script it much better," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta. "Our defensive energy was incredible ... and offensively the shots were falling. It was incredible how well we shot the basketball."
Freshman Jared Sullinger had 22 points just weeks after accusing a Wisconsin fan of spitting in his face as he left the floor at the Kohl Center. He had told several people that he not only wanted to beat the Badgers, but that he wanted to beat them by 50 points.
The final score only seemed that lopsided.
"That first loss in college, I didn't take that too lightly," Sullinger said. "I wanted to win, and I wanted to win big, too."
William Buford added 18 points and David Lighty 13 for the Buckeyes, who won their 22nd straight home game while dropping Wisconsin to just 4-5 in Big Ten road games this season.
Ryan had been the focal point for many fans in a capacity crowd of 18,809 who felt he had disrespected the Buckeyes after the first meeting when he said, "We won the game. Deal with it."
Ohio State officials fueled the fans' enmity by handing out 1,400 scarlet towels that read, "Deal With It." When Ryan's picture was shown on the monitors at midcourt before the game, there was a large chorus of boos, and the Buckeyes student section immediately behind the Wisconsin bench yelled at the coach most of the day.
Asked after the game about the towels, Ryan said, "What towels? ... I know one thing, towels didn't blow the ball in on all those 3s."
The Buckeyes built a 47-32 halftime lead - the exact score they led by in the second half of the first game before Wisconsin came roaring back - thanks to 6-of-7 shooting behind the arc.
Topping that, Ohio State hit all eight 3s in the second 20 minutes.
Diebler, who tied the Big Ten record by hitting 10 shots behind the arc in a win at Penn State on Tuesday night, is 17 of 20 on 3-pointers in his last two games for the Buckeyes, who had clinched the outright Big Ten title a day earlier thanks to No. 6 Purdue's loss at Iowa.
Josh Gasser had 17 points, Jon Leuer 16 and Keaton Nankivil 10 for the Badgers (23-7, 13-5). Jordan Taylor, who had scored 21 of his 27 points to lead the comeback in the second half of the first meeting, was limited to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting. He was shadowed throughout the game by Ohio State freshman Aaron Craft.
"Aaron did a tremendous job," said Matta, whose teams have won four Big Ten titles in the last six years. "He'd studied so much film. What might go unnoticed is the job the other guys did in helping Aaron. But he was a pit bull out there today."
Wisconsin drew as close as 56-45 on Nankivil's 3 with 14:15 left before the Buckeyes put the game on ice. Diebler was at the heart of it, starting things with a 3. He later hit one off an inbounds play and then dribbled around a defender and stepped back for yet another to push the lead to 69-48 and cap a 10-0 run midway through the second half.
The rest of the game was a matter of killing time until the Buckeyes could cut down the nets and raise the Big Ten trophy. They'll be the top seed in the Big Ten tournament this week in Indianapolis, and are all but assured of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Lighty, who played his final home game along with Diebler and Dallas Lauderdale, said the victory was nothing more than a step toward bigger goals.
"Our first mission was a regular-season Big Ten championship. That's complete," Lighty said. "Now we'll turn our focus on a three-day tournament that we need to win and that will get us ready for the NCAA tournament. That's just step two of our three-step mission."
BIG TEN HAS SEEN THE MOST GROWTH : "...Likely linked to the creation of The Big Ten Network which launched in August 2007, the Big Ten has shown the most growth in men’s basketball revenues since 2003.
The table below compares men’s basketball revenue for the entire conference in 2009 to 2003. It corrects for inflation by using CPI data from 2009 and 2003 to calculate the 2003 revenues in “2009 dollars”. Lastly, a “growth ratio” is calculated to see the growth in “real revenues” from 2003 to 2009.
Conference
2009
2003
2003 (in 2009 $)
Growth Ratio
Big Ten
$138,054,933
$37,708,837
$43,976,630
3.14
ACC
$133,479,911
$84,761,805
$98,323,694
1.57
Big East
$154,122,296
$88,058,061
$102,147,351
1.51
SEC
$124,636,534
$73,261,482
$84,983,319
1.47
Big 12
$105,706,308
$67,572,143
$78,383,686
1.35
Pac 10
$80,129,005
$54,537,074
$63,263,006
1.27
4 of the 6 BCS conferences have seen real growth rates in men’s basketball revenue between 35-57%.
However, the Big Ten has seen the greatest growth by far. Their conference revenues from men’s basketball are 214% greater than in 2003 after adjusting for inflation.
Data like this makes it clear why conferences want their own sports networks.
If any of the conferences could use a cable network to promote its own sports league, its the Pac 10. At 27% growth, their men’s basketball revenues have grown the least over that 6 year span..."
