This is interesting, he has a solid track record and has done well but still a bit of an unknown to me.  Maybe he can really recruit well.  Xavier's Chris Mack would have been a slam dunk hire IMO, he's really recruiting on all cylinders in Cincinnati.  But, it looks like Mack loves it at Xavier and honestly not even certain of OSU entertained that. 

 

If Holtmann can recruit like they say he can, he should really bring in some top talent to Ohio State and hopefully they all dont walk away like they did with Matta, which I still have a tough time processing as on the outside Matta seems like a really genuine, nice guy.

 

The whole deal with him being fired was very strange too, very strange to me.  It's not like it was a mutually agreed upon thing yet Geno Smith portrayed it that way... Geno to Thad "Yeah so... things aren't working out well, you've sucked the last two years, do you agree?" Thad: "Yes, the last few years have sucked and we have lost like 10 players to transfer", Geno: "OK, well since you and I both agree let's hold a press conference to let everyone know you are stepping down but you still want to help us out right?", That: "Ummmmmmm, OK Geno?"

This is interesting, he has a solid track record and has done well but still a bit of an unknown to me.  Maybe he can really recruit well.  Xavier's Chris Mack would have been a slam dunk hire IMO, he's really recruiting on all cylinders in Cincinnati.  But, it looks like Mack loves it at Xavier and honestly not even certain of OSU entertained that. 

 

He's a Xavier alum and honestly they're in a better position right now than OSU.

^Yeah, X is in a good position and I 100% understand why Mack is very content there, beautiful campus, great metro area, he can recruit it, etc.  That said, Ohio State has to be one of the top programs in the nation in regards to the basketball program.  I can't really see many schools above OSU in terms of potential for a yearly powerhouse: Kentucky, Duke, UNC, Louisville, UCLA, maybe Arizona, MSU.  Ohio State is right there with those schools for certain, top 8 in the nation.  Certainly it is better potential than Indiana is right now, which I agree with everyone, baffling that Geno Smith didn't move faster to get Archie as I would assume Archie would take OSU over Indiana

^So much of that is coach-dependent.  Georgetown 25 years ago?  Uconn 10 years ago?  What about a place like Purdue?  Illinois?  MSU is on the tail-end of the Izzo era.  Wisconsin?

 

Kansas should be on that list for sure.  You could make a case for UF, but was that all Donovan? (Yes)  Was Syracuse all Boeheim?  What about Villanova?  What about Michigan?  What about Maryland?

 

I think you can make the case for OSU being on the edge of the top 10, but in reality (at least currently) it's more like a top 15-20 job.

^I missed out on Kansas

 

But I am talking about raw potential, facilities, money, all of that.  There is no doubt that Ohio State should be top 3 in the Big Ten almost every single year because of money they have and the facilities they have and the fertile recruting ground they are in.

 

Those other programs, much more coach dependent than Ohio State. 

 

I don't think any young coach who had an opportunity to go to Ohio State vs. Georgetown, UCONN, Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin, UF, Syracuse, Villanova, Michigan or Maryland would choose any of those besides Ohio State, not withstanding substantial ties to any other program.

 

The only ones I could see it being a toss up would be Ohio State vs. Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UNC, Louisville, UCLA, AZ (on the cusp) or MSU (on the cusp)

 

They are literally a sleeping giant.  I am sorry but Ohio State shouldn't lose recruting battles to anyone besides what I mentioned just above.

It's a football school, though. Some of the top players want to be THE guy on campus, and that's just never gonna happen at OSU. Basketball will always play second fiddle to football there. Think about all the top basketball programs mentioned above, and how many of them have good football programs. Not too many.

^Maybe, I don't know though, that could play a role.  I think more than anything now a days it is the facilities, arena, and how successful they are / can be

 

If OSU gets people on campus, say a top 50 guy who has no otherwise preference, if the coach can really recruit, it should be even ties with an MSU or Arizona and should be at an advantage vs a Purdue or Iowa.  That's just my opinion though

No one wants to play in front of a 40-50% crowd in arguably the worst atmosphere in the Big 10.

 

Basketball players are never going to be "THE MAN" at Ohio State with the football team.  It's a football state.  That's a tough sell to players who aren't locked in to OSU.  These big name recruits could go to basketball-crazed schools like Kansas, Duke, UNC, UK, MSU, etc.

 

Holtmann has a tough job ahead - a roster comprised of 9 scholarship players and not much time or ability to add any new recruits.

OK, so my mind is officially BLOWN

 

You guys are seriously telling me that THE Ohio State University, the THIRD richest athletic department in the nation, one of the most expensive BASKETBALL practice facilities and training facilities in the nation at $20 Million Dollars, can't recruit the top guys in the nation because they want to be the man at a basketball school?

 

Holtmann, if he has any skill at all at recruting or coaching, should have Ohio State in the top 3 or 4 of the Big Ten every single year.  I think you all get too spoiled with how good you all are in football  and don't realize how much $ that generates for all the other sports.  Holtmann does not have a tough job ahead! If this were Nebraska, if this were Illinois or Northwestern or Iowa or Minnesota, those are TOUGH jobs

 

You can not tell me that Ohio State has the worst atmosphere in the Big 10, that Ohio State shouldn't out recruit every single school besides MSU in the league or that it hasn't been done before with Oden and Conley and Turner, etc.  That is like blasphemy

 

Edit: Here is a list similar to many I have seen, having Ohio State at #13:

 

"13. Ohio State

 

It’s a big school with a huge fan base and more money than it knows what to do with. Its general geographical area is full of great players every year. So you can recruit great teams and sign huge contracts, but because it isn’t a basketball school, pressure to win big takes longer to boil over."

 

http://thebiglead.com/2017/06/06/the-16-most-desirable-coaching-gigs-in-college-basketball/

http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2016/06/09/2016_release_mens_basketball_attendance_final.pdf

 

This was last year but OSU was 28th in attendance in Division I and I'm sure had the worst attendance as a % of capacity.  Attendance fell off even more this past season so they'll be in the 30's for the '16-'17 season when that report is released.

 

Here - http://www.bigten.org/library/stats/mbb-confldrs.html (WOWOWOW Big 10 graphics are horrendous) but OSU was 8th in the Big Ten in average home attendance and the worst in terms of % of capacity I'm sure.  They play in a stale, cavernous monstrosity with no personality.  There are quite literally old ladies who knit at games.

 

They haven't had a top 20 national recruit since Sullinger in 2010 (Russell was borderline top 20 a few years ago, depending on which service you believe - obviously he ended up the #2 overall NBA pick).  Is that the university or is that Thad?  Sullinger was coming to OSU no matter who was coach - he grew up in Columbus and his brother went to OSU.  So it's arguable that Thad hadn't landed a top 20 recruit since 2008 - oh, that's convenient, both Buford and Mullens (Columbus) were from Ohio and likely to attend OSU anyway.

 

Again, was that all a product of Thad or OSU just being seen a step below the top-tier schools?  Can't say for sure.

 

"You can not tell me that Ohio State has the worst atmosphere in the Big 10."

Name a worse atmosphere in the conference over the last 2-3 years.

OSU fans don't care about the basketball team until they find out the team is REALLY good in, say, February.

^^ All that I am sure it is true, but the fact remains that you should most definitely be able to recruit top talent at Ohio State.  Maybe not more than UK, Louisville, Kansas, MSU, etc... but I'm pretty certain Iowa smoked Ohio State this year in basketball (sorry if I am wrong but they have smoked them a few times in the last 5 years) and McCaffery has never landed a recruit in the top 25.  I just think, IMO, with the facilities and money that Ohio State has, that they should be able to field a top 4 program in the Big Ten year in and year out. 

 

All that said, they should pick up their in-state recruiting because there are a ton of high level players in Ohio.

 

I'm familiar with Iowa, but they picked up a guy named Aaron White out of Strongsville who Ohio State didn't even talk to and ended up 1st Team All Big-Ten and a kid named Ahmad Wagner out of Dayton who just finished a strong sophomore year and most definitely would have been a heavy to medium minutes guy for Ohio State, and they didn't even try to talk to him.  So in short, I think it's a Thad problem but they definitely could have got Archie if they beat IU to the punch

Holtmann has a tough job ahead - a roster comprised of 9 scholarship players and not much time or ability to add any new recruits.

 

Right off the bat I am optimistic that he will get a few of his top recruits to Butler to follow him to Ohio State. I'm hopeful that they one high-profile young man from Ohio, who everyone assumed was going to Ohio State until he chose Butler last fall, will make the switch.

^^ All that I am sure it is true, but the fact remains that you should most definitely be able to recruit top talent at Ohio State.  Maybe not more than UK, Louisville, Kansas, MSU, etc... but I'm pretty certain Iowa smoked Ohio State this year in basketball (sorry if I am wrong but they have smoked them a few times in the last 5 years) and McCaffery has never landed a recruit in the top 25.  I just think, IMO, with the facilities and money that Ohio State has, that they should be able to field a top 4 program in the Big Ten year in and year out. 

 

All that said, they should pick up their in-state recruiting because there are a ton of high level players in Ohio.

 

I'm familiar with Iowa, but they picked up a guy named Aaron White out of Strongsville who Ohio State didn't even talk to and ended up 1st Team All Big-Ten and a kid named Ahmad Wagner out of Dayton who just finished a strong sophomore year and most definitely would have been a heavy to medium minutes guy for Ohio State, and they didn't even try to talk to him.  So in short, I think it's a Thad problem but they definitely could have got Archie if they beat IU to the punch

 

In state recruiting might be made more difficult by the fact that there are other Ohio schools with strong basketball programs. UC, UD, and Xavier all presumably compete for in-state talent in a way that doesn't really occur with football.

I'm familiar with Iowa, but they picked up a guy named Aaron White out of Strongsville who Ohio State didn't even talk to and ended up 1st Team All Big-Ten and a kid named Ahmad Wagner out of Dayton who just finished a strong sophomore year and most definitely would have been a heavy to medium minutes guy for Ohio State, and they didn't even try to talk to him.  So in short, I think it's a Thad problem but they definitely could have got Archie if they beat IU to the punch

 

Thad also missed out on Luke Kennard, Nigel Hayes, Trey Burke, etc. etc. in recent years, all Ohio guys.

I'm familiar with Iowa, but they picked up a guy named Aaron White out of Strongsville who Ohio State didn't even talk to and ended up 1st Team All Big-Ten and a kid named Ahmad Wagner out of Dayton who just finished a strong sophomore year and most definitely would have been a heavy to medium minutes guy for Ohio State, and they didn't even try to talk to him.  So in short, I think it's a Thad problem but they definitely could have got Archie if they beat IU to the punch

 

Thad also missed out on Luke Kennard, Nigel Hayes, Trey Burke, etc. etc. in recent years, all Ohio guys.

IDK what the big deal is, Matta was hurt for some time and struggled on the recruiting circuit, which is developed 3 years out scouting AAU teams. BBall recruiting is so much different than football, sometimes a class is only 3 players, not 26.

If you are loaded with 4 young 2 guards and or 3 SG and a small PF, you might pass on a local or Ohio recruit that is a 2 guard.

Likewise the kid might not want to go to OSU, even if offered, if other solid programs can likely offer him playing time year 1 or 2. But year OSU is a very attractive program for recruits. FWIW,

 

AP releases Top 100 college basketball programs based on polls

 

 

1 Kentucky 1,111

2 North Carolina 1,098

3 Duke 1,032

4 UCLA 957

5 Kansas 857

6 Indiana 662

7 Louisville 627

8 Arizona 594

9 Syracuse 581

10 Cincinnati 500

11 Illinois 479

12 Ohio State 453

13 Michigan State 434

14 Michigan 423

15 Georgetown 421

16 Connecticut 402

17 Maryland 400

18 Notre Dame 382

19 Villanova 372

20 Oklahoma 371

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2017-03-29/ap-releases-top-100-college-basketball-programs-based-poll

 

http://www.collegehoopedia.com/schools/top-100-programs

 

Most all time wins

 

 

Rank College First

Season Seasons Wins Losses Win%

1 Kentucky 1903 114 2,237 688 .765

2 Kansas 1899 118 2,217 841 .725

3 North Carolina 1911 106 2,206 781 .739

4 Duke 1906 111 2,115 873 .708

5 Temple 1895 121 1,886 1,053 .642

6 Syracuse 1901 116 1,861 880 .679

7 UCLA 1920 98 1,849 824 .692

8 Notre Dame 1898 112 1,845 994 .650

9 St. John's 1908 110 1,817 999 .645

10 Louisville 1912 103 1,803 901 .667

11 Indiana 1901 117 1,801 1,019 .639

12 Brigham Young 1903 115 1,786 1,071 .625

13 Utah 1909 109 1,779 978 .645

14 Illinois 1906 112 1,764 973 .645

15 Arizona 1905 112 1,769 923 .657

16 Cincinnati 1902 116 1,757 1,003 .637

17 Texas 1906 111 1,750 1,054 .624

18 Western Kentucky 1915 98 1,748 901 .660

19 Purdue 1897 119 1,747 1,019 .632

20 Pennsylvania 1897 117 1,747 1,091 .616

21 Washington 1896 115 1,744 1,162 .600

22 West Virginia 1904 108 1,730 1,068 .618

23 Princeton 1901 117 1,718 1,062 .618

24 Villanova 1921 97 1,713 920 .651

25 Oregon State 1902 116 1,711 1,321 .564

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_teams_with_the_most_victories_in_NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_college_basketball

Chris Holtmann has transferred his entire assistant coaching staff from Butler to Ohio State.

 

He also transferred his top 2017 recruit - Massillon's Kyle Young - from Butler to OSU.  Young was runner-up to Westerville South’s Kaleb Wesson for Ohio’s Mr. Basketball award last season, although he led Massillon Jackson to a Division I title over Westerville South.

 

6'-8" forward Kyle Young will join 6'-9" forward Kaleb Wesson on next season's team.  This gives OSU the top two ranked 2017 basketball recruits in Ohio and upgrades the Basketball Buckeyes’ class of 2017 to #32 nationally and fourth-best in the Big Ten.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170619/ohio-state-mens-basketball--massillons-kyle-young-switches-commitment-to-buckeyes

The roster for the 2017-18 season has taken two more hits.  The Basketball Buckeyes announced the departure of two players yet to play an official game — redshirt freshman Derek Funderburk and freshman Braxton Beverly — leaving only eight recruited scholarship players on the roster for the upcoming season:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170630/ohio-state-basketball-beverly-funderburk-leaving-program

Musa Jallow, a 6-foot-5, 200-lb four-star prospect from Bloomington, Indiana, has committed to Ohio State for the upcoming season.  Jallow was originally committed to OSU as part of their 2018 recruiting class, but will now reclassify to the class of 2017 and enroll at Ohio State for the upcoming season.  ESPN ranked Jallow as the #2 overall prospect from Indiana for the class of 2018:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170707/ohio-state-basketball--small-forward-commits-to-play-this-season

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170710/ohio-state-mens-basketball--torrence-watson-commits-for-class-of-2018

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170711/ohio-state-basketball-holtmann-adds-scoonie-penn-to-staff

Michigan guard Andrew Dakich - son of former college coach and current ESPN analyst Dan Dakich - will be transferring to Ohio State as a graduate transfer:

 

https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2017/7/17/15985620/michigan-guard-andrew-dakich-to-transfer-to-ohio-state

A team of made up mostly of former OSU Basketball Alumni advanced to the Final Four of The Basketball Tournament.  I'd never heard of this before this summer, but according to the TBT website: "The Basketball Tournament is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, currently featuring 64 teams.  It was founded in 2014."

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2017/07/83678/scarlet-gray-rolled-golden-eagles-81-56-to-advance-to-the-semis-of-the-basketball-tournament

 

https://www.thetournament.com/news/2-scarlet-gray-clip-1-golden-eagles-81-56-advance-tbt-semifinals

 

These games are being broadcast by ESPN and the OSU Alumni team (Scarlet & Gray) has been fun to watch.  The Scarlet & Gray team has a pretty good lineup featuring OSU Alums Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, Jon Diebler, David Lightly, William Buford, Dallas Lauderdale, and Evan Ravenel.  Ohio natives Leon Rodgers from Northern Illinois and Nate Miller from Bowling Green round out the lineup and the team is coached by Scoonie Penn.  This is the first year an OSU-based team has been in this tournament.

 

It's been great to see these players again.  Only Sullinger currently plays in the NBA (although he's an unsigned free-agent going into the upcoming season).  Most of the other OSU alums are playing overseas - with Diebler currently playing in Turkey; Lightly and Buford currently playing in France; Craft currently with a Monaco-based team in the French league; Ravenel playing in Japan - and Lauderdale plays in the NBA's D-League.

 

The Scarlet & Gray team beat a team of Marquette Alumni to advance to the TBT semifinals.  Their semifinal game is August 1.  The TBT Championship Game is August 3rd, where the winning team gets a $2,000,000 prize.

The Scarlet & Gray team were eliminated via a double overtime thriller in their semifinal matchup at The Basketball Tournament last night:

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2017/08/83894/scarlet-and-gray-falls-in-final-four-of-the-basketball-tournament

 

---

Although it was disappointing to see the S&G alumni team get eliminated, I got more enjoyment from this game then from any "real" OSU Basketball game from the past four seasons.  I hope S&G gets a team together for next summer's tournament.

Checking in on the Basketball Buckeyes before football season starts later today...

 

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OY!:  Ohio State's Andre Wesson Undergoing Testing For 'Medical Issue', Basketball Future in Jeopardy:

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2017/08/84422/andre-wessons-basketball-future-at-ohio-state-in-jeopardy-

 

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But hopefully, YAY:  Ohio State forward, Andre Wesson, reportedly medically cleared to return

 

https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2017/8/29/16223146/ohio-state-basketball-andre-wesson-return-osu

Just OY!  No YAY:

 

2018 guard Torrence Watson decommits from Ohio State - The Buckeyes lone basketball commit in the 2018 class has reopened his recruitment:

 

https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2017/8/26/16209112/ohio-state-basketball-torrence-watson-decommits-osu

^ Some more updates about that 2018 recruiting class:

 

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Ohio State men’s basketball: Guard gives Buckeyes second commitment in two days

By Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

Posted: September 20, 2017 at 6:01 PM

 

For a while, Ohio State had three commitments for its 2018 recruiting class.  Then it had two, then zero, then one and then back to zero again entering this week.

 

Now, in the span of two days, the Buckeyes have two.  One day after four-star power forward Jaedon LeDee of The Kinkaid School in Houston committed to coach Chris Holtmann’s program via a video on Twitter, four-star guard Duane Washington followed suit and became the second member of Ohio State’s class of 2018.

 

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Washington is ranked as the No. 31 shooting guard prospect in the country by ESPN.  He originally hails from Grand Rapids Christian in Michigan but transferred to Chatsworth Sierra Canyon in California in part so he could live with his uncle, five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher, according to 247Sports.com.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170920/ohio-state-mens-basketball-guard-gives-buckeyes-second-commitment-in-two-days

Still more about the 2018 recruiting class:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170922/ohio-state-mens-basketball--new-jersey-prospect-commits

 

"For the third time in four days, Ohio State has landed a commitment for its class of 2018.  In an announcement posted to his Twitter page, four-star guard prospect Luther Muhammad from Hudson Catholic in Jersey City, New Jersey, issued his commitment to the Buckeyes."

 

 

 

 

 

 

New coach Holtmann getting it done, schedule-wise anyway.  Great to see this kind of pre-conference addition.  The Buckeyes and Bearcats will open the 2018-19 season in UC's newly renovated Fifth Third Arena.  The following season, the home-and-home series will move to the Schott:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171003/ohio-state-mens-basketball--buckeyes-bearcats-agree-to-series

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20171003/ohio-state-mens-basketball-buckeyes-cincinnati-agree-to-play-in-2018-and-2019

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171004/ohio-state-mens-basketball--chris-holtmann-ready-to-beef-up-schedule

Gotta say, I'm fairly pleased with Holtmann's first year and this season's team so far.  The Basketball Buckeyes are starting "the real Big Ten schedule" tonight at Iowa.  They're 11-4 going into this game - including 2-0 in two early Big Ten games on the schedule in early December.

 

The Basketball Buckeyes are ranked #45 by KenPom.  Not really any great wins yet (except for the two early B1G wins) but no bad losses yet, like in previous seasons.  The four losses so far have come against higher KenPom ranked teams - Gonzaga at 9; Butler at 37; Clemson at 18; UNC at 12.

In my previous post, I mentioned that Holtmann's Basketball Buckeyes were having a good season but without any great wins yet...

 

... not after yesterday's 80-64 win over #1 Michigan State in the Schott.  You could even call it, "a signature win":

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/01/90074/ohio-state-upsets-no-1-michigan-state-for-first-signature-win-of-chris-holtmann-era

In my previous post, I mentioned that Holtmann's Basketball Buckeyes were having a good season but without any great wins yet...

 

... not after yesterday's 80-64 win over #1 Michigan State in the Schott.  You could even call it, "a signature win":

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/01/90074/ohio-state-upsets-no-1-michigan-state-for-first-signature-win-of-chris-holtmann-era

 

Impressive to me was the crowd. We haven't had a crowd like that in years. 17,599 in the house while two miles away the Blue Jackets had 16,535 in house for a game at the same time!

This win just makes it all the more obvious that firing Thad was the right move.

Keta Bates-Diop (sp?) is an absolute stud

Hello AP Top 25, how's things been for the past three years?

 

https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2018/1/15/16893302/ohio-state-ap-poll-for-first-time-in-three-years

 

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This Season of Overachievement has gotten the Basketball Buckeyes back into the AP Top 25.  A well-deserved return given their win over then-#1 Michigan State, 15-4 overall record, a 6-0 B1G start, and two blowout wins over Maryland and Rutgers last week.

Joe Lunardi has Ohio State as a 6 seed in his latest bracketology - http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

 

The team is tied with Purdue atop the league standings - and they have TWO losses on the #3 teams (Michigan, MSU, Indiana) meaning they could lose and still would be top two in the Big 10.

 

I'm pleasantly surprised given that Holtmann nearly recruited guys off rec leagues this summer to fill the roster.  I haven't watched much this season because of the apathy of the last 2-3 seasons and expectations being so low - I would have taken a .500ish league record and an NIT appearance.  That said, they've firmly moved off the NCAA bubble and it would be more shocking now for a collapse down the stretch to miss the tournament.

 

They have weathered early injuries (+ at least once suspension I recall).  Of the four losses, I do remember the collapse against Butler and thinking the season was lost.  But all four losses are "good" in that those teams are top 30 or so RPI teams I believe. 

 

The team is at Northwestern tomorrow night (tough game) followed up by FIVE CONSECUTIVE home games.  If they can get through that stretch (that's a big IF of course) they'd be 12-0 in the Big 10 heading into the matchup at Purdue.

Season of Overachievement continues.  The Basketball Buckeyes are up to #13 in the AP and #14 in the BPI.  And as the graphic below shows, a relatively easy stretch of home games until a Feb. 7 showdown at Purdue:

 

Season of overachievement indeed.  Of our four losses, three are to ranked teams, and the only outlier was a one-point loss vs. Butler (and I'm actually surprised to see Butler unranked, they're usually a pretty good team).

 

That said, I still don't like our odds even of running the table until Purdue; the Big Ten is just too competitive a conference even in the lower tiers.  (I can't believe how far Indiana and Illinois appear to have fallen, either.  Just having trouble processing that.)

The Basketball Buckeyes lost their first B1G conference game this season.  But it took a miracle shot to do it.

 

Below is the BTN video showing the final seconds of last night's game.  Keita-Bates-Diop tied the game on an NBA-range 3-pointer with only 5 seconds remaining.  Then Penn State wins it with a desperation-range 3-pointer THAT WAS BANKED IN!

 

^ I was at the game last night. When I saw three Penn State players in a row make half-court shots during warm-ups, I knew I had a bad feeling about how the game was going to go.

 

It was a great game though. Probably the most exciting OSU basketball game I've ever been to.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400986549

 

Keita Bates-Diop led the way with a career-high 35 points and 13 rebounds as the Bucks held off Illinois for a 75-67 win.

 

Ohio State is now 20-5 on the season and 11-1 in Big Ten play.  They travel to West Lafayette for their lone regular season matchup against #3 ranked Purdue (12-0 in conference).  That game on Wednesday will likely decide the Big Ten title.

Been a little under the weather.

 

Wasn't sure I should stay up to watch the last 10 minutes of that one.

 

Stayed up to the end.

 

Worth every minute of lost sleep.  OSU 64, Purdue 63.  And every bit as close as the score makes it sound.  Three lead changes in the last minute.

 

'night all.

^ Those last 10 minutes were definitely worth staying up for!

 

When the Basketball Buckeyes went down 14 with 10 minutes left, I thought they were done.  But Coach Holtsmann switched to a smaller lineup and they made up the difference.  Caleb Wesson got into early foul trouble and had zero points last night.  That and Kam Williams being out for a second straight game due to a team suspension left a scoring hole that got filled by Caleb's older brother Andre Wesson (13 points) and underage freshman Musa Jallow (10 points) last night:  http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400986554

 

Here's the video of the Keita Bates-Diop game-winning basket:

 

When "Musa Jallow" is pronounced I can only think of this:

 

Michigan State knocked off Purdue and the Basketball Buckeyes took care of Iowa yesterday.  Which vaults OSU to the top of the B1G standings with only four games remaining in the regular season:

 

 

And here are the final four B1G regular season games for the Basketball Buckeyes:

 

The Basketball Buckeyes win over (then) #3 Purdue last week vaulted OSU from 14 to 8 in the latest AP poll. 

 

- Along with Xavier at 4 and UC at 5, that's three Ohio teams in the Top 10.

- Along with Michigan State at 2 and Purdue at 6, that's three B1G teams in the Top 10.

Hilarious that the #1 team in the Big Ten with wins (and thus, tiebreakers) over the #2 and #3 teams in the conference are so far behind those two teams.

Agreeing because the most of the teams we lost to have turned out to be serious heavyweights in their own right.  I don't know where Clemson was picked to finish in the ACC but I think they're overperforming there like we are here.  Gonzaga is always good, of course; their Cinderella days are long past.  North Carolina is a blue-blood program, yet actually ranked behind Gonzaga and Clemson at the moment.  Our only unranked losses are Butler and Penn State.  Butler is very close to being ranked, and Penn State is actually higher in the B1G than people might appreciate (though still our worst loss--if that guy hadn't banked in that buzzer-beater against us, and we'd pulled that out, we'd be right up there with Michigan State and Purdue right now).

Bad times for Top 25 teams on the road last night:

 

- First, #6 Purdue gets upset at Wisconsin

- Then #5 UC gets knocked off at Houston

- Then #8 OSU gets blowed out at Penn State

Bad times for Ohio's Top 10 teams this weekend:

 

- First, #4 Xavier loses to #3 Villanova

- Then #5 UC loses to #19 Wichita State

- Then #8 OSU loses at #22 Michigan

 

The two straight losses knock the Basketball Buckeyes out of first-place in the B1G and down to #16 in the new AP poll.

The Basketball Buckeyes had it done to them, now they did it to Indiana last night.  OSU wins a 2OT thriller on a last-second three.  The win assures that the Basketball Buckeyes will finish second in the B1G regular-season, and gives them a chance at the conference title if MSU gets upset at WISC tomorrow: