We missed last week’s wrap-up, so were covering two week’s worth of exciting Ohio State basketball. 24-0 baby!

First, let’s take a break to consider how cool college athletes can be. Jared Sullinger is one of the most recognizable college basketball players and is currently living quite the charmed freshman life. It’s good to see he’s got a good sense of humor, too.

(12) Purdue 64 vs (1) Ohio St 87 – Coming off a close game against Illinois, the Buckeyes man-handled Purdue from start to finish. With a hoop looking like a hula-hoop, Ohio State hit 55% of their shots from the field, including 11-19 from behind the arc. At one point Ohio State was up by 31. This game cleared up any doubts of whether this was a #1 team or not.

(1) Ohio St 58 vs Northwestern 57 – Freaking trap games, how do they work?!

Michigan 53 vs. (1) Ohio St 62 – Michigan led Ohio State a one point by almost a touchdown. Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke are wondering what that felt like.

(1) Ohio St 82 vs. (20) Minnesota 69 – For a couple years now I’ve been meaning to put together a post about the Minnesota/Ohio State fight from back in the day. But after bullying the Gophers for forty minutes Sunday afternoon it just didn’t feel right.

Which brings us to this weekend, when the Buckeyes travel to Madison to take on the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center. 11W look at previous visits to Wisconsin with the ugly details. The BBC has a Wisconsin preview. What is it with Ohio State and struggles against Wisconsin, whether it be in football or basketball?

Call me an optimist but I sense a big win tomorrow.

We had quite a week for the Ohio State Men’s Basketball team. Two games, a video and a mention in the Wall Street Journal. To the week:

(1) Ohio St 70 v. Iowa 48 – If there ever was proof of the value of home court advantage, it was this week. After Iowa played Ohio State tough on their court they were thoroughly beaten on Ohio State’s.

David Lighty and William Buford led the way with 18 and 15 points respectively. Oh, and freshman Aaron Craft tied a record with seven steals. No big thing.

A couple days later, The Wall Street Journal asked if Ohio State is College Basketball’s Next Power? There’s nothing here you didn’t already know, but what a boon it was to hire Thad Matta in 2004.

And then there was this:

Unfortunately once it has been seen it can never, ever be unseen.

(1) Ohio St 73 v. (22) Illinois 68 – Again, revisiting the home court advantage – Illinois played Ohio State tough all the way through this slug-fest and the home court clearly energized the Illini.

The Buckeyes didn’t play their best game, but it was enough to weather multiple runs that Illinois went on.

And what more can we say about Aaron Craft? This was clearly his week to shine (video above not withstanding). After playing some shut down defense against Iowa, he basically bottled Demetri McCamey up (who only scored 5 points) and hit clutch free-throws while visibly nervous in the final seconds of Saturday’s game. He took on the pressure like a champ.

Up next week, games against Purdue on Tuesday (1/25) and text-book trap game at Northwestern on Saturday (1/29).

Let me start this post out by saying this I LOVE EVAN TURNER. Now having said that I want to go into a bit of a diatribe. Things I don’t miss about having Evan Turner on the OSU basketball team include the following.

1. His annoying voice.
2. His annoying facial expressions.
3. The way everyone on last years team stood around and watched and waited for ET to do everything on the court.

That is all I don’t miss about ET and honestly it is a very small list of things and the list of things I do miss about having ET on the team is longer than the ObamaCare papers.

Why am I talking about ET you may be asking yourself right now when this post is about the 2010 Men’s OSU basketball team? It is to just a way for me to delve into my thoughts on this years team vs. say last year’s one man show.

The 2010 Ohio State team is just that a complete team with a deeper bench and more talent than last year’s team. This is a team that is 10-0 now after just dismantling a South Carolina team that nearly beat Michigan State earlier in the year and was their only blemish. OSU has their fair share of cupcake wins but also a sweep of Florida and Florida State in Florida no less so far. They are playing well as a team and seem to all compliment each other nicely. There are no ball hogs (except when DeShaun Thomas is on the floor).

Jared Sullinger was all that was advertised and then some he had a 30 point and 19 rebound game today and that isn’t even his best stat effort in his first 10 games as a college player.

David Lighty is the heart and soul of the team and a defensive guru who can score and play 4 positions on both offense and defense.

Jon Diebler is nearly automatic from behind the arc.

William Buford is playing really well but I think he looks out of place when he is playing the point guard spot.

Dallas Lauderdale is still an enigma to me he is a giant who can’t hit a layup and often gets out rebounded by smaller guys but he has played better lately.

The bench is mostly Aaron Craft a true point guard and a true freshman who is playing great but most famous for helping to get Bruce Pearl suspended and Tennessee on NCAA probation. DeShaun Thomas is another true freshman who is a pure scorer and every time he touches the ball he is shooting it from all over the court. He is good but may need to be reigned in a bit and reminded this is a team sport.

The thing that impresses me most is this team lost a national player of the year in ET after last year and I really think this team is far better than they were last year. Turner may have been one of the best players we ever had but that was a problem with the rest of the team enjoying the ride while watching him be a superstar. This year’s team is more balanced and better prepared to step up and be a part of a winning team. It has been a while since I truly thought we had a Championship caliber team but I think this may just very well be that team if we can stay healthy and remain a cohesive team all year long.

So you tell me: which is the better team in your mind the 2009 OSU team with All-Everything Evan Turner or the 2010 OSU team with Jared Sullinger?

In what has turned into a seemingly every year thing Thad Matta has recruited another outstanding Freshman class and together with a strong upperclassmen group led by David Lighty they easily beat the no. 10 Florida Gators by 18 points 93-75 in Gainsville no less.

The game was back and forth through the first 30 mins of the game with both teams shooting the ball well. At halftime Florida had a 41-38 lead off of shooting the ball 60% in the first half and beating the Buckeyes on the boards 17-7. After halftime Florida started turning the ball over A LOT lol. Giving up 18 TOs in the game. Florida fed off their home court crowd early but the Buckeyes never seemed to fall to far back and you could sense at any point they would take over the game with the better overall talent and SUPERIOR coaching.

The Buckeyes were led by Lighty and Sullinger each with 26 points and a combined shooting of 22 of 28 from the field. Sullinger also led the team in rebounds with 10. Will Buford had a good night with 16 pts and 8 assists. Jon Diebler chipped in 14 points off of 4 of 7 three pointers. The game was one by OSU keeping control of the ball with only 8 TOs on the night compared to UFs 18. The only area OSU struggled in was rebounding where they lost that edge 26-17. Can anyone tell me what Dallas Lauderdale does for this team?

Overall I was completely impressed with the way they played offense and defense. In a hostile atmosphere so early in the season with a bunch of cupcakes coming up for the Buckeyes they will have a chance to get the bench and younger players more involved in the game. Aaron Craft and DeShaun Thomas both played in this game and looke fairly good for true freshman but it is clear Sullinger is the main stud on the team and the upperclassmen will be the backbone that keeps the team moving forward.

So kudos to Thad Matta and his team with a great early season win over a top 10 school every Buckeye fan loves to HATE GO BUCKEYES and screw the gators and the SEC.

We interrupt the regularly scheduled football season to inform you … The pre-season #5 Buckeye Hoops team opens their season tonight at Value City Arena. I realize for most fans, the college hoops season really begins in Jan/Feb, but the non-conference season for this year’s team is important as the team is full of new faces.

Thad Matta brings another heralded recruiting class to Columbus, rated top #3 in the country by most experts. I expect it is going to take time for the incoming class to mesh with Buford, Lighty, Diebler, and Lauderdale. The team will be tested early when it travels to Gainsville for the second game of the season to face the top #15 ranked Gators. The good news is the four returning starters have plenty of experience and talent to overcome the departure of Evan Turner.

Expectations are high with the pre-season #5 ranking. What are your expectations for this season or should I check back in January?

Here are a couple of season previews by our fellow bloggers: Eleven Warriors and The Buckeye Battle Cry.

… Now back to your regularly scheduled football programming

LaQuinton Ross, who is the No. 22 ranked basketball recruit on the ESPNU Top 100 list and rated a score of 97 on Scouts.com, has verballed to Coach Matta for the 2011 recruiting class.

Mr. Ross is a 6’8″ 200 pound Small Forward/Swingman. He is from Jackson, Mississippi but is playing ball at Life Center Academy in Burlington, NJ. He is known as a quick player with a strong ability to get to the rim but can hit from all ranges of jump shots. The one weakness in his game seems to be ball handling and turnovers. Sounds a lot like Evan Turner to me woohoo.

Umm did I mention that he is a Freshman… in HIGH SCHOOL. Ok, so maybe he will be a sophomore in about a month but still he is a Freshman.

Coach Thad Matta made an offer this week to 6’7″ Marc Loving out of Toledo St. Johns High School. The young man and I stress YOUNG slept on the offer for one night before calling Matta to accept the offer saying it was his life long dream to be a Buckeye. Recruiting experts say this young man is a star in the making and has the ability to play and be just like Evan Turner. Those are big shoes to fill and probably will never be realized but if he becomes half the player as ET he will be great.

Just in case Matta is reading this blog (which I am sure he is) I have an 8 year old son who can dribble and make 1 out of 25 shots on a regulation height rim. He is accepting verbal offers and will decide before he turns 9 so give us a call asap if you want him in a Buckeye uniform soon.