OSU #17 In Basketball Preseason Poll

The preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll is out, and the Buckeyes come in at #17. A full top 25 can be found here: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings?pollId=2.

OSU is the 4th highest ranked Big 10 team. In all 5 Big 10 teams are ranked, with the highest being #2 Michigan State.

The Buckeyes will have a chance to either rise drastically or fall out of the polls early in the season. With games against #4 UNC, #13 Cal/#25 Syracuse and #10 Butler all happening before Christmas, the Bucks will have numerous chances to impress the pollsters.

New Polls

OSU moved up #15 in the Coaches Poll and up to #17 in the AP.

The BCS just came out, OSU is up to #17.

OSU-Minnesota Highlights

TP Quiets the Critics

With today's 38-7 victory over Minnesota, all is happy in Columbus, Ohio.

After struggling for most of the year, Terrelle Pryor and the OSU offense finally had a breakthrough performance. TP had 3 TDs, threw for over 200 yds and ran for over 100. The offense as a whole put up 509 yards.

The 509 yards of offense is the first time OSU has tallied 500 yards in a Big 10 game since November 18, 2006 in which the Buckeyes defeated then #2 Michigan on way to the National Championship.

But more intriguing than the stats is the way the offense looked, especially Terrelle Pryor.

For the first time in his young career, Pryor looked like he was comfortable in the pocket. He was setting his feet and throwing off of his back foot. If his first read wasn't open, he went to his second. If his second read wasn't there, he went to his third. He hit his receivers in stride and on target.

The offensive line deserves a lot of praise as well. Terrelle Pryor was sacked only once and rarely faced pressure when he dropped back to pass.

So, whats to take from this?

Ohio State is not going to the National Championship this year. That much is clear with 2 losses. But could they win out and go to the Rose Bowl? Based on the way the offense looked today, it is certainly possible. If the Terrelle Pryor we saw today is the same player that we're going to see for the rest of the year, we have to be considered contenders for the Big 10 title. Our defense has been stout all year long and with a newly found offense we could have something special brewing in Columbus, Ohio.

2009-10 Basketball Predictions

The Ohio State Men's basketball team comes into the 2009 season with a lot of optimism. The Buckeyes won 22 games last season and lost a heartbreaker to Siena in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. With basically the entire backcourt and big man Dallas Lauderdale returning, there is no reason not to expect the Buckeyes to make some serious noise in the Big 10.

Lets take a look at the games on the Bucks schedule:

Non Conference

Lock it up (Games that should be over with by halftime)

Alcorn State, James Madison, Lipscomb, St. Francis (PA), Eastern Michigan, Presbyterian, Deleware State, Cleveland State

Toss Ups

UNC, Cal/Syracuse (Depends on how we do against UNC), Florida State, Butler, West Virginia

I see us going 10-3 in the non-conference, which would make us 10-2 going into Big 10 play (I think we lose @ WVU in January). With 8 games against inferior opponents and 5 against teams similar to our caliber, we could be anywhere from 8-5 to 13-0. College basketball is unpredictable, especially early in the year, but with the experience that we have in the backcourt I think 10-3 is reasonable.

Conference Play

Home Games

Indiana, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Minnesota, Penn State, Iowa, Purdue, Michigan, Illinois

I see us winning 7 out of our 9 home games. I think we go 1-1 against Purdue and Illinois and 6-1 in the other 7 home games.

Away Games

Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, Penn State

I think we go 5-4 in our away games. Purdue, Michigan, Illinois, Michigan State, and Penn State are all going to be extremely tough. Going 3-2 against these 5 would be a great accomplishment. The other 4 games will be tough as well, and with playing on the road being so tough in college basketball, I think we go 3-1. That puts us at 6-3 away.

Based on my calculations, I see us going 22-9 (12-6 Big 10) this year. I think we can win at least 2 games in the Big 10 tournament, which would put us at 24-10 going into Selection Sunday. That should be good for a 4 seed. We have a very tough schedule this year, especially out of conference, and we should get rewarded for that.