Wisconsin didn't upset Michigan State yesterday, so MSU is the Big Ten regular-season champion.  OSU gets the No. 2 seed in the B1G tournament and will face the winner of the No. 7 Penn State vs. No. 10 Northwestern game on Friday.

 

B1G tournament bracket:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/02/91340/the-2017-18-big-ten-tournament-is-set

-- Head Coach Chris Holtmann named Big Ten Coach of the Year

 

-- Keita Bates-Diop named Big Ten Player of the Year

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180226/ohio-state-mens-basketball-bates-diop-holtmann-named-big-tens-best

The Basketball Buckeyes would be 24-5 if they hadn't played Penn State this season!

I seriously can't believe just how Penn State has had our number this season, of all teams.  Three losses in one year to any team is hard to come by, since they by definition have to be a league rival, but seriously, it's not Purdue or Michigan State here, it's freaking Penn State.

Probably looking at a 5 seed in the tourney.

 

The Big Ten tournament timing was incredibly stupid this year.  Jim Delaney sucks.

^ A 5 seed it is.

 

The 24-8 Basketball Buckeyes get a #5 seed in West and will play Thursday against South Dakota State.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401025853

 

The Basketball Buckeyes knock off the Jackrabbits and advance to face Gonzaga on Saturday.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401025869

 

The Basketball Buckeyes were eliminated by Gonzaga last night.

 

What a season of overachievement for this team and first-year head coach Holtmann.  And if they hadn't faced Penn State and Gonzaga, this season's record would have been 25-4!

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401025869

 

The Basketball Buckeyes were eliminated by Gonzaga last night.

 

What a season of overachievement for this team and first-year head coach Holtmann.  And if they hadn't faced Penn State and Gonzaga, this season's record would have been 25-4!

 

Depends on who else we faced instead of them.

 

We might have run into UMBC and gotten murdered by puppies.

https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2018/5/15/17356820/ohio-state-basketball-alumni-tbt-2018-aaron-craft-team-scarlet-gray

 

Last summer's The Basketball Tournament broadcast by ESPN and featuring some Buckeye Basketball alumni was quite entertaining.  It's returning this summer - with an opening round regional being played at Capital University in Columbus on July 20-22.

 

-- Team Scarlet and Gray, which made it into the Final Four is returning with William Buford, Aaron Craft, Jon Diebler, Dallas Lauderdale, David Lighty and Evan Ravenel once again on the roster.  Former Buckeye B.J. Mullens will joining them this year.  Last year's leading scorer, Jared Sullinger, hasn't committed to this year's team, but is eligible for the TBT.  Sullinger didn't catch on with an NBA team, but tore it up in the Chinese league - he had a 40pt/31rebound game(!)  Team Scarlet and Gray will once again coached be by Scoonie Penn and Evan Turner.

 

-- Another team with OSU alums might also join the tournament (if they get enough on-line votes).  This team - Big X - would feature Andrew Dakich, Jae’Sean Tate and Kam Williams from last season's OSU squad, along with former players from Michigan and Illinois.

Team Scarlet and Gray, which made it into the Final Four of last year's The Basketball Tournament, is returning with William Buford, Aaron Craft, Jon Diebler, Dallas Lauderdale, David Lighty and Evan Ravenel on the roster.  Former Buckeye B.J. Mullens and ex-Penn State star Talor Battle are joining them this year.  Last year's Team Scarlet and Gray leading scorer, Jared Sullinger, has also re-committed to this year's team.  And there's also one more big addition: 30-year-old Greg Oden(!)

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180709/greg-oden-to-join-other-former-ohio-state-players-in-basketball-tournament

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180710/mattas-what-ifs-enjoy-teaming-up-for-tournament

^Seeing all those names still gives me heartburn over 2011.

 

And Aaron Craft could never get out of the NBA D-League (or G League now?) but Dellavedova, a sub 40% shooter, is still holding down a roster spot making $9.5m a year.

^ I know its more than a little bit of nostalgia, but I enjoy watching these familiar players from OSU's past.  Especially the uber-hustling Aaron Craft, but also Sully and Diebs, some other multi-yearers like Lighty, Buford, Lauderdale, the "great face" of Evan Ravenel, and even the mysterious Byron (no longer B.J.) Mullens.  That's what is sorely missing from today's college basketball - players you got to know playing for your team - instead of the complete roster turnover of this one-and-done era.

Team Scarlet and Gray played to sold-out crowds at the 4000-seat Capital Center on the Capital University campus in Bexley this weekend.  They won both of their games to advance to The Basketball Tournament's Super 16 round that will be played in Atlanta next weekend. 

 

-- https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/07/94520/scarlet-and-gray-blasts-west-virginia-wildcats-score-moves-on-to-second-round-of-tbt:  Team Scarlet and Gray easily won their Saturday game 99-68 over the West Virginia Wildcats.  Sullinger led the scoring with 20, while former Penn State star Talor Battle had 16 points and Byron Mullens looked very impressive with 14 points.

 

-- https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/07/94539/scarlet-gray-takes-best-shot-from-matadors-advances-in-tbt:  Team Scarlet and Gray had a tougher time in their Sunday game against the Matadors, a team of Texas Tech Alumni.  The hot-shooting Matadors led 61-60 going into the 4th quarter before S&G turned it on to win 82-73.  Sullinger had a monster game with 28 points and 20 rebounds.  Lightly, Diebler and Craft each kicked in 15, 12 & 12.

 

Mullens did not play in Sunday's game "because of personal reasons" according to the below linked Dispatch article (see how mysterious he is!).  And the expected return of Greg Oden did not happen last weekend.  Not sure why - the below Dispatch article said Oden "practiced with the team on Monday but wasn’t around this weekend" and that he was scheduled to be with the team in Atlanta next weekend.

 

Also scheduled to be with the team in Atlanta is leading-scorer Jared Sullinger - despite getting married next weekend in Florida!  Talk about being a team player!

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180722/basketball-tournament--sullinger-helps-team-of-ex-buckeyes-advance

Mullens did not play in Sunday's game "because of personal reasons" according to the below linked Dispatch article (see how mysterious he is!).  And the expected return of Greg Oden did not happen last weekend.  Not sure why - the below Dispatch article said Oden "practiced with the team on Monday but wasn’t around this weekend" and that he was scheduled to be with the team in Atlanta next weekend.

 

Also scheduled to be with the team in Atlanta is leading-scorer Jared Sullinger - despite getting married next weekend in Florida!  Talk about being a team player!

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180722/basketball-tournament--sullinger-helps-team-of-ex-buckeyes-advance

 

According to the below linked article, Sullinger and Mullens will not be playing for Team Scarlet and Gray in tonight's TBT game in Atlanta.  For Sullinger, it's because he's getting married in Florida on Saturday - so he will not be available for the Friday game or a Sunday game (if the team advances).  I did wonder about that report in the Dispatch that Sully would play - because the ESPN broadcasters said he would not be playing due to the wedding, and sandwiching a wedding between two basketball games didn't make any sense either.

 

Mullens absence turned out to be no mystery.  He left the team after last Saturday's game in a disagreement over his cut of the $2 million jackpot that goes to the team that wins the tournament.  The team decided that the eight players who were also on the team last year would get a 200K cut, while the three new players on this year's team would get a 100K cut.  Byron (B.J.) Mullens - of one career start in his only season as a Basketball Buckeye - just wasn't down with that.  Which is too bad, because the team could use a big man to replace Sully for this weekend.

 

However, 30-year-old Greg Oden is still scheduled to make his team debut in a game being broadcast on ESPN at 9PM tonight.  According to the below article, "Oden missed last weekend's games due to a prior commitment, but is expected to play limited minutes with the team in Atlanta."

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/07/94635/sullinger-mullens-will-not-play-in-fridays-super-16-game-for-scarlet-gray-per-report

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/07/94660/shorthanded-scarlet-gray-advances-to-the-basketball-tournament-quarterfinals-with-72-60-win-over-primetime-players

 

As the above-linked 11W article notes, Team Scarlet & Gray were shorthanded in their Friday TBT game.  Leading scorer Jared Sullinger is out this weekend getting married.  Apparently so is former Penn State star Talor Battle(!) and was also unavailable for Team S&G.  This was in addition to BJ Mullens, who was not getting married but just didn't like the payout he would have gotten, so he bolted. (who says its not about the money!)

 

Instead, Team Scarlet & Gray had to rely on some balanced scoring throughout their lineup.  Buford got a team-high 14 points via 4-for-7 3-PT shooting.  Craft got 13 points and was key during the Elam-Ending portion of the game with 2 key lay-up drives (bringing back memories of his OSU playing days).  Greg Oden made his TBT debut and looked good with 11 points in 16 minutes (in a pre-game interview Oden was asked "what would be a successful game for you?" - he half-jokingly answered "Getting up and down the court!")  Diebs, Lighty and Ravenel each added 9, 7 & 7.

 

Team Scarlet & Gray will now face Team Fredette on Sunday.  That's former BYU-star Jimmer Fredette. (remember him?)  They advanced with a vintage-Jimmer performance of 41 points in their win.  The Sunday match-up at 3PM on ESPN will feature a first-ever meeting between uber-offensive point guard Jimmer Fredette and uber-defensive point guard Aaron Craft.  The winner advances to the Final Four of The Basketball Tournament.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/07/94692/scarlet-gray-dominated-in-tbt-quarterfinals-fall-to-team-fredette-100-78

 

Team Scarlet & Gray fell short of the TBT Final Four - getting eliminated soundly by Team Fredette today.  This was despite getting key player Jared Sullinger back on the team only one day after his wedding.  Sully contributed 12 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn't enough against a hot-shooting Team Fredette who shot over 57 percent for the field and nearly 40 percent from three-point range.

 

Jimmer Fredette had 28 points, while four other TF players scored in double figures.  Meanwhile, Team Scarlet & Gray had difficulty scoring and keeping pace - falling further behind in the second half until the Elam Ending went into effect.  Lighty led S&G in scoring with 16, while Craft contributed 13 points.  Oden played but only had 2 points in nine minutes of playing time.

Basketball season already?

 

The Basketball Buckeyes have played an exhibition game and start the regular season tonight at Cincinnati.  Yes, that's right - playing at UC to re-open their renovated arena.  Second-year head coach Holtmann and OSU's director of basketball operations called UC last summer to see if they'd be interested in an “Ohio Classic” type of event featuring Ohio State, Cincinnati, Dayton and Xavier, to be played in either Columbus or Cleveland.  UC countered with an offer for a home-and-home series with the Buckeyes.  So a home-and-home series was set up with Cincinnati to unveil a newly renovated Fifth Third Arena this season and the teams will open the 2019-20 season at Value City Arena:

 

https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/20181106/ohio-state-mens-basketball--series-with-cincinnati-energizes-both-teams

But how good are the 2018-19 Basketball Buckeyes?

 

Much like Holtmann's first season last year - the answer is a mystery.  The team last season wildly exceeded expectations going 25–9 (15–3 Big Ten).  But they lost two of the top three scorers in Keita Bates-Diop (who is now in the NBA) and Jae'Sean Tate (who is now in Europe).  They also lost grad transfer guard Andrew Dakich (who turned out to be a key bench player) and junior center Micah Potter announced he was transferring from the program earlier this week.

 

Sophomore center Kaleb Wesson and senior point guard C. J. Jackson are the leading returning scorers.  Sophomore forward Musa Jallow needs to play to bigger role this season.  As does Kaleb's older brother Andre.  But the season might rise or fall on how good the four incoming freshmen and one graduate transfer play.  Incoming freshman C/F Jaedon LeDee will immediately see more playing time with the departure of Potter and Wake Forest grad transfer guard Keyshawn Woods will slot into the starting lineup.

Pretty strong opening game at Cincinnati for the Basketball Buckeyes:  http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401082547

 

Balanced scoring led OSU to the win.  Two leading scorers from last season led the way - Kaleb Wesson with 15 and CJ Jackson with 13.  Two new players provided secondary scoring - freshman Luther Muhammad had 11 points and sophomore Kyle Young (who was little used last season) had 10 points and 8 rebounds.

 

A good win in a hostile road environment, but hard to say if this is a harbinger of a good season - OSU was helped by UC only shooting 27%.

The Basketball Buckeyes looked even better in their home opener against Purdue Fort Wayne, winning 107-61.

 

CJ Jackson again led all scorers with 25 points.  But a trio of freshmen filled out the scoring after that with big forward Jaedon LeDee (who didn't play in the Cincy game) getting 16 points, guard Duane Washington Jr. getting 20 points, and guard Luther Muhammad getting 12 points.

Thursday night, the Basketball Buckeyes got another quality road victory with a 69-60 win at Creighton.  This time grad transfer Woods and freshman Washington led the team in scoring with 19 and 12.  This win is an even more impressive road victory than the season opening win at Cincinnati.  Creighton is ranked #38 by KenPom, while UC is ranked #44 (OSU is currently #30).

 

Today, the Basketball Buckeyes improved to 4-0 with a home win over SC State.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/11/99209/ohio-state-ranked-no-23-in-first-appearance-in-ap-poll-of-the-season

 

The Basketball Buckeyes are in the Top 25 after starting the season 4-0 and getting two quality road wins at Cincinnati and Creighton.

Looks like Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga can rest easy.  The Basketball Buckeyes aren't going undefeated this season.  Syracuse gave OSU its first defeat last night after they started 6-0 and rose to #16 in the AP.

 

Despite the loss, Holtmann is off to another great start in his second year as head coach.  Beyond the winning record, Holtmann is also trying to bring excitement back into the program, after it trailed off during the final few years of the Matta era.  One idea is for an annual game at St. John Arena.  The Schottenstein Center replace St. John as the home court for the Buckeyes in 1999.  But the 42-year former home of the Basketball Buckeyes is still around and being used, despite long-term plans for its removal.

 

On Saturday, OSU hosted Cleveland State in a throw-back game - complete with red 1956-style unis and a Fred Taylor-style salmon colored blazer for Holtmann:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/11/99402/chris-holtmann-hopes-to-return-to-st-john-arena-for-annual-game

 

Last night, Holtmann and the Basketball Buckeyes honored previous head coach Thad Matta with a halftime banner ceremony:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2018/11/99929/thad-matta-honored-humbled-by-banner-unveiling-at-ohio-states-schottenstein-center

 

 

The game also featured OSU's alternate gray uniforms - which I think should be their full-time home unis (and then make those 1956-style red uniforms the full-time road kits)

 

...and lost their first game.

28 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said:

...and lost their first game.

 

... after leading at halftime too! ?

https://buckeyewire.com/2018/11/26/ohio-state-basketball-no-1-in-new-net-rankings/

 

They were just ranked #1 too!

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/01/101945/ohio-state-sputtering-during-hardest-stretch-of-chris-holtmanns-career

 

It would certainly appear that the Basketball Buckeyes 12-1 start was a mirage.  After winning their first two B1G conference games in early December, they've now lost five straight B1G conference games in January to drop to 12-6 and 2-5 in the B1G.

 

And I don't see this situation improving very much either.  The pleasantly surprising soph forward Kyle Young broke his leg (stress fracture) last week and is out for the season.  Which thins out the bigs even more and leaves Kaleb Wesson as the only other big Coach Holtmann seems to have confidence in.

 

This year's team basic problem is that this is last year's team without Keita Bates-Diop.  And without KBD as a go-to scorer, Kaleb Wesson is it this year.  The problem is that Kaleb always gets into foul trouble and can't stay on the court (he's averaged 4 fouls per game during this losing streak and fouled out 2 of the past 5 games).  And without Kaleb on the court, we've got a team full of players that might score 16 or 2 on any given night!  Nobody other than Kaleb has averaged over 10 ppg in B1G play!

The Basketball Buckeyes (finally) ended their five-game B1G losing streak with a road win at Nebraska.  Coach Holtmann took a different approach to his lineup in this game.  For most of the first half, the lineup didn't have Kaleb Wesson or CJ Jackson on the floor.  Instead it featured lots of freshmen - Muhammad & Washington and LeDee & Ahrens - plus grad transfer Woods.  It was a fairly productive change of pace for the team.  Then in the second half, Kaleb & CJ came back into their previous roles and were effective.

 

Luther Muhammad led the way with 24 points.  But the bigger takeaway seemed to be Holtmann searching for an effective lineup w/o Kaleb Wesson on the floor.  If they can figure that out, they might start winning more B1G games.  If they can't, then next Tuesday's game at #5 Michigan could get ugly!

The Basketball Buckeyes lost bigly at #5 Michigan - but then rebounded with three straight wins against Rutgers, Penn State and at Indiana.  Nothing like playing bottom half B1G teams to help your record(!)

 

Those three straight wins vaulted OSU into the top half of the B1G standings (7th) and back to a .500 record in the B1G (6-6).  They face another bottom halfer tonight hosting Illinois before going to #11 MSU on Sunday.

Welp.  After a truly terrible performance against Illinois and a terrible second half at MSU (OSU was up 31-25 at halftime; then got outscored 37-13 in the 2nd half!) the Basketball Buckeyes drop to 6-8 in conference play and 16-9 overall.  I'm not saying these two losses have put their tournament hopes out of reach, but they are on life-support.  The remaining six B1G regular season games are:

• vs NW - 2/20
• @ 24 MD - 2/23
• vs 21 IOWA - 2/26
• @ 12 PUR - 3/2
• @ NW - 3/6
• vs 20 WIS - 3/10

The only unranked team in that final six is Northwestern, who the Basketball Buckeyes face twice.  The other four teams are both ranked and above the Buckeyes in the B1G standings.  For this team to have any chance of making the tournament, they must win both NW games and at least 1 or 2 of those games against ranked teams.

This team was 12-1.  It's just very odd they're 4-8 in their last 12.  Hello NIT (if they can manage 2-3 more wins which isn't a given at all).

This was supposed to be a down year for them anyway. They overachieved early and have fallen back to earth in the BIG play. Next year should be dominant. No cause for worry this year.

The Basketball Buckeyes finally got a win over a Top 25 ranked team and the team ahead of them in the B1G standings:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/02/102704/ohio-states-dominant-win-against-iowa-came-at-perfect-time-boosts-ncaa-tournament-resume

 

And they only needed an out-of-the-blue 29-point performance from freshman Justin Ahrens to do it:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/02/102699/justin-ahrens-scores-a-career-high-29-points-to-lift-the-buckeyes-over-no-22-iowa

 

Ahrens had scored 38 points in the 27 previous games this season(!) -- https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/20190227/ohio-state-mens-basketball-justin-ahrens-coming-out-party-unlike-any-in-osu-history

This just in from the why-cant-we-have-nice-things department:

 

https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/20190301/ohio-state-mens-basketball-kaleb-wesson-suspended-for-violating-athletic-department-policy

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/03/102754/kaleb-wesson-suspended-for-violation-of-ohio-state-athletics-department-policy

 

Quote

 

The Ohio State men’s basketball team will be without leading scorer and rebounder Kaleb Wesson when it plays at No. 14 Purdue on Saturday afternoon.  The sophomore center was suspended on Friday for an unspecified violation of Ohio State athletics department policy, but a news release states that he will return this season. ... It is the second career suspension for Wesson, who sat out one game as a freshman for being late to team meetings.  This season, he is averaging 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

 

 

Welp, the game at #14 Purdue went about as well as expected when you suspend your leading scorer and rebounder.  Also having freshman savior Justin Ahrens follow up his 29-point performance with a zero-point performance contributes to a 35-point loss!

 

Kaleb Wesson is still suspended for tonight's "must-win" game at Northwestern:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/03/102848/kaleb-wesson-will-miss-wednesdays-game-against-northwestern-due-to-continued-suspension

After last night's 18-point loss at Northwestern, its safe to say that the only way the Basketball Buckeyes will make the NCAA Tournament is if they win the B1G Tournament(!)

 

At least Spring Football practice began yesterday!

On 3/7/2019 at 3:03 PM, Columbo said:

After last night's 18-point loss at Northwestern, its safe to say that the only way the Basketball Buckeyes will make the NCAA Tournament is if they win the B1G Tournament(!)

 

At least that's what I thought!

 

Another Kaleb Wesson-less loss to end the regular season (a surprisingly close OT loss to #21 Wisconsin).  Then in the B1G Tournament, Kaleb returns and plays a good game in a narrow win over Indiana - and then plays a not-so-good game in narrow loss vs #6 Michigan State.  The Basketball Buckeyes finish 19-14 overall; 8th in the Big Ten with an 8-12 conference record (or 9-13 if you count the B1G tournament).  Which bracketologists seem to believe is good enough for a 12th seed in the NCAA tournament(!)

 

Color me skeptical, but I don't see how this year's Basketball Buckeyes deserve to eke their way into the NCAA tourney.  But we'll find out Sunday.

Well, color me surprised.  Not only did the Basketball Buckeyes make the NCAA Tournament, they made it as an #11 seed.

 

The Basketball Buckeyes will face #6 seed Iowa State (winners of the Big 12 Tournament over Kansas!).  They play Friday at 9:50PM in Tulsa.

On 3/18/2019 at 1:47 PM, Columbo said:

Well, color me surprised.  Not only did the Basketball Buckeyes make the NCAA Tournament, they made it as an #11 seed.

 

The Basketball Buckeyes will face #6 seed Iowa State (winners of the Big 12 Tournament over Kansas!).  They play Friday at 9:50PM in Tulsa.

 

I'm shocked they won that game.  They have been such a Jekyll & Hyde team this year.  You never know which Ohio State team will show up. 

1 hour ago, MyTwoSense said:

 

I'm shocked they won that game.  They have been such a Jekyll & Hyde team this year.  You never know which Ohio State team will show up. 

 

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/03/103229/ohio-state-pulls-off-62-59-upset-of-iowa-state-advances-to-second-round-of-ncaa-tournament

 

I'm also surprised the Basketball Buckeyes beat Iowa State.  They played great team defense against the Cyclones - and it was the five starters of Kaleb Wesson, Andre Wesson,  C.J. Jackson, Keyshawn Woods, and Musa Jallow that did it - with hardly any bench help from Young, Washington and Muhammad (who was particularly disappointing with 0 points in 6 minutes of game-time!):  http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401123414

• Kaleb Wesson led the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds.  He was a matchup nightmare for Iowa State.  In the last five minutes, there were three times Kaleb got the ball next to the basket where the Iowa State defender was helpless to stop him.

• Grad transfer Keyshawn Woods scored in double figures for a third straight game with 19 points (3-of-6 from three-point range).

• The semi-mythical Musa Jallow made an appearance with a fine all-around performance of 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block.

• Andrea Wesson and C.J. Jackson had woeful shooting nights (Wesson had 5pts on 1-7 fgs & 0-3 from 3PT; Jackson had 2pts on 1-8 fgs & 0-5 from 3PT).  But they did contribute in every other part of the game with defense, rebounding and assists.

Despite the win, I still thought they might throw their lead away when C.J. Jackson took 3-point shots on back-to-back possessions down the stretch.  Kaleb was at the 3-point arc screening for Jackson (who was having a bad shooting night) instead of in the low post (where he looked unstoppable).  That and Kaleb's only FT miss was at the end when only one made FT would have put OSU up 4 and clinched the win!

 

So who knows what the Basketball Buckeyes will do against #3 seed Houston at 8:40 p.m. Sunday?  It'd be great if they could reach the Sweet Sixteen, but this seems like bonus basketball now.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/03/103280/ohio-state-suffers-season-ending-74-59-loss-to-houston-in-ncaa-tournament

 

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401123425

 

The bonus basketball is over now for the 2018-19 Basketball Buckeyes after #3 seeded Houston eliminated them from the NCAA tournament.  The Basketball Buckeyes didn't play a terrible game last night, but Houston was much more effective then Iowa State in guarding Kaleb Wesson in the post.  Houston alternatively double-teamed him (which led to him committing a team-high 5 turnovers) or employed a hack-a-Kaleb strategy.  This fouling strategy limited Kaleb to only 1 made FG in the post(!) for the entire game.  Kaleb still managed 15 points on shooting 7 for 10 from the free-throw line and going 2 of 6 from 3PT range.

 

The Basketball Buckeyes initially hot 3PT shooting kept them in the game.  All five OSU starters had at least one 3PT basket in the first half (led by C.J. Jackson with a team-high 4 three-pointers after a woeful shooting game against Iowa State).  But when Houston took the lead with 6:00 remaining in the first half, they never trailed for the remainder of the game. Houston held an 8-point halftime lead and never let the Buckeyes get closer then five in the second half.

 

The Buckeyes hot 3PT shooting faded in the second half and Houston prevented Kaleb from scoring inside (Kaleb's six 3PT attempts demonstrate this frustration).  Meanwhile, Houston methodically kept at it, with 4 of their 5 starters scoring in double-digits.  C.J. Jackson and Keyshawn Woods finished their OSU basketball careers with 18 points and 10 points.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/08/105766/carmens-crew-ohio-state-alumni-team-wins-tbt-title-and-2-million-cash-prize-downing-golden-eagles-66-60

 

Carmen's Crew – made up primarily of various Matta-era Buckeye alums – claimed The Basketball Tournament championship and its $2 million cash prize last night, downing the Marquette Alumni team Golden Eagles, 66-60.  Carmen's Crew becomes the first new TBT champion in four years, unseating four-time reigning champion Overseas Elite, who they defeated in a Sunday semifinal game.

 

Carmen's Crew was led by point guard Aaron Craft and leading scorers William Buford and David Lightly, as well as 3-pt shooter Jon Diebler, and scary-looking big guy Evan Ravenel.  LaQuinton Ross, Illini-alum Demetri McCamey and 39-year-old Otterbein-alum Jeff Gibbs (who was introduced as a 6'2" power forward(!) rounded out the team.  Jared Sullinger, who played on previous Buckeye-alum TBT teams, was their head coach this time.

 

 

Time for OSU Basketball?  Yep.  And the experts think they'll be really good this year:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/10/107975/ohio-state-opens-at-no-18-in-2019-20-preseason-poll

 

The Basketball Buckeyes start with an AP preseason ranking of 18 and a coaches poll ranking of 16.  Michigan State and Maryland are ranked ahead in both polls and are ranked ahead of them in the Big Ten preseason media poll:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/09/107309/ohio-state-picked-third-in-unofficial-preseason-big-ten-media-poll-dj-carton-voted-preseason-freshman-of-the-year

 

The Basketball Buckeyes start of this season like they started out last season - playing the UC Bearcats.  But this year's opener will be in the Schott:  https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/11/108524/basketball-preview-ohio-state-vs-cincinnati

 

As for the Basketball Buckeyes roster:  https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/roster/_/id/194

• They've got the Wesson brothers returning:  Last year's leading season Kaleb has lost 34 pounds for his junior season;  while older brother Andre is in his senior season.

• Junior power forward Kyle Young returns after a surprisingly impressive sophomore year.

• Guards Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington Jr. and forward Justin Ahrens return for their sophomore season.

• Junior guard Musa Jallow is out indefinitely after arthroscopic ankle surgery.

• Redshirt junior point guard C.J. Walker joins the team after he transferred from Florida State and sat out the 2018-19 season.

• And four freshman join the roster:  Forwards E.J. Liddell and Alonzo Gaffney; 6'10" center Ibrahima Diallo from Senegal; and 6'2" point guard D.J. Carton, who was named by the Big Ten media as preseason Freshman of the Year.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/11/108555/ohio-state-tops-cincinnati-64-56-to-open-season-for-second-year-in-a-row

 

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401166022

 

Good beginning of the 2019-20 season for the Basketball Buckeyes.  It begins the same way the 2018-19 season started - with a win over in-state opponent UC.  Both teams looked like they needed to shake off some rust to begin the game.  But especially the Buckeyes, as they needed over seven minutes before they got their first basket and finished the first half with only 19 points(!)  But a 45-point second half propelled them to victory.

 

Kyle Young was the leading scorer with 14 and leading rebounder with 13.  Kaleb Wesson was bottled up by UC's defense but got 8 points and 11 rebounds.  C.J Walker was the starting point guard and got 8 points in 21 minutes of play.  But freshman point guard D.J. Carton got 9 points in 25 minutes of play off the bench - which included scoring on key back-to-back possessions in the second half.

Not so good of a beginning to the 2019-20 season for senior forward Andre Wesson:

 

https://www.buckeyextra.com/sports/20191108/andre-wesson-has-fractured-eye-socket-out-two-weeks-for-ohio-state-basketball

 

During a rebound with 6:02 remaining in the Wednesday's opening game, both Wesson and teammate CJ Walker converged to try and nab the ball.  In the process, Walker’s left elbow collided with the right side of Wesson’s face.  Wesson immediately went down to the court holding his face.  After play was stopped, Wesson eventually was able to rise to his feet under his own power and walk unassisted off the court and directly to the locker room.

 

Ohio State disclosed today that Andre Wesson suffered a fractured right eye socket and is expected to miss two weeks.  The #18 ranked Basketball Buckeyes will host UMass-Lowell on Sunday afternoon and #10 Villanova on Wednesday night.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball/2019/11/108896/no-16-ohio-state-routs-no-10-villanova-76-51-behind-balanced-offensive-attack-stifling-defense

 

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401166061

 

No Andre Wesson, no problem against Villanova last night.  In this early season matchup between #10 Villinova and #16 Ohio State, the Basketball Buckeyes got off to a hot start and never looked back.  The host Buckeyes had a hot shooting game (60.0% FG; 56.3% 3PT) and Villanova had a cold shooting game (30.6% FG; 33.3% 3PT) - which led to a 76-51 blowout win for the Basketball Buckeyes.

 

Sophomore guard Duane Washington Jr. got the Buckeyes off to their hot start with two 3PT and a big dunk to begin the game - and added two more 3's to finish with a game-high 14 points.  But the Buckeyes also got balanced scoring with four other double-digit scorers -- sophomore guard Muhammad and freshman point guard D.J. Carton each had 11 points -- junior point guard C.J. Walker had 10 points and Kaleb Wesson also had 10 points plus 11 rebounds and 4 blocks.  Young added 8 points plus 7 rebounds and freshman forward E.J. Liddell got 8 points in only 12 minutes of play.

 

In the upcoming schedule, the Basketball Buckeyes will finish out November hosting four teams.  First, the Stetson Hatters next Monday; then the Purdue-Fort Wayne Boilermakers Annex Campus the following Friday.  Followed by pre-Thankgiving and post-Thankgiving games against the fake states of Kent and Morgan.  All that builds up to a match at #6 North Carolina on December 4.

^I have to be a little sour in that Iowa missed out on DJ Carton (I believe out of Bettendorf or Davenport, IA). He looks like the real deal, very athletic and bouncy, could go pro this year or next year.

 

I don't blame him for going to OSU, Holtmann is a great coach and did a really nice job at Butler, and he is turning your program up a couple notches quickly. Plus living in a big city and getting out of the fish bowl of Iowa City / Iowa in general is probably a good idea. I think that harms Iowa in recruiting a bit, too much of a fish bowl for their athletes.

From the 10-15 minutes i saw of the game Carton really stood out. He looked like a smooth senior out there. He knew when to pass and when to shoot.  I haven’t paid attention to OSU for many years since i wasn’t a fan of their system.   I’m a bit intrigued with the talent they have now and will likely follow them this year.