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LGHL Why is the First Four in Dayton?
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Why is the First Four in Dayton?
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The First Four (and the play-in games before it) have all been in Dayton. But why?
There is NCAA Tournament basketball being played tonight in perhaps an unlikely location: Dayton, Ohio. Sure, they're the play-in games, or the First Four, but that's still a meaningful of the bracket.
But why do we have play-in games to begin with? Let's blame New Mexico. Or praise them, if you're into this sort of thing.
Back in 1999, the behemoth that was the WAC split, with half the teams electing to start their own conference, the Mountain West Conference. That conference qualified for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, putting the the organizers in a pickle. If they add another automatic bid to the tournament, you'd have to remove an at-large squad, robbing a so-called bubble team from making the Big Dance (this is what the women's tournament did in a similar situation). After deciding that that wasn't an appealing option, the NCAA decided to just tack on an extra team to the whole thing. 64 teams was out; 65 teams was in.
So the two lowest ranked teams were set to square off a few days before the actual First Round, setting up an undercard for basketball degenerates, as well as fans of mid-major conferences. This game was played in Dayton, where all of the pre-64 team bracket action has been ever since, even when the tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, creating four play-in games instead of one.
So why Dayton? Nothing against the good people of Dayton, but it's not a major cosmopolitan area, and it's not like Dayton screams "vacation destination" in late March. One reason might be Dayton's advantageous geographic location. The Columbus/Dayton metro is within 500 miles of 60% of the US population. Dayton sits in the Eastern time zone (which is better for coast-to-coast TV), is a short drive from NCAA headquarters in Indy, and is a reasonable trip for fans across the Midwest and East Coast.
Dayton may also benefit from being just the right sized city: large enough to have the hotel, dining and stadium infrastructure to support a large event, but not so large that the games risk being drowned out by other events. Combine that with a local fan base that loves college basketball (Dayton was 26th in attendance last season, averaging over 12,400 fans a game, more than Michigan, Purdue or Georgetown), and you have a recipe for success. Tickets for the 2013 games sold out six months in advance.
Of course, we don't just have one play-in game anymore. There are three other games, including two with potential power conference squads, and the NCAA needs to weigh potential travel concerns, TV rights, and other economic considerations against their arrangement with Dayton. One person who has previously been public in their support of the city is former chair of the basketball committee and current Ohio State AD Gene Smith. Here is what he had to say when the NCAA kicked tires on other possible location options when the play-in game became the First Four:
"We explored different options, including playing the first-round games at multiple sites as well as the possibility of playing all games on one day, but we came to the conclusion that Dayton is the best location to host all four games for the 2011 tournament," he said. "Moving forward, we will conduct a thorough evaluation, as we do with all rounds of the championship, with the student-athlete experience being our top priority."
However, just because Dayton has always been the host doesn't mean that they're a lock to continue hosting the event.
The current agreement guarantees the First Four through the 2018 season, after an three-year extension was reached in 2014. After that, it is technically up for grabs, but the NCAA continues to sing Dayton's praises.
"When you think about Dayton's track record in hosting the First Four and the community and how they've embraced this event since its inception really, it's just been remarkable," an NCAA committee chair told WYSO.
If you had to hazard a guess, you'd be well served to wager that the NCAA will once again look hard at the idea of potentially splitting up the First Four, to help potentially mitigate travel concerns for participating teams, as well as explore if that arrangement is more profitable. Nashville could potentially be an option, as the city has held conference tournaments before, and has a program with recent basketball attendance success in Vanderbilt. The NCAA could also kick the tires on other midwestern cities (Kansas City, St.Louis or Indianapolis to name a few), or even move the event down Route 70 to Columbus.
If the NCAA wanted to throw geography out the window, Atlanta and Las Vegas (gambling concerns be damned) could also be competitors, given their depth of experience in hosting events, their airports, and relatively affordable airfare and hotel options.
Still, unless another city makes an absolute slam dunk bid bid, or the event grows further beyond the four basketball games, it's not unreasonable to expect for the event to stay in Dayton. It provides a great influx of economic activity to a region that needs it, and the fans, university and city have been great hosts. It also gives locals a chance to see postseason basketball without breaking the bank.
Underdogs are a huge part of what makes March Madness great in the first place. What's a bigger underdog story these days than a place like Dayton?
Continue reading...
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The First Four (and the play-in games before it) have all been in Dayton. But why?
There is NCAA Tournament basketball being played tonight in perhaps an unlikely location: Dayton, Ohio. Sure, they're the play-in games, or the First Four, but that's still a meaningful of the bracket.
But why do we have play-in games to begin with? Let's blame New Mexico. Or praise them, if you're into this sort of thing.
Back in 1999, the behemoth that was the WAC split, with half the teams electing to start their own conference, the Mountain West Conference. That conference qualified for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, putting the the organizers in a pickle. If they add another automatic bid to the tournament, you'd have to remove an at-large squad, robbing a so-called bubble team from making the Big Dance (this is what the women's tournament did in a similar situation). After deciding that that wasn't an appealing option, the NCAA decided to just tack on an extra team to the whole thing. 64 teams was out; 65 teams was in.
So the two lowest ranked teams were set to square off a few days before the actual First Round, setting up an undercard for basketball degenerates, as well as fans of mid-major conferences. This game was played in Dayton, where all of the pre-64 team bracket action has been ever since, even when the tournament expanded to 68 teams in 2011, creating four play-in games instead of one.
So why Dayton? Nothing against the good people of Dayton, but it's not a major cosmopolitan area, and it's not like Dayton screams "vacation destination" in late March. One reason might be Dayton's advantageous geographic location. The Columbus/Dayton metro is within 500 miles of 60% of the US population. Dayton sits in the Eastern time zone (which is better for coast-to-coast TV), is a short drive from NCAA headquarters in Indy, and is a reasonable trip for fans across the Midwest and East Coast.
Dayton may also benefit from being just the right sized city: large enough to have the hotel, dining and stadium infrastructure to support a large event, but not so large that the games risk being drowned out by other events. Combine that with a local fan base that loves college basketball (Dayton was 26th in attendance last season, averaging over 12,400 fans a game, more than Michigan, Purdue or Georgetown), and you have a recipe for success. Tickets for the 2013 games sold out six months in advance.
Of course, we don't just have one play-in game anymore. There are three other games, including two with potential power conference squads, and the NCAA needs to weigh potential travel concerns, TV rights, and other economic considerations against their arrangement with Dayton. One person who has previously been public in their support of the city is former chair of the basketball committee and current Ohio State AD Gene Smith. Here is what he had to say when the NCAA kicked tires on other possible location options when the play-in game became the First Four:
"We explored different options, including playing the first-round games at multiple sites as well as the possibility of playing all games on one day, but we came to the conclusion that Dayton is the best location to host all four games for the 2011 tournament," he said. "Moving forward, we will conduct a thorough evaluation, as we do with all rounds of the championship, with the student-athlete experience being our top priority."
However, just because Dayton has always been the host doesn't mean that they're a lock to continue hosting the event.
The current agreement guarantees the First Four through the 2018 season, after an three-year extension was reached in 2014. After that, it is technically up for grabs, but the NCAA continues to sing Dayton's praises.
"When you think about Dayton's track record in hosting the First Four and the community and how they've embraced this event since its inception really, it's just been remarkable," an NCAA committee chair told WYSO.
If you had to hazard a guess, you'd be well served to wager that the NCAA will once again look hard at the idea of potentially splitting up the First Four, to help potentially mitigate travel concerns for participating teams, as well as explore if that arrangement is more profitable. Nashville could potentially be an option, as the city has held conference tournaments before, and has a program with recent basketball attendance success in Vanderbilt. The NCAA could also kick the tires on other midwestern cities (Kansas City, St.Louis or Indianapolis to name a few), or even move the event down Route 70 to Columbus.
If the NCAA wanted to throw geography out the window, Atlanta and Las Vegas (gambling concerns be damned) could also be competitors, given their depth of experience in hosting events, their airports, and relatively affordable airfare and hotel options.
Still, unless another city makes an absolute slam dunk bid bid, or the event grows further beyond the four basketball games, it's not unreasonable to expect for the event to stay in Dayton. It provides a great influx of economic activity to a region that needs it, and the fans, university and city have been great hosts. It also gives locals a chance to see postseason basketball without breaking the bank.
Underdogs are a huge part of what makes March Madness great in the first place. What's a bigger underdog story these days than a place like Dayton?
Continue reading...
Google Now or never for these 5 Buckeyes - 247Sports
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Now or never for these 5 Buckeyes - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Now or never for these 5 Buckeyes
247Sports
The Buckeyes could go with RB-by-committee, but I think Meyer wants to find one guys he can ride when the chips are down. And don't discount the idea of Curtis Samuel playing running back this fall. I know he's a great fit at the H-back spot, but ...
Continue reading...
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Now or never for these 5 Buckeyes
247Sports
The Buckeyes could go with RB-by-committee, but I think Meyer wants to find one guys he can ride when the chips are down. And don't discount the idea of Curtis Samuel playing running back this fall. I know he's a great fit at the H-back spot, but ...
Continue reading...
LGHL What channel is truTV?
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What channel is truTV?
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Find out how you can watch the First Four as March Madness officially gets underway.
The 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament officially gets underway in not too far away Dayton, OH this evening. While the play-in game as it was once known was a relative non-event, now with the onset of the First Four, University of Dayton Arena is now privy to four games in two days, two in the likeness of the once-and-former play-in contest, but two featuring two bubble teams too battling for their very tournament lives.
While in recent years you'd have to pay for access to stream a game on a device other than your computer, if you have a cable subscription, this year you can watch any games airing on TBS, TNT, or TruTV using the official NCAA March Madness Live app. Click here to download the app for your iOS device (e.g. iPhone, iPad, iPod) or click here to get it for your Android device.
As has been the case in the past, you can stream all the games through the NCAA's website.
If you live outside the Columbus area and your cable provider doesn't offer TruTV, your best bet might be to try to watch it online (note: open only to participating cable subscribers). If you have DirecTV though, you can find it on channel 246, and if you have it on Dish, you should be able to find it on channel 204. If you're located in Columbus, you can find truTV on Time Warner Columbus/Delaware on channel 220 HD and channels 74 for SD. If you have WOW, you'll be able to find it on channel 279 HD or channel 67 SD.
In terms of the games themselves, tonight at 6:40 p.m. ET, potential 16-seeds Farleigh Dickinson and Florida Gulf Coast kick things off with the winner advancing to face No. 1 seed, North Carolina. In the second matchup, potential 11-seeds Wichita State and Vanderbilt tip off at 9:10 p.m. with the winner of that getting Arizona.
Tomorrow evening, again at 6:40 p.m., Southern will take on Holy Cross with the winner getting Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks, who just received the first ever one-seed in school history. After that at 9:10, would-be eleven seeds Tulsa and a certain that team went winless against Ohio State, Michigan, go head to head with the winner drawing six-seeded Notre Dame.
Continue reading...
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Find out how you can watch the First Four as March Madness officially gets underway.
The 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament officially gets underway in not too far away Dayton, OH this evening. While the play-in game as it was once known was a relative non-event, now with the onset of the First Four, University of Dayton Arena is now privy to four games in two days, two in the likeness of the once-and-former play-in contest, but two featuring two bubble teams too battling for their very tournament lives.
While in recent years you'd have to pay for access to stream a game on a device other than your computer, if you have a cable subscription, this year you can watch any games airing on TBS, TNT, or TruTV using the official NCAA March Madness Live app. Click here to download the app for your iOS device (e.g. iPhone, iPad, iPod) or click here to get it for your Android device.
As has been the case in the past, you can stream all the games through the NCAA's website.
If you live outside the Columbus area and your cable provider doesn't offer TruTV, your best bet might be to try to watch it online (note: open only to participating cable subscribers). If you have DirecTV though, you can find it on channel 246, and if you have it on Dish, you should be able to find it on channel 204. If you're located in Columbus, you can find truTV on Time Warner Columbus/Delaware on channel 220 HD and channels 74 for SD. If you have WOW, you'll be able to find it on channel 279 HD or channel 67 SD.
In terms of the games themselves, tonight at 6:40 p.m. ET, potential 16-seeds Farleigh Dickinson and Florida Gulf Coast kick things off with the winner advancing to face No. 1 seed, North Carolina. In the second matchup, potential 11-seeds Wichita State and Vanderbilt tip off at 9:10 p.m. with the winner of that getting Arizona.
Tomorrow evening, again at 6:40 p.m., Southern will take on Holy Cross with the winner getting Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks, who just received the first ever one-seed in school history. After that at 9:10, would-be eleven seeds Tulsa and a certain that team went winless against Ohio State, Michigan, go head to head with the winner drawing six-seeded Notre Dame.
Continue reading...
LGHL Sorry, Buckeyes. LeBron's rooting for Akron over Ohio State in the NIT
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Sorry, Buckeyes. LeBron's rooting for Akron over Ohio State in the NIT
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The first round of the NIT is a tough pick for the Cavs star.
Ohio State men's basketball faces the Akron Zips in tonight's NIT opener, leaving LeBron James torn between his two allegiances. James has always been a Buckeye backer, but he's an Akron native, lives in the area during basketball season, and the head coach of the Zips, Keith Dambrot, is his former high school coach.
LeBron has finally picked a side, telling Cleveland.com, "He [Akron coach Keith Dambrot] helped shaped me into who I am today as a basketball player, and it's where I'm from, so I'm going with the Zips for sure."
The four-time MVP has said before he would have donned Scarlet and Gray, had the NBA's one and done rule been in effect when he was coming out of high school. He even has a locker at Value City Arena and outfits the Buckeye team in his LeBron line from Nike.
Coach Dambrot had a feeling his former player would choose him over the school he typically roots for. "There's no doubt who he's cheering for tomorrow, trust me," he said, according to the Columbus Dispatch. "He loves Ohio State, but I think he likes me more."
Continue reading...
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The first round of the NIT is a tough pick for the Cavs star.
Ohio State men's basketball faces the Akron Zips in tonight's NIT opener, leaving LeBron James torn between his two allegiances. James has always been a Buckeye backer, but he's an Akron native, lives in the area during basketball season, and the head coach of the Zips, Keith Dambrot, is his former high school coach.
LeBron has finally picked a side, telling Cleveland.com, "He [Akron coach Keith Dambrot] helped shaped me into who I am today as a basketball player, and it's where I'm from, so I'm going with the Zips for sure."
The four-time MVP has said before he would have donned Scarlet and Gray, had the NBA's one and done rule been in effect when he was coming out of high school. He even has a locker at Value City Arena and outfits the Buckeye team in his LeBron line from Nike.
Coach Dambrot had a feeling his former player would choose him over the school he typically roots for. "There's no doubt who he's cheering for tomorrow, trust me," he said, according to the Columbus Dispatch. "He loves Ohio State, but I think he likes me more."
Continue reading...
tBBC tBBC March Madness 2016: Midwest Region
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tBBC March Madness 2016: Midwest Region
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be giving you our insight into each NCAA Tournament Region, looking for the stories that you may not have read elsewhere.
The Midwest Region is a solid Region, maybe not the toughest, but at some point in the Tourney, all the Regions are tough. The Region has two AP Top-10 teams, five Top-25 teams, and two Big Ten Teams. The ranked teams are: Michigan State (#2), Virginia (#4), Utah (#12), Purdue (#13) and Iowa State (#21). The B1G teams are Michigan State and Purdue, the Conference championship finalists.
Rather than go through game-by-game in the Region, I’ll focus on five (5) topics; 1) the team likely to win region, 2) the region’s Cinderella team, 3) team most likely to be upset, 4) who is region’s unheralded player and 5) my Elite 8 picks. Envelopes, please…
Regional Favorite: Michigan State is my choice to win this Region. Coach Izzo has the Spartans playing at a very high level right now. It’s March, that’s what he does. They are talented, balanced and deep. They lead the country in scoring margin (16.5 ppg). Offensively, they are “death from above”, as Ohio State fans have seen. They lead the country in 3-pt accuracy (43%), providing them with 27 points per game, or about one-third of their total. They are 5th in the country in rebounds per game (41.9). They are 1st in the country in defensive rebounding (28.2). Opponents can expect a lot of “one and done” possessions. They just wear you out on the boards.
Cinderella: The Midwest Glass Slipper will be worn by Coach Kevin Willard’s Seton Hall Pirates (25-8). Since the 3rd week of January, the Pirates are 12-2, with both losses coming to Creighton. They closed out their conference tourney run with wins over Creighton, #5 Xavier and #3 Villanova. They’ll make it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Most likely upset: Dayton beats Syracuse. I’ll be blunt; I’m not a fan of Jim Boeheim, who is the ACC’s version of (former Wisconsin coach) Bo Ryan. Boeheim had made it known that despite his team’s 19-13 record (worse than Ohio State’s, btw) he felt his team was NCAA worthy because the Orange went 4-5 during his suspension. So, when he was actually coaching, they were 15-8. Still not great, but fair enough. However, there was no word about, under Boeheim, Syracuse lost 5 of their last 6. This team had an Iowa-esque end-of-season collapse.
Unheralded Player: I’ll go with Seton Hall’s 6’4″, 210 lb guard, Isiah Whitehead. He leads the team in minutes played (32), points per game (18.4), assists (5.0) and pulls in 3.6 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in shot blocking. You need points? Isiah will get them. Prevent points? He can do that too.
Elite Eight Teams: One of the two teams I see coming out of this Region for Elite Eight will be Michigan State.. The other team will be Virginia. They are the #2 and #1 Regional seeds, respectively. I would have reversed the seeding, but the body of work of both teams is very good.
* Statistics courtesy of TeamRankings.com
There, that should clarify things for you in the Midwest Region.
The post tBBC March Madness 2016: Midwest Region appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be giving you our insight into each NCAA Tournament Region, looking for the stories that you may not have read elsewhere.
The Midwest Region is a solid Region, maybe not the toughest, but at some point in the Tourney, all the Regions are tough. The Region has two AP Top-10 teams, five Top-25 teams, and two Big Ten Teams. The ranked teams are: Michigan State (#2), Virginia (#4), Utah (#12), Purdue (#13) and Iowa State (#21). The B1G teams are Michigan State and Purdue, the Conference championship finalists.
Rather than go through game-by-game in the Region, I’ll focus on five (5) topics; 1) the team likely to win region, 2) the region’s Cinderella team, 3) team most likely to be upset, 4) who is region’s unheralded player and 5) my Elite 8 picks. Envelopes, please…
Regional Favorite: Michigan State is my choice to win this Region. Coach Izzo has the Spartans playing at a very high level right now. It’s March, that’s what he does. They are talented, balanced and deep. They lead the country in scoring margin (16.5 ppg). Offensively, they are “death from above”, as Ohio State fans have seen. They lead the country in 3-pt accuracy (43%), providing them with 27 points per game, or about one-third of their total. They are 5th in the country in rebounds per game (41.9). They are 1st in the country in defensive rebounding (28.2). Opponents can expect a lot of “one and done” possessions. They just wear you out on the boards.
Cinderella: The Midwest Glass Slipper will be worn by Coach Kevin Willard’s Seton Hall Pirates (25-8). Since the 3rd week of January, the Pirates are 12-2, with both losses coming to Creighton. They closed out their conference tourney run with wins over Creighton, #5 Xavier and #3 Villanova. They’ll make it to the Sweet Sixteen.
Most likely upset: Dayton beats Syracuse. I’ll be blunt; I’m not a fan of Jim Boeheim, who is the ACC’s version of (former Wisconsin coach) Bo Ryan. Boeheim had made it known that despite his team’s 19-13 record (worse than Ohio State’s, btw) he felt his team was NCAA worthy because the Orange went 4-5 during his suspension. So, when he was actually coaching, they were 15-8. Still not great, but fair enough. However, there was no word about, under Boeheim, Syracuse lost 5 of their last 6. This team had an Iowa-esque end-of-season collapse.
Unheralded Player: I’ll go with Seton Hall’s 6’4″, 210 lb guard, Isiah Whitehead. He leads the team in minutes played (32), points per game (18.4), assists (5.0) and pulls in 3.6 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in shot blocking. You need points? Isiah will get them. Prevent points? He can do that too.
Elite Eight Teams: One of the two teams I see coming out of this Region for Elite Eight will be Michigan State.. The other team will be Virginia. They are the #2 and #1 Regional seeds, respectively. I would have reversed the seeding, but the body of work of both teams is very good.
* Statistics courtesy of TeamRankings.com
There, that should clarify things for you in the Midwest Region.
The post tBBC March Madness 2016: Midwest Region appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
LGHL How to watch Ohio State vs. Akron: Preview, game time, live streaming online
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How to watch Ohio State vs. Akron: Preview, game time, live streaming online
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State will play Akron tonight for the first time since 1989, which was also in the first round of the NIT Tournament.
For the first time since 2008, Ohio State wasn't able to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Now the Buckeyes will be trying to replicate the end of that 2008 season, where they ended up winning the NIT Championship. The title marked the second NIT Championship in school history, with the first championship coming back in 1986.
The first step in Ohio State's quest for a third NIT Championship is a matchup with in-state foe Akron. The last time the Buckeyes took on the Zips was in the first round of the 1989 NIT Tournament, where Ohio State earned a 81-70 victory. In seven games against Akron, Ohio State has won six of those meetings, with the only win by the Zips in the series coming all the way back in 1921.
Heading into the NIT, Ohio State probably has to be relieved they won't have to play Michigan State again this year. In their last five games, Ohio State has played Michigan State three times, with the Spartans winning all three games by at least 15 points. It has been over a month since the Buckeyes have lost a game to a team other than Michigan State, with their last loss to a team other than the Spartans coming to Wisconsin on February 4th in Madison.
Friday night's performance was on of the worst by the Buckeyes this year, as they missed all of their three-point attempts in the first half. The only other time Ohio State failed to connect on a three-point attempt in the first half came earlier in the year against Mercer. The Buckeyes only ended up making one of the 11 three-pointers they attempted during the game, marking their lowest total of the season. Along with their horrid shooting display, the Buckeyes also got outrebounded by Michigan State 40-29, which was Ohio State's largest rebounding disadvantage of the year.
Tonight's game against Akron will be the first Ohio State has played against an in-state school since they played back-to-back games against Miami (Ohio) and Wright State in December 2014. This is Ohio State's ninth appearance in the NIT, and now in seven of those appearances the Buckeyes have played another school from Ohio. The last loss for Ohio State against another team from Ohio was in 2014 when the Buckeyes lost to Dayton in Buffalo in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State hasn't lost in Columbus to a team from Ohio since they fell to Bowling Green in 1994 at St. John Arena.
Akron earned an automatic bid to the NIT Tournament by winning the MAC regular season title. The Zips missed out on their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history when Buffalo's Blake Hamilton hit a three-point with two seconds left to give the Buffalo a 64-61 win in the MAC Tournament Championship Game on Saturday night in Cleveland. The last time the Zips participated in the NIT came in 2012, when they lost in the first round 76-74 to Northwestern.
Akron is coached by MAC Coach of the Year Keith Dambrot, who is in his 12th year as head coach of the Zips. Dambrot was the head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School in Akron for LeBron James' final two years of high school before Dambrot moved on to become an assistant coach for the Zips in 2001. In 2004, Dambrot was named head coach, and has amassed a 278-129 record, leading Akron to three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2009.
Ohio State could find themselves in some trouble if they shoot the basketball as poorly as they did against Michigan State on Friday night. If the Buckeyes aren't able to hit the outside shot they might have some trouble keeping up with Akron team that is more than capable of hitting the three-pointer. The Zips went 13 for 33 from behind in the arc in their loss to Buffalo on Saturday night, and have five players on their roster who have hit at least 50 three-pointers this season.
Much like Ohio State, Akron was rocked by a season-ending shoulder injury in the latter part of the season. Senior center Pat Forsythe hasn't played since mid-February, missing the last nine games. At 6-11, Forsythe gave the Zips size, which in combination with Isaiah Johnson, could have give Ohio State some trouble. Before being ruled out for the rest of the season, Forsythe was averaging 8.6 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game while logging nearly 20 minutes per game on the floor.
Numbers to know
54-13
Ohio State has an all-time record of 54-13 against MAC opponents. The last time Ohio State play a MAC opponent was in December 2014, when they defeated Miami (Ohio) 93-55 at Value City Arena. The last loss for Ohio State against a MAC opponent came in 1998, when they lost 64-63 at Toledo.
18
Ohio State has won 18 NIT games in school history, and they have twice brought the NIT Championship to Columbus. Thad Matta is a perfect 5-0 in NIT games while he has been the head coach at Ohio State, winning the only time he led his team to a NIT appearance in 2008. Of those 18 wins, 10 of those wins in the NIT for Ohio State are home wins, three wins are on the road, and five have been at Madison Square Garden.
9.2
So far this year Ohio State has blocked 9.2 percent of their opponents shots, which ranks 11th best in the country. The Buckeyes have blocked 179 of their opponents' 1,943 shot attempts. The 5.4 blocks Ohio State is averaging per game is second-best in the Big Ten this year. The Buckeyes have also only had 3.2 percent of their shots blocked, which is eighth-fewest in the country.
Cast of characters
Ohio State
JaQuan Lyle
Lyle was the only Buckeye who was to reach double figures on Friday, socring 10 points in the loss to the Spartans. The work that Lyle did on the scoresheet in Indianapolis allowed him to move in 10th on Ohio State's all-time freshman scoring list. Lyle now has 354 points this season, which puts him 18 points behind tying William Buford for ninth in school history. To have any shot at winning, Lyle will have to take better care of the basketball after turning it over five times on Friday night against Michigan State.
Marc Loving
After scoring at least 20 points in three straight games, Loving struggled against Michigan State, only scoring nine points in the loss. That snapped a streak of six straight games where Loving has reached double figures in scoring. What has been helping Loving excel lately has been his ability to get to the free throw line, where he went 47-60 in the six games prior to Friday night's game against Michigan State.
Akron
Isaiah Johnson
The junior from Cincinnati has been a force down low for Akron this year, earning First Team All-MAC honors. Johnson leads the Zips in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game. The center has six games in which he has scoring 20 points or more, and five games where he has recorded a double-double. The latest of those double-doubles came on Thursday night's win over Eastern Michigan, where Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Reggie McAdams
McAdams might just be Akron's hottest player of late, scoring at least 20 points in three of the last six games. The senior from Elida scored 23 points on Friday's win over Bowling Green, and is Akron's prime deep threat, hitting a team-high 95 three-pointers this season.
How to watch
Game time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Radio: WBNS-FM 97.1
Streaming: WatchESPN
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State will play Akron tonight for the first time since 1989, which was also in the first round of the NIT Tournament.
For the first time since 2008, Ohio State wasn't able to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Now the Buckeyes will be trying to replicate the end of that 2008 season, where they ended up winning the NIT Championship. The title marked the second NIT Championship in school history, with the first championship coming back in 1986.
The first step in Ohio State's quest for a third NIT Championship is a matchup with in-state foe Akron. The last time the Buckeyes took on the Zips was in the first round of the 1989 NIT Tournament, where Ohio State earned a 81-70 victory. In seven games against Akron, Ohio State has won six of those meetings, with the only win by the Zips in the series coming all the way back in 1921.
Heading into the NIT, Ohio State probably has to be relieved they won't have to play Michigan State again this year. In their last five games, Ohio State has played Michigan State three times, with the Spartans winning all three games by at least 15 points. It has been over a month since the Buckeyes have lost a game to a team other than Michigan State, with their last loss to a team other than the Spartans coming to Wisconsin on February 4th in Madison.
Friday night's performance was on of the worst by the Buckeyes this year, as they missed all of their three-point attempts in the first half. The only other time Ohio State failed to connect on a three-point attempt in the first half came earlier in the year against Mercer. The Buckeyes only ended up making one of the 11 three-pointers they attempted during the game, marking their lowest total of the season. Along with their horrid shooting display, the Buckeyes also got outrebounded by Michigan State 40-29, which was Ohio State's largest rebounding disadvantage of the year.
Tonight's game against Akron will be the first Ohio State has played against an in-state school since they played back-to-back games against Miami (Ohio) and Wright State in December 2014. This is Ohio State's ninth appearance in the NIT, and now in seven of those appearances the Buckeyes have played another school from Ohio. The last loss for Ohio State against another team from Ohio was in 2014 when the Buckeyes lost to Dayton in Buffalo in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State hasn't lost in Columbus to a team from Ohio since they fell to Bowling Green in 1994 at St. John Arena.
Akron earned an automatic bid to the NIT Tournament by winning the MAC regular season title. The Zips missed out on their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history when Buffalo's Blake Hamilton hit a three-point with two seconds left to give the Buffalo a 64-61 win in the MAC Tournament Championship Game on Saturday night in Cleveland. The last time the Zips participated in the NIT came in 2012, when they lost in the first round 76-74 to Northwestern.
Akron is coached by MAC Coach of the Year Keith Dambrot, who is in his 12th year as head coach of the Zips. Dambrot was the head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School in Akron for LeBron James' final two years of high school before Dambrot moved on to become an assistant coach for the Zips in 2001. In 2004, Dambrot was named head coach, and has amassed a 278-129 record, leading Akron to three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2009.
Ohio State could find themselves in some trouble if they shoot the basketball as poorly as they did against Michigan State on Friday night. If the Buckeyes aren't able to hit the outside shot they might have some trouble keeping up with Akron team that is more than capable of hitting the three-pointer. The Zips went 13 for 33 from behind in the arc in their loss to Buffalo on Saturday night, and have five players on their roster who have hit at least 50 three-pointers this season.
Much like Ohio State, Akron was rocked by a season-ending shoulder injury in the latter part of the season. Senior center Pat Forsythe hasn't played since mid-February, missing the last nine games. At 6-11, Forsythe gave the Zips size, which in combination with Isaiah Johnson, could have give Ohio State some trouble. Before being ruled out for the rest of the season, Forsythe was averaging 8.6 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game while logging nearly 20 minutes per game on the floor.
Numbers to know
54-13
Ohio State has an all-time record of 54-13 against MAC opponents. The last time Ohio State play a MAC opponent was in December 2014, when they defeated Miami (Ohio) 93-55 at Value City Arena. The last loss for Ohio State against a MAC opponent came in 1998, when they lost 64-63 at Toledo.
18
Ohio State has won 18 NIT games in school history, and they have twice brought the NIT Championship to Columbus. Thad Matta is a perfect 5-0 in NIT games while he has been the head coach at Ohio State, winning the only time he led his team to a NIT appearance in 2008. Of those 18 wins, 10 of those wins in the NIT for Ohio State are home wins, three wins are on the road, and five have been at Madison Square Garden.
9.2
So far this year Ohio State has blocked 9.2 percent of their opponents shots, which ranks 11th best in the country. The Buckeyes have blocked 179 of their opponents' 1,943 shot attempts. The 5.4 blocks Ohio State is averaging per game is second-best in the Big Ten this year. The Buckeyes have also only had 3.2 percent of their shots blocked, which is eighth-fewest in the country.
Cast of characters
Ohio State
JaQuan Lyle
Lyle was the only Buckeye who was to reach double figures on Friday, socring 10 points in the loss to the Spartans. The work that Lyle did on the scoresheet in Indianapolis allowed him to move in 10th on Ohio State's all-time freshman scoring list. Lyle now has 354 points this season, which puts him 18 points behind tying William Buford for ninth in school history. To have any shot at winning, Lyle will have to take better care of the basketball after turning it over five times on Friday night against Michigan State.
Marc Loving
After scoring at least 20 points in three straight games, Loving struggled against Michigan State, only scoring nine points in the loss. That snapped a streak of six straight games where Loving has reached double figures in scoring. What has been helping Loving excel lately has been his ability to get to the free throw line, where he went 47-60 in the six games prior to Friday night's game against Michigan State.
Akron
Isaiah Johnson
The junior from Cincinnati has been a force down low for Akron this year, earning First Team All-MAC honors. Johnson leads the Zips in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game. The center has six games in which he has scoring 20 points or more, and five games where he has recorded a double-double. The latest of those double-doubles came on Thursday night's win over Eastern Michigan, where Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Reggie McAdams
McAdams might just be Akron's hottest player of late, scoring at least 20 points in three of the last six games. The senior from Elida scored 23 points on Friday's win over Bowling Green, and is Akron's prime deep threat, hitting a team-high 95 three-pointers this season.
How to watch
Game time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Radio: WBNS-FM 97.1
Streaming: WatchESPN
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tBBC tBBC March Madness 2016: West Region
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tBBC March Madness 2016: West Region
Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be giving you our insight into each NCAA Tournament Region, looking for the stories that you may not have read elsewhere.
The West Region is a good, solid Region. It’s not going to produce the national champion. The Region has one AP Top-10 team, six Top-25 teams, and no Big Ten Teams. The ranked teams are: Oregon (#8), Oklahoma (#16), Texas A&M (#17), Duke (#19), Baylor (#22) and Texas (#23).
Rather than go through game-by-game in the Region, I’ll focus on five (5) topics; 1) the team likely to win region, 2) the region’s Cinderella team, 3) team most likely to be upset, 4) who is region’s unheralded player and 5) my Elite 8 picks. Envelopes, please…
Regional Favorite: Oklahoma is my choice to win this Region. Their challenge will be fellow Big-12 foe, Texas. The Sooners have enough offense to win their rubber match. They also have potential college PoY Buddy Hield.
Cinderella: The West Glass Slipper will be worn by Mike Cronin’s Cincinnati Bearcats (22-10). They are a decent offensive team, but their defense and rebounding will be too much for St. Joe’s and Oregon. They may get past Baylor into the Elite Eight.
Most likely upset: Cincinnati over Oregon. Statistically, these teams are comparable. Bearcats take a little bit better control of the ball and are slightly better rebounders.
Unheralded Player: I’ll go with Cal-Bakersfield’s Kevin Mays, a 6’4″ 220 lb forward. For Buckeye fans, think Jae’Sean Tate. Kevin Averages 12.8 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Elite Eight Teams: One of the two teams I see coming out of this Region for Elite Eight will be Oklahoma. The other team will be Baylor. Player of the Year Candidate Buddy Hield will lead the Sooners, maybe not to the Promised Land, but out of the Sweet Sixteen. The Bears will be lead by a Prince (Taurean) to the same level. They are the #2 and #5 Regional seeds, respectively.
* Statistics courtesy of TeamRankings.com
There, that should clarify things for you in the Midwest Region.
The post tBBC March Madness 2016: West Region appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Ken via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be giving you our insight into each NCAA Tournament Region, looking for the stories that you may not have read elsewhere.
The West Region is a good, solid Region. It’s not going to produce the national champion. The Region has one AP Top-10 team, six Top-25 teams, and no Big Ten Teams. The ranked teams are: Oregon (#8), Oklahoma (#16), Texas A&M (#17), Duke (#19), Baylor (#22) and Texas (#23).
Rather than go through game-by-game in the Region, I’ll focus on five (5) topics; 1) the team likely to win region, 2) the region’s Cinderella team, 3) team most likely to be upset, 4) who is region’s unheralded player and 5) my Elite 8 picks. Envelopes, please…
Regional Favorite: Oklahoma is my choice to win this Region. Their challenge will be fellow Big-12 foe, Texas. The Sooners have enough offense to win their rubber match. They also have potential college PoY Buddy Hield.
Cinderella: The West Glass Slipper will be worn by Mike Cronin’s Cincinnati Bearcats (22-10). They are a decent offensive team, but their defense and rebounding will be too much for St. Joe’s and Oregon. They may get past Baylor into the Elite Eight.
Most likely upset: Cincinnati over Oregon. Statistically, these teams are comparable. Bearcats take a little bit better control of the ball and are slightly better rebounders.
Unheralded Player: I’ll go with Cal-Bakersfield’s Kevin Mays, a 6’4″ 220 lb forward. For Buckeye fans, think Jae’Sean Tate. Kevin Averages 12.8 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Elite Eight Teams: One of the two teams I see coming out of this Region for Elite Eight will be Oklahoma. The other team will be Baylor. Player of the Year Candidate Buddy Hield will lead the Sooners, maybe not to the Promised Land, but out of the Sweet Sixteen. The Bears will be lead by a Prince (Taurean) to the same level. They are the #2 and #5 Regional seeds, respectively.
* Statistics courtesy of TeamRankings.com
There, that should clarify things for you in the Midwest Region.
The post tBBC March Madness 2016: West Region appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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tBBC tBBC March Madness Bracketology: The NIT Tournament
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tBBC March Madness Bracketology: The NIT Tournament
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be giving you our insight into each NCAA Tournament Region, looking for the storylines that you may not have read elsewhere.
The Buckeyes play Akron tonight, but there is a lot more to know about America’s secondary postseason Tournament.
Here’s a preview of this year’s National Invitational Tournament.
Despite Ben Simmons and the LSU Tigers staying home during the postseason, The National Invitational Tournament field might be the deepest it’s been in quite some time.
Monmouth, which has the best dance moves of any bench in college basketball, has beaten the likes of UCLA, Notre Dame, USC, Georgetown, Iona, and Wagner. They played Dayton down to the wire.
St. Bonaventure competed in the very tough Atlantic 10 and beat the likes of Dayton and St. Joseph’s. They finished the season with seven wins over top-70 teams.
The Bonnies have a top 30 RPI, as do the Akron Zips, who will face Ohio State in the opening round later today.
We all know how talented the Buckeyes can be when their youngsters put it together on the court.
South Carolina was probably the first team on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. They host High Point at home, where they are 15-2 on the season. They also have wins over Tulsa, Memphis and Texas A&M.
Those teams don’t even begin to tell the whole story about this tournament and why it might be enjoyable to watch for the first time in a long time.
To download the full NIT Bracket, click here.
Tournament Favorite: Ohio State might be a homer pick, but you have to love their seeding in this tournament. As a three seed, if they get past Akron, they’ll more than likely take on a beatable Florida team. From there, there toughest competition in the whole tournament will come from South Carolina in the semifinals of the NIT.
Unless you think Monmouth would give the Buckeyes a run for their money.
The Gamecocks got royally screwed on Selection Sunday. The fact that Tulsa, Michigan, and Syracuse made it in over them, is a joke.
That being said, it’ll be interesting to see if Frank Martin can get his team to play fired up basketball after being upset by the committee, or if they’ll be a letdown in the NIT.
Cinderella: Belmont hasn’t had the greatest season, but if we know anything from their past, head coach Rick Byrd knows how to coach a tournament team.
Byrd has led the Bruins to the postseason in 11 of the last 13 seasons. They’ve been to the NCAA Tournament in 7 of the last 11 years.
Since 2006, they’ve won six automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament by winning the OVC.
This year, they fell short to surprise Austin Peay, but they still have the tools as a six seed in the NIT, to beat the likes of Georgia in the first round and either St. Mary’s or New Mexico State in the second round.
In close games, I like Belmont’s ability to survive and advance. Even though they fell in the biggest game of the season and lacked consistency throughout the year. When you have a coach like Byrd, who has been around for 30 years, and is among the greatest of greats when it comes to wins.
Most likely upset: Because the NIT Tournament Committee got things right for once with it’s top seeds, I don’t see any major upsets. Of course, it’s hard to call any game in the NIT, “Upset Worthy”.
Generally, if a top seed, better known as the four teams that probably could win a game in the NCAA Tournament, is beat in the first game — you can consider it an upset.
Other than that, everything’s a wash.
I don’t see Monmouth, Valpo, South Carolina, or St. Bonaventure losing their first round match ups.
There are a lot of 3/6 games that could have letdown written all over them.
The Buckeyes have a tough test with a very good Akron team, that finished with a top 30 RPI at the end of the season, despite losing to Buffalo in the MAC tournament.
Georgia, who upset South Carolina in the SEC tournament, will face Belmont, who can compete with anyone in the field. Virginia Tech faces a very game Princeton squad, while Washington meets Long Beach State.
Unheralded Player: Kyle Collinsworth has more triple- doubles in his career than any other player in NCAA history. Yet nobody talks about him as the difference maker he is. BYU had a chance at an NCAA bid this year and to be frank, the only reason is because of their playmaking senior guard. The 2016 WCC Player of the Year is worth the price of admission alone and I can’t wait to see how he responds to being in the NIT>
MSG Teams: Who will make it to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden? I like South Carolina, Ohio State, Valpo, and BYU.
This tournament isn’t about the best teams advancing. The groups that have performed mediocre, that want it more, always win this tournament.
Valpo has played hungry basketball all season long. Ohio State has a lot to prove, and I see them taking advantage of the opportunity to get more time on the court.
Valpo might be just too much for them though in the finals.
The post tBBC March Madness Bracketology: The NIT Tournament appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tuesday and Wednesday we’ll be giving you our insight into each NCAA Tournament Region, looking for the storylines that you may not have read elsewhere.
The Buckeyes play Akron tonight, but there is a lot more to know about America’s secondary postseason Tournament.
Here’s a preview of this year’s National Invitational Tournament.
Despite Ben Simmons and the LSU Tigers staying home during the postseason, The National Invitational Tournament field might be the deepest it’s been in quite some time.
Monmouth, which has the best dance moves of any bench in college basketball, has beaten the likes of UCLA, Notre Dame, USC, Georgetown, Iona, and Wagner. They played Dayton down to the wire.
St. Bonaventure competed in the very tough Atlantic 10 and beat the likes of Dayton and St. Joseph’s. They finished the season with seven wins over top-70 teams.
The Bonnies have a top 30 RPI, as do the Akron Zips, who will face Ohio State in the opening round later today.
We all know how talented the Buckeyes can be when their youngsters put it together on the court.
South Carolina was probably the first team on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. They host High Point at home, where they are 15-2 on the season. They also have wins over Tulsa, Memphis and Texas A&M.
Those teams don’t even begin to tell the whole story about this tournament and why it might be enjoyable to watch for the first time in a long time.
To download the full NIT Bracket, click here.
Tournament Favorite: Ohio State might be a homer pick, but you have to love their seeding in this tournament. As a three seed, if they get past Akron, they’ll more than likely take on a beatable Florida team. From there, there toughest competition in the whole tournament will come from South Carolina in the semifinals of the NIT.
Unless you think Monmouth would give the Buckeyes a run for their money.
The Gamecocks got royally screwed on Selection Sunday. The fact that Tulsa, Michigan, and Syracuse made it in over them, is a joke.
That being said, it’ll be interesting to see if Frank Martin can get his team to play fired up basketball after being upset by the committee, or if they’ll be a letdown in the NIT.
Cinderella: Belmont hasn’t had the greatest season, but if we know anything from their past, head coach Rick Byrd knows how to coach a tournament team.
Byrd has led the Bruins to the postseason in 11 of the last 13 seasons. They’ve been to the NCAA Tournament in 7 of the last 11 years.
Since 2006, they’ve won six automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament by winning the OVC.
This year, they fell short to surprise Austin Peay, but they still have the tools as a six seed in the NIT, to beat the likes of Georgia in the first round and either St. Mary’s or New Mexico State in the second round.
In close games, I like Belmont’s ability to survive and advance. Even though they fell in the biggest game of the season and lacked consistency throughout the year. When you have a coach like Byrd, who has been around for 30 years, and is among the greatest of greats when it comes to wins.
Most likely upset: Because the NIT Tournament Committee got things right for once with it’s top seeds, I don’t see any major upsets. Of course, it’s hard to call any game in the NIT, “Upset Worthy”.
Generally, if a top seed, better known as the four teams that probably could win a game in the NCAA Tournament, is beat in the first game — you can consider it an upset.
Other than that, everything’s a wash.
I don’t see Monmouth, Valpo, South Carolina, or St. Bonaventure losing their first round match ups.
There are a lot of 3/6 games that could have letdown written all over them.
The Buckeyes have a tough test with a very good Akron team, that finished with a top 30 RPI at the end of the season, despite losing to Buffalo in the MAC tournament.
Georgia, who upset South Carolina in the SEC tournament, will face Belmont, who can compete with anyone in the field. Virginia Tech faces a very game Princeton squad, while Washington meets Long Beach State.
Unheralded Player: Kyle Collinsworth has more triple- doubles in his career than any other player in NCAA history. Yet nobody talks about him as the difference maker he is. BYU had a chance at an NCAA bid this year and to be frank, the only reason is because of their playmaking senior guard. The 2016 WCC Player of the Year is worth the price of admission alone and I can’t wait to see how he responds to being in the NIT>
MSG Teams: Who will make it to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden? I like South Carolina, Ohio State, Valpo, and BYU.
This tournament isn’t about the best teams advancing. The groups that have performed mediocre, that want it more, always win this tournament.
Valpo has played hungry basketball all season long. Ohio State has a lot to prove, and I see them taking advantage of the opportunity to get more time on the court.
Valpo might be just too much for them though in the finals.
The post tBBC March Madness Bracketology: The NIT Tournament appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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LGHL Ohio State offers 2017's top defensive tackle, looking to buck a downward trend
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Ohio State offers 2017's top defensive tackle, looking to buck a downward trend
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
With two top-15 DTs already committed to the Buckeyes in 2017, Ohio State is looking to get even better.
Ohio State continues to impress with its 2017 recruiting class. Day in and day out, it seems that Urban Meyer and the rest of the Buckeye recruiting staff continue to build on the already top-rated class. In recent years, one of the few positions Ohio State has struggled to recruit has been the defensive tackle spot. In last year's class, the Buckeyes missed on both Rashard Lawrence and Antwuan Jackson. Both were considered to be at the top of their position and both had Ohio State in their list of final schools. As fate would have it, the class of 2016 has been officially been completed, and neither will be playing in Columbus.
Things have been going much differently for Ohio State this time around, however. The Buckeyes have already earned verbal commitments from two top-15 DTs in Jerron Cage and Haskell Garrett. Cage, who committed to Ohio State in the summer of 2015, is viewed as the No. 14 DT, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Garrett, whose commitment came as a surprise to most, after committing to the Buckeyes without ever visiting, is looked at as the No. 4 DT of '17.
However, as mentioned above, Meyer and Co. never stop building on this already elite class. On Monday, the Buckeyes presented a scholarship offer to the No. 1 DT of the class, Marvin Wilson. Theoretically, there is still a lot of time before recruits make an official decision on where they want to play, but when it comes to a five-star recruit, who is the best at his position and is looked at as a top-five player of his class, you want the recruiting process to start as soon as possible.
This line of thinking would lead one to believe that the Buckeyes are late on the Wilson bandwagon and the chances of landing his services aren't ideal. The logic there is solid, but wrong. It seems as though the Buckeyes have quickly become a contender in Wilson's recruitment, as apparently he was ready to commit to Ohio State two years ago.
Blessed to be offered by THE OHIO STATE #shhh pic.twitter.com/cCFIkYIu47
— HOLLYWOOD MARV (@RDMW6) March 14, 2016
Wilson spoke with Eleven Warriors, and brought up an Ohio State visit during his freshman year and he said that if he had received an offer during the visit, he would have committed then and there. Wilson, who has yet to visit Columbus, will likely visit this year, and it wouldn't be surprising to see a visit scheduled in the next month or so if the interest is as high as it seems.
OSU on shortlist for a 4-star OT
It has yet to be officially established just how many recruits Ohio State is looking to gain this year. What can be determined is that there cannot be much more room. The Buckeyes already have 13 verbal commitments, including two five-stars, 10 four-stars, and the class's best kicker.
Robert Hainsey is a four-star OT out of IMG Academy in Florida, an institution that has been kind to Ohio State as of late, and could continue to be. Hainsey seems to be destined to play in the Big Ten. His top suitors have been Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. He recently spoke with Scout.com on his commitment, and he mentioned he will be taking visits to all four of the aforementioned schools this spring, along with Pitt.
The Buckeyes already have two verbal commitments from top-15 OTs in the 2017 class, including five-star Josh Myers, who is viewed as the best at his position. However, you can never have enough big men up front protecting the QB, and with the team losing all but one starter up front after last season, younger guys should see some early playing time.
Hainsey has not yet reached a list of top schools, but does see himself playing in the Big Ten, as he is originally from Pennsylvania.
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Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
With two top-15 DTs already committed to the Buckeyes in 2017, Ohio State is looking to get even better.
Ohio State continues to impress with its 2017 recruiting class. Day in and day out, it seems that Urban Meyer and the rest of the Buckeye recruiting staff continue to build on the already top-rated class. In recent years, one of the few positions Ohio State has struggled to recruit has been the defensive tackle spot. In last year's class, the Buckeyes missed on both Rashard Lawrence and Antwuan Jackson. Both were considered to be at the top of their position and both had Ohio State in their list of final schools. As fate would have it, the class of 2016 has been officially been completed, and neither will be playing in Columbus.
Things have been going much differently for Ohio State this time around, however. The Buckeyes have already earned verbal commitments from two top-15 DTs in Jerron Cage and Haskell Garrett. Cage, who committed to Ohio State in the summer of 2015, is viewed as the No. 14 DT, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Garrett, whose commitment came as a surprise to most, after committing to the Buckeyes without ever visiting, is looked at as the No. 4 DT of '17.
However, as mentioned above, Meyer and Co. never stop building on this already elite class. On Monday, the Buckeyes presented a scholarship offer to the No. 1 DT of the class, Marvin Wilson. Theoretically, there is still a lot of time before recruits make an official decision on where they want to play, but when it comes to a five-star recruit, who is the best at his position and is looked at as a top-five player of his class, you want the recruiting process to start as soon as possible.
This line of thinking would lead one to believe that the Buckeyes are late on the Wilson bandwagon and the chances of landing his services aren't ideal. The logic there is solid, but wrong. It seems as though the Buckeyes have quickly become a contender in Wilson's recruitment, as apparently he was ready to commit to Ohio State two years ago.
Blessed to be offered by THE OHIO STATE #shhh pic.twitter.com/cCFIkYIu47
— HOLLYWOOD MARV (@RDMW6) March 14, 2016
Wilson spoke with Eleven Warriors, and brought up an Ohio State visit during his freshman year and he said that if he had received an offer during the visit, he would have committed then and there. Wilson, who has yet to visit Columbus, will likely visit this year, and it wouldn't be surprising to see a visit scheduled in the next month or so if the interest is as high as it seems.
OSU on shortlist for a 4-star OT
It has yet to be officially established just how many recruits Ohio State is looking to gain this year. What can be determined is that there cannot be much more room. The Buckeyes already have 13 verbal commitments, including two five-stars, 10 four-stars, and the class's best kicker.
Robert Hainsey is a four-star OT out of IMG Academy in Florida, an institution that has been kind to Ohio State as of late, and could continue to be. Hainsey seems to be destined to play in the Big Ten. His top suitors have been Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. He recently spoke with Scout.com on his commitment, and he mentioned he will be taking visits to all four of the aforementioned schools this spring, along with Pitt.
The Buckeyes already have two verbal commitments from top-15 OTs in the 2017 class, including five-star Josh Myers, who is viewed as the best at his position. However, you can never have enough big men up front protecting the QB, and with the team losing all but one starter up front after last season, younger guys should see some early playing time.
Hainsey has not yet reached a list of top schools, but does see himself playing in the Big Ten, as he is originally from Pennsylvania.
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Google The Hurry Up: The Country's Top Gets a Wanted Buckeye Offer, Looking at Michigan Boys in...
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The Hurry Up: The Country's Top Gets a Wanted Buckeye Offer, Looking at Michigan Boys in Ohio, Ohio Guys in ... - Eleven Warriors
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
The Hurry Up: The Country's Top Gets a Wanted Buckeye Offer, Looking at Michigan Boys in Ohio, Ohio Guys in ...
Eleven Warriors
Wilson told 11W that he's long been a fan of Ohio State, but since a freshman-year encounter with Kerry Coombs, who visited Bellaire, he'd not heard from the Buckeyes. With two defensive tackles committed, there's no pressure for Urban Meyer and Larry ...
Buckeyes offer country's No. 1 defensive tackle247Sports
all 4 news articles »
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via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
The Hurry Up: The Country's Top Gets a Wanted Buckeye Offer, Looking at Michigan Boys in Ohio, Ohio Guys in ...
Eleven Warriors
Wilson told 11W that he's long been a fan of Ohio State, but since a freshman-year encounter with Kerry Coombs, who visited Bellaire, he'd not heard from the Buckeyes. With two defensive tackles committed, there's no pressure for Urban Meyer and Larry ...
Buckeyes offer country's No. 1 defensive tackle247Sports
all 4 news articles »
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Google Ohio State Buckeyes - Today's U (blog)
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Ohio State Buckeyes - Today's U (blog)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Ohio State Buckeyes
Today's U (blog)
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about recruiting. He just closed in on the No. 4 recruiting... 01 January 2016: Ohio State Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer coaching his team during an NCAA ...
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via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Ohio State Buckeyes
Today's U (blog)
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer knows a thing or two about recruiting. He just closed in on the No. 4 recruiting... 01 January 2016: Ohio State Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer coaching his team during an NCAA ...
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tBBC OSUWBB: Buckeyes Earn a 3 Seed in NCAA Tournament
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OSUWBB: Buckeyes Earn a 3 Seed in NCAA Tournament
Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
A day after the Ohio State men’s basketball team received the bad news that they would not be in the NCAA tournament, the OSU women’s team waited anxiously to hear their tournament fate. While they knew that they would be dancing, a rough end of the season that saw them lose three of their last four games raised a lot of questions about where they would be seeded. It took until the third region was announced for the Buckeyes to find out that they would the number 3 seed in the Sioux Falls region (above image courtesy of OSU athletics).
Unlike the men’s tournament, the women’s tournament doesn’t use predetermined sites for the first two rounds; instead, the top four seeds in each region host. Thus, as a number three seed Ohio State will host the first weekend of games in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes will begin their tournament at 2:30 pm on Friday against 14th seed Buffalo. The other Friday game in Columbus will see 6 seed West Virginia against 11 seed Princeton in a game set to tip at noon. The winners of the two games will face off on Sunday.
The number two seed in the Sioux Fall region is Arizona State who present a tough potential Sweet 16 matchup. Perhaps the best news of the night for Ohio State though was that they ended up with South Carolina as the number 1 seed in their region as opposed to Connecticut. The Buckeyes lost to the Gamecocks in the season opener but only by eight points in a game played in Columbia, South Carolina. While the road to the Final Four will be hard, it isn’t impossible and if OSU can regain their midseason form, they have chance to surprise a lot of people who wrote them off after how the season ended.
We’ll have a more complete preview of Ohio State in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament later in the week.
The post OSUWBB: Buckeyes Earn a 3 Seed in NCAA Tournament appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
A day after the Ohio State men’s basketball team received the bad news that they would not be in the NCAA tournament, the OSU women’s team waited anxiously to hear their tournament fate. While they knew that they would be dancing, a rough end of the season that saw them lose three of their last four games raised a lot of questions about where they would be seeded. It took until the third region was announced for the Buckeyes to find out that they would the number 3 seed in the Sioux Falls region (above image courtesy of OSU athletics).
Unlike the men’s tournament, the women’s tournament doesn’t use predetermined sites for the first two rounds; instead, the top four seeds in each region host. Thus, as a number three seed Ohio State will host the first weekend of games in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes will begin their tournament at 2:30 pm on Friday against 14th seed Buffalo. The other Friday game in Columbus will see 6 seed West Virginia against 11 seed Princeton in a game set to tip at noon. The winners of the two games will face off on Sunday.
The number two seed in the Sioux Fall region is Arizona State who present a tough potential Sweet 16 matchup. Perhaps the best news of the night for Ohio State though was that they ended up with South Carolina as the number 1 seed in their region as opposed to Connecticut. The Buckeyes lost to the Gamecocks in the season opener but only by eight points in a game played in Columbia, South Carolina. While the road to the Final Four will be hard, it isn’t impossible and if OSU can regain their midseason form, they have chance to surprise a lot of people who wrote them off after how the season ended.
We’ll have a more complete preview of Ohio State in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament later in the week.
The post OSUWBB: Buckeyes Earn a 3 Seed in NCAA Tournament appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Google Buckeyes Make NIT - The Fan
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Buckeyes Make NIT - The Fan
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Buckeyes Make NIT
The Fan
The Ohio State men's basketball team will host Akron in the National Invitational Tournament on Tuesday. The Buckeyes, by virtue of their 20-13 record, earned a three seed. The 26-8 Zips are a six seed. OSU won the NIT in 1986 and 2008, and they are 18 ...
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via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Buckeyes Make NIT
The Fan
The Ohio State men's basketball team will host Akron in the National Invitational Tournament on Tuesday. The Buckeyes, by virtue of their 20-13 record, earned a three seed. The 26-8 Zips are a six seed. OSU won the NIT in 1986 and 2008, and they are 18 ...
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Google Back to Ohio: UB women to play Buckeyes in Columbus in NCAA Tourney - wivb.com
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Back to Ohio: UB women to play Buckeyes in Columbus in NCAA Tourney - wivb.com
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Back to Ohio: UB women to play Buckeyes in Columbus in NCAA Tourney
wivb.com
UB was selected as a 14 seed in the NCAA Women's Tournament Monday night. The women will play the third-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on Friday at 2:30 PM. It's UB's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history, coming off ...
Men's basketball | MAC tournament: Buffalo ousts Ohio in semifinalsColumbus Dispatch
Ohio State women's basketball secures a No. 3 seed in NCAA tournament, set to face Buffalo in 1st roundOSU - The Lantern
Ohio State Earns a No. 3 Seed in the NCAA TournamentEleven Warriors
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via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Back to Ohio: UB women to play Buckeyes in Columbus in NCAA Tourney
wivb.com
UB was selected as a 14 seed in the NCAA Women's Tournament Monday night. The women will play the third-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus on Friday at 2:30 PM. It's UB's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history, coming off ...
Men's basketball | MAC tournament: Buffalo ousts Ohio in semifinalsColumbus Dispatch
Ohio State women's basketball secures a No. 3 seed in NCAA tournament, set to face Buffalo in 1st roundOSU - The Lantern
Ohio State Earns a No. 3 Seed in the NCAA TournamentEleven Warriors
all 370 news articles »
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BTN Five Big Ten teams land in NCAA women’s tournament
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Five Big Ten teams land in NCAA women’s tournament
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network
Five Big Ten women’s basketball teams made the 2016 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue. The full bracket is on NCAA.com. Maryland, winners of the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in College Park, MD., and will take on No. 15 Iona at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on ESPN2. The Terrapins are hosting as part of the Lexington Region and a win will allow them to face either No. 7 Washington or No. 10 Pennsylvania in second-round play. Maryland enters its 24th tournament appearance
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BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network
Five Big Ten women’s basketball teams made the 2016 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue. The full bracket is on NCAA.com. Maryland, winners of the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in College Park, MD., and will take on No. 15 Iona at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on ESPN2. The Terrapins are hosting as part of the Lexington Region and a win will allow them to face either No. 7 Washington or No. 10 Pennsylvania in second-round play. Maryland enters its 24th tournament appearance
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LGHL Women's NCAA tournament 2016: Full bracket and schedule released
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Women's NCAA tournament 2016: Full bracket and schedule released
Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State's late-season slide left the Buckeyes as a 3-seed in March Madness.
The Ohio State women's basketball team is going where its counterpart on the men's side is not: the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes will go dancing as the 3-seed in the Sioux Falls region, and will host Buffalo in Columbus on Friday, March 18th, at 2:20 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Due to the state high school basketball tournament being played at the team's usual home of Value City Arena, the game will be played at St. John's Arena.
After spending much of 2016 among the top five in the country, and as frontrunner in the Big Ten, Ohio State lost three of its final four games, including an 82-63 walloping in the conference tournament semifinals by Michigan State.
The Buckeyes are currently ranked No. 9 in the polls, but questions are swirling about the health of second-leading scorer Ameryst Alston, who injured the wrist on her shooting hand during the team's 73-58 win over Rutgers in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. Without Alston, leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell was on an island in the loss to the Spartans.
The top seed in this year's tournament is (surprise!) Connecticut. The Huskies, who have won three consecutive national championships, are an undefeated 32-0 and feature likely National Player of the Year Breanna Stewart.
In Ohio State's region, the top seed is South Carolina. The Buckeyes and Gamecocks played in the season opener in Columbia, an 88-80 loss for the scarlet and gray.
Notre Dame and Baylor locked up the other two No. 1 seeds.
Full bracket and schedule to come.
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Ben Martens via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State's late-season slide left the Buckeyes as a 3-seed in March Madness.
The Ohio State women's basketball team is going where its counterpart on the men's side is not: the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes will go dancing as the 3-seed in the Sioux Falls region, and will host Buffalo in Columbus on Friday, March 18th, at 2:20 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Due to the state high school basketball tournament being played at the team's usual home of Value City Arena, the game will be played at St. John's Arena.
After spending much of 2016 among the top five in the country, and as frontrunner in the Big Ten, Ohio State lost three of its final four games, including an 82-63 walloping in the conference tournament semifinals by Michigan State.
The Buckeyes are currently ranked No. 9 in the polls, but questions are swirling about the health of second-leading scorer Ameryst Alston, who injured the wrist on her shooting hand during the team's 73-58 win over Rutgers in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. Without Alston, leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell was on an island in the loss to the Spartans.
The top seed in this year's tournament is (surprise!) Connecticut. The Huskies, who have won three consecutive national championships, are an undefeated 32-0 and feature likely National Player of the Year Breanna Stewart.
In Ohio State's region, the top seed is South Carolina. The Buckeyes and Gamecocks played in the season opener in Columbia, an 88-80 loss for the scarlet and gray.
Notre Dame and Baylor locked up the other two No. 1 seeds.
Full bracket and schedule to come.
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LGHL Ohio State's 2016 offense is not a cause for concern
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Ohio State's 2016 offense is not a cause for concern
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Plus, Cardale Jones exceeds expectations at Ohio State's pro day, and men's volleyball knocks off a top-ranked opponent.
"We’re a young team, a talented team that has a lot of growth and room to get better. I love the energy, love the hunger and the attitude. It’s fun to be around them."
-Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, via Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch
Despite losing well over half of last year’s starters on offense, including many who played on Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team, offensive coordinator Ed Warinner is not overly concerned about the offensive side of the ball in the upcoming season. With stars like running back Ezekiel Elliott leaving Ohio State early for the NFL, along with three starting offensive lineman and a standout receiver--several of whom are projected first-round picks--there are numerous gaps to fill on the offensive side of the ball.
However, the Buckeyes return quarterback J.T. Barrett for his junior season, with Barrett able to fully participate in spring practice after being in a boot with a broken ankle last year. Barrett went 11-1 as a starter in his redshirt freshman season following Braxton Miller’s season-ending shoulder injury in 2014. Barrett took over the starting role full-time after spending last season splitting time with Cardale Jones.
Also returning on offense are left guard Billy Price and right guard Pat Elflein, the latter of whom will be moving to center for his senior season with the Buckeyes. The two have started every game together since 2014, when, like this year, there were a majority of new starters on the line for the Buckeyes. In the backfield, head coach Urban Meyer has indicated that the starting running back position is senior Bri’onte Dunn’s to lose.
It is likely that tight end Marcus Baugh will get the starting job this season with the graduation of Nick Vannett. However, uncertainty remains at the receiver spot, with both Noah Brown and Corey Smith sustaining broken legs over the course of last season and remaining sidelined for spring practice.
The offense was able to pick up last year toward the end of the season, with Warinner calling plays from the press box, where he will return this year. While who the playmakers will be remains uncertain, the Buckeyes will aim to move back to the up-tempo offense that won them a national title.
"You don’t need a lot of film to see the skillset he has. And one of the first things that really comes through is his love for the game. What you have to find out is if he’s willing to learn what he doesn’t know."
-AFC assistant coach, via Austin Ward, ESPN
It would seem that former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones’s stock has gone up significantly since the weekend’s pro day in Columbus. Widely considered one of the "mystery men" of this year’s draft, questions had remained for Jones following the NFL Combine last month after he pulled out with an injured hamstring. While few doubted the throwing abilities that quickly earned Jones the byname "12 Gauge," there was doubt as to Jones’s work ethic and ability to fine-tune his rocket arm. Combined with the drastic difference in performance between the 2014 postseason and the start of the 2015 regular season, it was difficult to determine how Jones’s ability would translate to the NFL.
Jones opted to return to Ohio State for his junior season and a certain three-way battle for the starting quarterback spot last year in a move that took many by surprise. The downside was that, after returning, Jones’s draft stock plummeted from a potential first-round pick down to No. 140 after being benched in favor of Barrett midway through the season.
Jones’s confidence has never been a cause for concern, and he continued to demonstrate his leadership ability on the field during his pro day. Jones earned his first start in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin with a week’s notice following J.T. Barrett’s broken ankle against Michigan and managed to lead the Buckeyes to a 59-0 victory. He was similarly cool throwing during the combine, doing all that could be reasonably expected of an NFL-level quarterback.
While Jones was certainly not the premiere player at the pro day, in a draft class with first-round talent like Elliott and Joey Bosa, his mystery was draw enough to bring scouts to watch, and he may have done enough to impress them into a draft pick.
AT A GLANCE: Ohio State takes down top-ranked Long Beach State on the West Coast#GoBucks #MIVAvb pic.twitter.com/f5sIQkPbVG
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioState_MVB) March 13, 2016
In a shocking upset, the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes men’s volleyball team defeated the top-ranked Long Beach State 49ers on the west coast in a tightly-contested five-set match. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 17-3 on the season, and have extended their win-streak to nine, including six wins over ranked teams. It was a quick turnaround for the Buckeyes, who began the season 1-3 before going on a seven-match win streak that lasted through early February. During the current, nine-win streak, Ohio State has won 27-of-32 sets played. The win is the first over a No. 1-ranked team for the Buckeyes since a 1998 victory over Pepperdine.
After losing the first set 24-26, the Buckeyes rallied to win the next set by a score of 25-21 before going down again in the third set 15-21. Ohio State won the fourth set 25-21 to tie up the match again before a last-set victory of 15-13.
The Buckeyes had previously defeated No. 14 UC-Irvine in four sets in their first matchup in California. With the two wins, three Buckeyes were named to the Asics Invitational all-tournament team, including the MVP, outside hitter Nicolas Szerszen, who was dominant on offense against both Long Beach State and UC-Irvine.
Ohio State will head to State College to take on No. 6 Penn State this weekend as a continuation of its month-long road trip, and is scheduled for several away matches in Indiana before returning to Columbus in April. The Buckeyes are currently on top of their league’s standings, and are the top attacking squad statistically in the NCAA.
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Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Plus, Cardale Jones exceeds expectations at Ohio State's pro day, and men's volleyball knocks off a top-ranked opponent.
"We’re a young team, a talented team that has a lot of growth and room to get better. I love the energy, love the hunger and the attitude. It’s fun to be around them."
-Ohio State offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, via Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch
Despite losing well over half of last year’s starters on offense, including many who played on Ohio State’s 2014 national championship team, offensive coordinator Ed Warinner is not overly concerned about the offensive side of the ball in the upcoming season. With stars like running back Ezekiel Elliott leaving Ohio State early for the NFL, along with three starting offensive lineman and a standout receiver--several of whom are projected first-round picks--there are numerous gaps to fill on the offensive side of the ball.
However, the Buckeyes return quarterback J.T. Barrett for his junior season, with Barrett able to fully participate in spring practice after being in a boot with a broken ankle last year. Barrett went 11-1 as a starter in his redshirt freshman season following Braxton Miller’s season-ending shoulder injury in 2014. Barrett took over the starting role full-time after spending last season splitting time with Cardale Jones.
Also returning on offense are left guard Billy Price and right guard Pat Elflein, the latter of whom will be moving to center for his senior season with the Buckeyes. The two have started every game together since 2014, when, like this year, there were a majority of new starters on the line for the Buckeyes. In the backfield, head coach Urban Meyer has indicated that the starting running back position is senior Bri’onte Dunn’s to lose.
It is likely that tight end Marcus Baugh will get the starting job this season with the graduation of Nick Vannett. However, uncertainty remains at the receiver spot, with both Noah Brown and Corey Smith sustaining broken legs over the course of last season and remaining sidelined for spring practice.
The offense was able to pick up last year toward the end of the season, with Warinner calling plays from the press box, where he will return this year. While who the playmakers will be remains uncertain, the Buckeyes will aim to move back to the up-tempo offense that won them a national title.
"You don’t need a lot of film to see the skillset he has. And one of the first things that really comes through is his love for the game. What you have to find out is if he’s willing to learn what he doesn’t know."
-AFC assistant coach, via Austin Ward, ESPN
It would seem that former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones’s stock has gone up significantly since the weekend’s pro day in Columbus. Widely considered one of the "mystery men" of this year’s draft, questions had remained for Jones following the NFL Combine last month after he pulled out with an injured hamstring. While few doubted the throwing abilities that quickly earned Jones the byname "12 Gauge," there was doubt as to Jones’s work ethic and ability to fine-tune his rocket arm. Combined with the drastic difference in performance between the 2014 postseason and the start of the 2015 regular season, it was difficult to determine how Jones’s ability would translate to the NFL.
Jones opted to return to Ohio State for his junior season and a certain three-way battle for the starting quarterback spot last year in a move that took many by surprise. The downside was that, after returning, Jones’s draft stock plummeted from a potential first-round pick down to No. 140 after being benched in favor of Barrett midway through the season.
Jones’s confidence has never been a cause for concern, and he continued to demonstrate his leadership ability on the field during his pro day. Jones earned his first start in the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin with a week’s notice following J.T. Barrett’s broken ankle against Michigan and managed to lead the Buckeyes to a 59-0 victory. He was similarly cool throwing during the combine, doing all that could be reasonably expected of an NFL-level quarterback.
While Jones was certainly not the premiere player at the pro day, in a draft class with first-round talent like Elliott and Joey Bosa, his mystery was draw enough to bring scouts to watch, and he may have done enough to impress them into a draft pick.
AT A GLANCE: Ohio State takes down top-ranked Long Beach State on the West Coast#GoBucks #MIVAvb pic.twitter.com/f5sIQkPbVG
— OSU Men's Volleyball (@OhioState_MVB) March 13, 2016
In a shocking upset, the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes men’s volleyball team defeated the top-ranked Long Beach State 49ers on the west coast in a tightly-contested five-set match. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 17-3 on the season, and have extended their win-streak to nine, including six wins over ranked teams. It was a quick turnaround for the Buckeyes, who began the season 1-3 before going on a seven-match win streak that lasted through early February. During the current, nine-win streak, Ohio State has won 27-of-32 sets played. The win is the first over a No. 1-ranked team for the Buckeyes since a 1998 victory over Pepperdine.
After losing the first set 24-26, the Buckeyes rallied to win the next set by a score of 25-21 before going down again in the third set 15-21. Ohio State won the fourth set 25-21 to tie up the match again before a last-set victory of 15-13.
The Buckeyes had previously defeated No. 14 UC-Irvine in four sets in their first matchup in California. With the two wins, three Buckeyes were named to the Asics Invitational all-tournament team, including the MVP, outside hitter Nicolas Szerszen, who was dominant on offense against both Long Beach State and UC-Irvine.
Ohio State will head to State College to take on No. 6 Penn State this weekend as a continuation of its month-long road trip, and is scheduled for several away matches in Indiana before returning to Columbus in April. The Buckeyes are currently on top of their league’s standings, and are the top attacking squad statistically in the NCAA.
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- Determining the most delicious mascots for March Madness
- How much is the average college basketball player worth to his school?
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Google Ohio State fails to reach NCAA tournament; Buckeyes are No. 3 seed in the NIT - Columbus...
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Ohio State fails to reach NCAA tournament; Buckeyes are No. 3 seed in the NIT - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Ohio State fails to reach NCAA tournament; Buckeyes are No. 3 seed in the NIT
Columbus Dispatch
As he looked ahead to what it would mean to suit up for the Buckeyes, the Dayton Dunbar product knew it meant more than just representing his state. It also meant the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. But now, in a freshman season in which ...
Ohio State basketball will open NIT play vs. Akron, Buckeyes get No ...cleveland.com
How The Ohio State Buckeyes Made The 2016 NIT and Where They Can GoBT Powerhouse (blog)
Buckeyes earn No. 3 seed in NIT, will host No. 6 Akron TuesdayWaiting For Next Year
NBC4i.com -Ironton Tribune -247Sports
all 49 news articles »
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via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Ohio State fails to reach NCAA tournament; Buckeyes are No. 3 seed in the NIT
Columbus Dispatch
As he looked ahead to what it would mean to suit up for the Buckeyes, the Dayton Dunbar product knew it meant more than just representing his state. It also meant the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. But now, in a freshman season in which ...
Ohio State basketball will open NIT play vs. Akron, Buckeyes get No ...cleveland.com
How The Ohio State Buckeyes Made The 2016 NIT and Where They Can GoBT Powerhouse (blog)
Buckeyes earn No. 3 seed in NIT, will host No. 6 Akron TuesdayWaiting For Next Year
NBC4i.com -Ironton Tribune -247Sports
all 49 news articles »
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Marvin Wilson (DT Florida State Seminoles)
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Class: 2017 (High School)
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LGHL Prove you're a bracket god by joining and winning the Land-Grant Holy Land NCAA bracket pool
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Prove you're a bracket god by joining and winning the Land-Grant Holy Land NCAA bracket pool
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
You think you're smarter than us? Prove it, by joining our bracket challenge.
We watch a lot of college basketball here at Land-Grant Holy Land. But in case you didn't know already, This Is March, and watching the games and doing the research is no guarantee that you'll have any idea what's going to happen in the tournament. If you want to prove to the world that you're smarter than Luke, Matt, and the rest of the Land-Grant crew, now is your chance. Come join our NCAA Bracket Pool, and dunk on us in front of the entire internet.
The winner of this year's bracket challenge will take home the following fabulous prizes:
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Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
You think you're smarter than us? Prove it, by joining our bracket challenge.
We watch a lot of college basketball here at Land-Grant Holy Land. But in case you didn't know already, This Is March, and watching the games and doing the research is no guarantee that you'll have any idea what's going to happen in the tournament. If you want to prove to the world that you're smarter than Luke, Matt, and the rest of the Land-Grant crew, now is your chance. Come join our NCAA Bracket Pool, and dunk on us in front of the entire internet.
The winner of this year's bracket challenge will take home the following fabulous prizes:
- Internet bragging rights for the entire year.
- A Tweet and Facebook status from the LGHL accounts bragging to the entire world about how smart you are.
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Google Buckeyes offer country's No. 1 defensive tackle - 247Sports
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Buckeyes offer country's No. 1 defensive tackle - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Buckeyes offer country's No. 1 defensive tackle
247Sports
What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you stay in the loop – take a few seconds to sign up for our FREE OSU newsletter now!) They have now reached out to and offered a scholarship to the country's No. 1 defensive tackle prospect, Marvin Wilson from ...
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via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".
Buckeyes offer country's No. 1 defensive tackle
247Sports
What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you stay in the loop – take a few seconds to sign up for our FREE OSU newsletter now!) They have now reached out to and offered a scholarship to the country's No. 1 defensive tackle prospect, Marvin Wilson from ...
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LGHL Can Ohio State win the NIT again? It has to get through Monmouth and Florida first
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Can Ohio State win the NIT again? It has to get through Monmouth and Florida first
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Let's take a closer look at who Ohio State needs to beat to win their NIT quadrants.
By now, you've probably heard that Ohio State will host Akron in the first round of the NIT Tuesday. This could be a difficult game on a number of levels, but Ohio State has superior talent, length and athleticism, and if they come into this game really wanting to win, they have a pretty good shot. KenPom, for what it's worth, gives Ohio State a 69% chance of beating the Zips, with a predicted score of 72-68.
But Akron isn't the only team in these quadrants, and if Ohio State is going to play in the NIT, they're going to want more than just a victory over the Zips. Can Ohio State win this quadrant, or even the whole dang NIT? Let's take a closer look at Ohio State's obstacles to getting to New York City.
No. 1 seed, Monmouth (27-7, No. 67 KenPom)
You've probably heard of the Monmouth basketball team this season, if for nothing else than the antics of their bench players, who have the audacity to make college basketball fun. The Hawks also leapt into the public consciousness after playing a murderous early season schedule, which included wins over UCLA, Notre Dame, USC, Georgetown ... and also Rutgers. This team should be in the NCAA Tournament, but a few sub 200 RPI losses doomed them in the eyes of the committee. That's dumb, because it isn't Monmouth's fault they play in the MAAC, or can't get decent teams to play them at home. But we digress.
The Hawks are a top 50 KenPom defensive efficiency team, and play at the 8th fastest pace on offense in the country. They'll get up and down the court, defend the three point line exceptionally well, and they hit their free throws. Ohio State's length could probably give them significant problems, but they're a one seed for a reason. They're a good basketball team.
No. 2 seed, Florida (19-14, No. 44 KenPom)
The Gators are Ohio State's most likely second round opponent, although thanks to renovations at Florida's arena, this game would be in Columbus instead of Gainesville. In many ways, Florida is similar to Ohio State. They're a strong defensive team (No. 20 in defensive efficiency), but bad at shooting threes (31.2% from downtown, ranked 301st in the country) and free throws (64.4%, one of the very worst in the country). The stats like the Gators for a reason, and they would also be a challenging opponent for Ohio State, but not an unbeatable one.
No. 4 George Washington (23-10, No. 77 KenPom)
Thought to be a tournament team earlier in the season thanks to big wins against Virginia, Tennessee, and Seton Hall, the Colonials weren't able to sustain that momentum in conference play, dropping most of their matchups against the class of the A-10. GWU is a top 50 offensive efficiency KenPom squad, paced by 6-9 Tyler Cavanaugh, who could be a matchup problem for Ohio State, although the Buckeyes should also be able to score should these two teams match up.
No. 5 Hofstra (24-9, No. 81 KenPom)
The Pride have a few nice victories on the season (they beat Florida State and St. Bonaventure), and had won eight games in a row heading into their CAA Tournament tilt against UNC-Wilmington, but couldn't get the W. The Pride play reasonably efficient offense and take care of the basketball, but they don't block shots especially well, and they have little depth (their bench plays some of the fewest minutes in the country). KenPom doesn't love their chances to beat GW, and the Pride advancing far enough to play Ohio State feels unlikely.
No. 6 Akron (26-8, No. 85 KenPom)
You better believe the Zips will be fired up to face Ohio State, and if the Buckeyes aren't careful, they could absolutely get upset. Akron is one of the best teams in the country at both shooting the three (38.9% from downtown, good for 16th nationally) and defending it (teams only shoot 30.3% on them, good for 10th nationally). The Zips also take care of the basketball, and have a big man, Isaiah Johnson, who could give Ohio State problems. If the Buckeyes can stay out of foul trouble in the frontcourt, they can use their length to harass Akron's backcourt and get a W, but this is probably going to be a close game.
No. 7 North Florida (22-11, No. 189 KenPom)
The gap between the six and seven seeds in these quadrants, at least according to KenPom, is pretty vast. The Ospreys did open the season with a win over Illinois, but got smashed by most of the other power teams on their schedule, and got destroyed by Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Per KenPom, North Florida has some of the least efficient defense in the country, and struggles to rebound and create turnovers. They've had a nice season, but if the Gators show up, they should roll against North Florida.
No. 8 Bucknell (17-13, No. 170 KenPom)
The advanced stats like the Bison a little more than the North Florida Ospreys, but they'll have an even tougher road in the NIT first round. Bucknell didn't do much before Patriot League play, losing seven games in a row to some relatively average competition, but recovered to do well against most other Patriot League squads. Bucknell doesn't block shots, create steals or play exceptional defense, but they're decently efficient on offense. KenPom only gives them a 14% of beating Monmouth, and it would be an exceptional surprise to see them face Ohio State later in the NIT.
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Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Let's take a closer look at who Ohio State needs to beat to win their NIT quadrants.
By now, you've probably heard that Ohio State will host Akron in the first round of the NIT Tuesday. This could be a difficult game on a number of levels, but Ohio State has superior talent, length and athleticism, and if they come into this game really wanting to win, they have a pretty good shot. KenPom, for what it's worth, gives Ohio State a 69% chance of beating the Zips, with a predicted score of 72-68.
But Akron isn't the only team in these quadrants, and if Ohio State is going to play in the NIT, they're going to want more than just a victory over the Zips. Can Ohio State win this quadrant, or even the whole dang NIT? Let's take a closer look at Ohio State's obstacles to getting to New York City.
No. 1 seed, Monmouth (27-7, No. 67 KenPom)
You've probably heard of the Monmouth basketball team this season, if for nothing else than the antics of their bench players, who have the audacity to make college basketball fun. The Hawks also leapt into the public consciousness after playing a murderous early season schedule, which included wins over UCLA, Notre Dame, USC, Georgetown ... and also Rutgers. This team should be in the NCAA Tournament, but a few sub 200 RPI losses doomed them in the eyes of the committee. That's dumb, because it isn't Monmouth's fault they play in the MAAC, or can't get decent teams to play them at home. But we digress.
The Hawks are a top 50 KenPom defensive efficiency team, and play at the 8th fastest pace on offense in the country. They'll get up and down the court, defend the three point line exceptionally well, and they hit their free throws. Ohio State's length could probably give them significant problems, but they're a one seed for a reason. They're a good basketball team.
No. 2 seed, Florida (19-14, No. 44 KenPom)
The Gators are Ohio State's most likely second round opponent, although thanks to renovations at Florida's arena, this game would be in Columbus instead of Gainesville. In many ways, Florida is similar to Ohio State. They're a strong defensive team (No. 20 in defensive efficiency), but bad at shooting threes (31.2% from downtown, ranked 301st in the country) and free throws (64.4%, one of the very worst in the country). The stats like the Gators for a reason, and they would also be a challenging opponent for Ohio State, but not an unbeatable one.
No. 4 George Washington (23-10, No. 77 KenPom)
Thought to be a tournament team earlier in the season thanks to big wins against Virginia, Tennessee, and Seton Hall, the Colonials weren't able to sustain that momentum in conference play, dropping most of their matchups against the class of the A-10. GWU is a top 50 offensive efficiency KenPom squad, paced by 6-9 Tyler Cavanaugh, who could be a matchup problem for Ohio State, although the Buckeyes should also be able to score should these two teams match up.
No. 5 Hofstra (24-9, No. 81 KenPom)
The Pride have a few nice victories on the season (they beat Florida State and St. Bonaventure), and had won eight games in a row heading into their CAA Tournament tilt against UNC-Wilmington, but couldn't get the W. The Pride play reasonably efficient offense and take care of the basketball, but they don't block shots especially well, and they have little depth (their bench plays some of the fewest minutes in the country). KenPom doesn't love their chances to beat GW, and the Pride advancing far enough to play Ohio State feels unlikely.
No. 6 Akron (26-8, No. 85 KenPom)
You better believe the Zips will be fired up to face Ohio State, and if the Buckeyes aren't careful, they could absolutely get upset. Akron is one of the best teams in the country at both shooting the three (38.9% from downtown, good for 16th nationally) and defending it (teams only shoot 30.3% on them, good for 10th nationally). The Zips also take care of the basketball, and have a big man, Isaiah Johnson, who could give Ohio State problems. If the Buckeyes can stay out of foul trouble in the frontcourt, they can use their length to harass Akron's backcourt and get a W, but this is probably going to be a close game.
No. 7 North Florida (22-11, No. 189 KenPom)
The gap between the six and seven seeds in these quadrants, at least according to KenPom, is pretty vast. The Ospreys did open the season with a win over Illinois, but got smashed by most of the other power teams on their schedule, and got destroyed by Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Per KenPom, North Florida has some of the least efficient defense in the country, and struggles to rebound and create turnovers. They've had a nice season, but if the Gators show up, they should roll against North Florida.
No. 8 Bucknell (17-13, No. 170 KenPom)
The advanced stats like the Bison a little more than the North Florida Ospreys, but they'll have an even tougher road in the NIT first round. Bucknell didn't do much before Patriot League play, losing seven games in a row to some relatively average competition, but recovered to do well against most other Patriot League squads. Bucknell doesn't block shots, create steals or play exceptional defense, but they're decently efficient on offense. KenPom only gives them a 14% of beating Monmouth, and it would be an exceptional surprise to see them face Ohio State later in the NIT.
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LGHL Ohio State has a Heroes of the Dorm team called 'Third String' which is perfect
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Ohio State has a Heroes of the Dorm team called 'Third String' which is perfect
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Cardale for honorary team captain, please.
If you're unfamiliar with Heroes of the Storm, the game is one of those ever popular Massive Online Battle Arena computer games. Games like DOTA 2 and League of Legends have helped turned esports into a massive, multimillion dollar operation.
Heroes of the Storm follows in those more popular games' foot steps, but brings a simplified tactical approach and leveling up system while mixing in characters from Blizzard's other popular computer games, including Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo.
Last year, the game and ESPN made waves when suddenly in the middle of a busy time of the sports calendar, ESPN2 ran the finals of a college championship appropriately named "Heroes of the Dorm". Cal and Arizona State battled in an all-Pac 12 affair, and college football Twitter had a lot of surprising fun watching and making fun spirited jokes about something the majority of them little understood.
Naturally some of the stodgier, less adaptable sports talking heads weren't onboard with the fun, but with esports' rapidly ascending popularity, they better get on the bandwagon or get out of the way.
"Heroes of the Dorm" is back again for 2016 -- and it's bigger and better than ever.
Every single round of the championship bracket is going to be broadcast on at least WatchESPN with the "Heroic Four" and championship matches alike airing on ESPN2 on Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. ET and Sunday, April 10 at 8 p.m. ET. The final four will even take place in the home of the Seattle Seahawks, Century Link Field, with admission free to the public.
And the Buckeyes you can be sure will be well represented.
Ohio State has two teams in the field of 64, the first an eight-seeded team simply named "Bucks" who take on a group from UCLA called "Kyles Kimchi".
While "Bucks" probably have the best shot to bring newly minted full ride scholarships, which the winners get for their troubles, back to Columbus, OSU's other entrants are nearer and dearer to our hearts.
That's right, checking in as a sleeper 13-seed, Ohio State's other team is perfectly coined "Third String". Though the basketball Bucks weren't able to draw LSU in the NIT after the Tigers removed themselves from consideration, "Third String" will get the chance when they take on the LSU-centric "GeauxCore".
Here's hoping "Third String" can follow in Cardale Jones' footsteps, get some 2008 BCS Championship Game payback for OSU and the Big Ten alike, and help lead another Ohio State team to an unexpected national championship.
Here's the complete 2016 "Heroes of the Dorm" championship bracket:
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Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Cardale for honorary team captain, please.
If you're unfamiliar with Heroes of the Storm, the game is one of those ever popular Massive Online Battle Arena computer games. Games like DOTA 2 and League of Legends have helped turned esports into a massive, multimillion dollar operation.
Heroes of the Storm follows in those more popular games' foot steps, but brings a simplified tactical approach and leveling up system while mixing in characters from Blizzard's other popular computer games, including Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo.
Last year, the game and ESPN made waves when suddenly in the middle of a busy time of the sports calendar, ESPN2 ran the finals of a college championship appropriately named "Heroes of the Dorm". Cal and Arizona State battled in an all-Pac 12 affair, and college football Twitter had a lot of surprising fun watching and making fun spirited jokes about something the majority of them little understood.
Naturally some of the stodgier, less adaptable sports talking heads weren't onboard with the fun, but with esports' rapidly ascending popularity, they better get on the bandwagon or get out of the way.
"Heroes of the Dorm" is back again for 2016 -- and it's bigger and better than ever.
Every single round of the championship bracket is going to be broadcast on at least WatchESPN with the "Heroic Four" and championship matches alike airing on ESPN2 on Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. ET and Sunday, April 10 at 8 p.m. ET. The final four will even take place in the home of the Seattle Seahawks, Century Link Field, with admission free to the public.
And the Buckeyes you can be sure will be well represented.
Ohio State has two teams in the field of 64, the first an eight-seeded team simply named "Bucks" who take on a group from UCLA called "Kyles Kimchi".
While "Bucks" probably have the best shot to bring newly minted full ride scholarships, which the winners get for their troubles, back to Columbus, OSU's other entrants are nearer and dearer to our hearts.
That's right, checking in as a sleeper 13-seed, Ohio State's other team is perfectly coined "Third String". Though the basketball Bucks weren't able to draw LSU in the NIT after the Tigers removed themselves from consideration, "Third String" will get the chance when they take on the LSU-centric "GeauxCore".
Here's hoping "Third String" can follow in Cardale Jones' footsteps, get some 2008 BCS Championship Game payback for OSU and the Big Ten alike, and help lead another Ohio State team to an unexpected national championship.
Here's the complete 2016 "Heroes of the Dorm" championship bracket:
Continue reading...