Turner Factor

With a fourteen and six record, (four and three in the Big Ten) the Buckeye basketball team sits at number 20 on the AP poll. With the early return of injured Evan Turner, the Bucks won four of their last six games, including the recent very close, intense road loss to number twelve West Virginia. The sharp three-point shooting from Diebler and the aggressive offence from Buford helps take pressure off Ohio States star player, Evan Turner. On the year Turner has two triple doubles (tying an Ohio State record) and fell one assist short of his third in the Buckeyes most recent win over the Northwestern Wildcats.

Saturday, the Buckeyes traveled to West Virginia for a rough battle in the WVU Coliseum. Led by sophomore William Buford (twenty-two points) and Turner, (eighteen points) Ohio State controlled the tempo of the entire first half with incredible dunks by Buford and lights-out three point shooting from Diebler. Entering half time Ohio State had a twelve point lead with the momentum of the game. The Mountaineers, led by Da’Sean Butler, came out to get the crowd pumped and get back into the game. The twelve point deficit slowly crumbled through the hands of Ohio State as West Virginia made a run late in the game taking the lead. The Bucks struggled defensively and had trouble getting their shots to fall in the second half which showed in the final score, 65-71.

During the beginning of the season the Bucks were playing some of their best basketball thanks to the help of Evan Turner. They started with a seven and one record but fell off offensively after a painful fall from Turner putting out of the line up for an entire month. During his injury the Bucks lost four games, including two in conference. Now with Evan back on the hardwood, Ohio State is coming together as a team and starting to play very awesome basketball again. The 6-7 junior is the most complete player on the floor. He simply makes everyone on the court better. He can defend your best player, shoot from the perimeter, and shake you out of your shoes with his astonishing ball handling skills. Even Turner, in my opinion, is one of the best leaders and basketball players Ohio State has seen since Mike Conley. It would be nice to see him stick around another year but his raw talent is superior enough for the NBA.

Rose Bowl Champs!!

The sun was dazzling, the air was crisp and there wasn’t a word to describe the noise that poured out of Pasadena. The battlefield was bright green but the fans were nothing but scarlet. Corso made his pick, now it was up to Terrelle Pryor and the Ohio State Buckeyes to tear through the tunnel and take the field to prove the Lee Corso and the country wrong. They could smell the roses!

The Buckeyes couldn’t have picked a more perfect place to be on the first day of the new year. The Rose Bowl! Teams fight their heart out for twelve weeks striving to play in a bowl game this remarkable. The stage was set. The Ohio State Buckeyes, led by Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel, were pitted against the speedy, agile Oregon Ducks.

Ohio State had not won a bowl game since Troy Smith led them to a victory over Notre Dame during the 2005 season. This was a huge stage for both teams.

Oregon won the toss and the opening kickoff of the 2010 Rose Bowl was underway. I couldn’t imagine any Ohio State football game I would rather be at than this one. Ohio State’s opening drive was capped off by a thirteen yard completion to Brandon Saine to put the Bucks on the board first. All week leading up to the Rose Bowl, ESPN couldn’t get enough of Oregon’s offence and how they were going to “slice through” Ohio State’s defense. But OSU held their composure and was able to hold them scoreless for the entire first quarter. Buckeye kicker, Barclay, put up three more for the good guys increasing the Buck’s lead to ten.

After a long, hard-fought second quarter Barclay was able to put up six more but Oregon battled back scoring ten, entering the locker room down 16-10. After the incredible show put on by “The Best Damn Band in the Land,” Oregon came out of half time ready to take the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. The long, twelve play drive ended with a one yard run by Oregon’s athletic quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli. OSU responded by another Barclay field goal putting the Buckeyes up 19-17. As the last seconds of the third quarter ticked away, every player threw up four fingers symbolizing that “The Grand Daddy of Them All” would be decided in the fourth quarter.

Oregon started the fourth quarter with the ball looking to take the lead over Ohio State, but the Bucks hard-hitting defense was able to shut them down forcing a punt. The Buckeyes took action and slowly drove down the field eating away at the game clock. Late in the fourth, Jake Ballard made a remarkable twenty four yard catch on third down giving the Bucks another life to put the game away. After entering the Duck’s red-zone, Tressel’s aggressive play calling set DeVier Posey up for the game winning touchdown catch from Terrelle Pryor. The Ducks had one more chance to put the game in reach but the Ohio State defense could smell the roses and held Oregon scoreless the rest of the game.

The Ohio State Buckeyes won their first Rose Bowl since 1998 in a hard fought victory over the very talented Oregon Ducks. Pryor (Bowl MVP) and his team took the stage to hoist the gleaming Rose Bowl trophy above their heads with excitement and honor.

I was very pleased with OSU performance in the Rose Bowl and glad that the Ohio State seniors were able to go out with a huge victory in the “Grand Daddy of Them All.”

What's soon to come??

Hey everybody!

Tanks for tuning in to my blog. During the following ten weeks of class you’ll hear a lot about the Ohio State Buckeyes! Every week will be different, whether it’s a story about the Buckeyes on the hardwood or a memorable experience from the shoe, I’ll make sure everyone is caught up with their favorite Buckeyes! Each post will describe, in detail, a story about a Buckeye sporting event that recently happened. Each game I will break down plays and go into detail about each player and their stats. I will talk a little bit about the Ohio State football season including the Rose Bowl and some of their recruiting class during the off season. I will mainly focus on the Buckeye basketball team along with their players and coaches. I’ll also look ahead to the 2010 basketball season. If there is a specific Ohio State story or event you would like me to write a post about just let me know!

Over the past decade, Ohio State has been a dominating team in the collegiate sports world. Since 2000 the Ohio State football team has won six conference titles, including a National Championship along with an undefeated season all under the leadership of Coach Jim Tressel. Ohio State’s most recent victory come over the Oregon Ducks to win the “Grand Daddy of them All,” the Rose Bowl!

When it comes to basketball the Buckeyes have performed very well in the Big Ten and had a standout season in ’06 when the Bucks made it to the National Championship game but sadly fell short to Florida. Ohio State is able to put together outstanding basketball teams but they struggle to keep their star players from entering the NBA draft. This year the Bucks are lead by junior Evan Turner, junior Jon Deibler, and sophomore William Buford. These high scoring stars are sure to help the Bucks fight through their tough schedule and hopefully bring home another Big Ten conference title.

Stay tuned in to hear more about everyone’s favorite Buckeyes. I really hope you enjoy the many posts that are soon to come!