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Ohio St. Buckeyes
Location: Columbus, Ohio | Founded: 1870 | Enrollment: 51,818 | Colors: Scarlet and Gray
Coach: Thad Matta | Home Court: Value City Arena | Capacity: 19,049 Record: (24-13, 10-8 Big Ten)
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Buckeyes report: Getting inside
Thad Matta is growing accustomed to having young teams. Such is life in the new world NCAA. But Matta will never get used to losing, which the Buckeyes did more than he would have liked last season. The fall from the top was quick and painful, but the Buckeyes salvaged all they could by winning the NIT Tournament one year after playing for the national championship. Now they're back, having lost their best post player (Kosta Koufos) again after just one season, and having another McDonald's All-American (B.J. Mullens) to plug in his place. Koufos, Jamar Butler and Othello Hunter were the three leading scorers from last year. All are now gone. Mullens should fill in for Koufos, who filled in for Greg Oden. And like his two predecessors, Mullens is likely another one-and-done. Matta liked the fact that the NIT provided him three more weeks of practice with his young team -- there are no scholarship seniors on the roster. That extra practice time could pay off this season, but the Bucks wouldn't have gotten it had they been eliminated on the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Guys like Dallas Lauderdale, a 6-foot-8 sophomore who could play a lot next to Mullens, and sophomore swingman Evan Turner, who was inconsistent last year, should benefit most from the added practices. This team should be a little deeper and a bit more athletic, but the schedule will again be grueling for a young team trying to find its way. OSU went 1-3 against ranked non-conference teams last year, which bolstered its strength of schedule, but did little good since it couldn't beat anyone. This time, the Buckeyes will travel to the University of Miami and Notre Dame for back-to-back games in early December. Both teams should be ranked, as could West Virginia when the Mountaineers visit at the end of December. This isn't one of the elite teams in the Big Ten, but there is little reason to doubt the Buckeyes could finish fourth -- behind Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin. That should be enough to at least return the Buckeyes to the NCAA tournament. Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved. | ||||||||||||||||
