Throughout the preseason, the Big Ten microsite will be rolling out the featured breakdowns of each of the 12 league schools. Today’s release is the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Where We Left Off: Last season, Ohio State got off to an impressive start, beating No. 8 Florida in the second game of the season and blowing out No. 4 Duke by 22 points in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. However, a Jared Sullinger injury brought the Buckeyes back to earth in Lawrence, Kansas, and they dealt with some periodic inconsistency in the Big Ten. However, OSU still made a run in the NCAA Tournament, knocking off Cincinnati and Syracuse en route to a Final Four loss against that same Kansas team. The Buckeyes lost Sullinger and William Buford, but return a number of returning solid players, putting them in position for yet another deep NCAA Tournament run.

Thad Matta Has Gotten to the Point of Annual Final Four Expectations in Columbus

Positives: The biggest positive on Ohio State is how much talent the Buckeyes return. You know you’re a good team when you can bury top recruits on the bench and still have one of the best teams in the country. Junior forward DeShaun Thomas is a favorite to become this season’s breakout player of the year and OSU also returns top junior point guard and defensive dynamo Aaron Craft. The Buckeyes also have a lot of talent in junior guard Lenzelle Smith, Jr., who was somewhat inconsistent last year, but showed his potential at times. Add in sophomore forward Sam Thompson and sophomore center Amir Williams, and this could still be the most talented lineup in the Big Ten. If OSU can put things together by the end of the season, this will be a very dangerous team in March again.

Negatives: What this Ohio State team has in talent, it lacks in experience. Craft is experienced at his position by now, and while Thomas brings a lot of hype, he wasn’t a superstar last year. Then there are Smith and Thompson, who were at best inconsistent last season, and center Amir Williams, who is also talented but barely played last year. The story is the same on the bench, with players like LaQuinton Ross and Shannon Scott, both highly-touted recruits who have yet to prove themselves on a college floor. This team is full of talent but short on experience, and in college basketball, that’s not necessarily a good thing.

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1. The news coming out of Minnesota hasn’t been great recently, first with Trevor Mbakwe’s DUI and then assistant coach Saul Smith’s arrest on suspicion of DUI. Needless to say, the Golden Gophers are ready for the season to begin to put their offseason troubles behind them. However, to lighten the mood, here’s something everyone in America undoubtedly wants to see: Tubby Smith doing “Gangnam Style”. Tubby actually isn’t too bad, though he messes up the parts of the dance a couple of times. Women’s coach Pam Borton clearly had practiced for her routine. The dance was part of the Gophers’ “All Star Friday Night,” which included a dunk contest and a scrimmage to go along with the awful dancing.
2. Iowa also held its kickoff event — the Black and Gold Blowout — this week, including a dunk contest and a scrimmage. Senior Eric May won the dunk contest with an alley-oop off a header. However, the highlight of the night might have been coach Fran McCaffery entering in a yellow Corvette. Scott Dochterman of The Cedar Rapids Gazette has some good stuff on the Blowout, including this nugget: The Hawkeyes had roughly 5,000 fans show up for the event, but the school averaged only 5,500 fans per game in May’s freshman season. This telling statistic shows that the Hawkeyes have certainly come a long way in two short years under McCaffery, both on and off the court.
3. Last year, Purdue was one of the smaller teams in the Big Ten, sometimes relying on forward Robbie Hummel to take on a “center” role. That team was successful because of its experience and deadly perimeter shooting, but while this year’s team will be inexperienced, it will allow the Boilermakers to sport a more traditional-looking lineup. In fact, Matt Painter hasn’t had this much depth in the frontcourt in his eight years as coach at Purdue, writes Jeff Washburn of the Journal and Courier. The Boilermakers have added four-star, seven-foot center AJ Hammons, as well as four-star forward Jay Simpson to their frontcourt. Overall, Purdue will have six players who are at least 6’8″ or taller this season. It may be a young team in West Lafayette, but it will certainly be a talented one, as well.
4. This doesn’t have much of a bearing on current news, but a friend pointed it out the other day and it’s an interesting point. This year, Northwestern will open its season against Texas Southern, and while that’s a game that typically wouldn’t have many storylines, it’s actually quite intriguing for several off-court reasons. Northwestern is one of only 17 schools to have never had a major NCAA violation. Texas Southern, however, is a walking NCAA violation. As pointed out by ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan, “Texas Southern is awful at following rules.” The Tigers were cited for “lack of institutional control” and the report on their transgressions is mind-boggling, as “the university allowed 129 student-athletes in 13 sports during seven academic years to compete and receive financial aid and travel expenses when they were ineligible.” There’s plenty more in the report, but the most hilarious thing is that Texas Southern is considered a “double repeat violator.” So this November, the goody-two-shoes of the NCAA will take on the double repeat violator. It should make for an interesting storyline, regardless of the yawner that is likely to occur on the court.
5. CBS Sports put out its list of the 50 best point guards in college basketball, and the Big Ten was well-represented with two players in the top four and five overall. Michigan’s Trey Burke was the top-ranked point guard in the conference at No. 3, while Ohio State’s Aaron Craft came in right behind him at No. 4. Penn State’s Tim Frazier was No. 15, Michigan State’s Keith Appling was No. 28, and Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell round’s out the Big Ten’s representation at No. 33. Ferrell made the list on speculation alone, but the first four are proven and all obvious choices for the list. The only two point guards better than Burke, according to CBS?  Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan and Missouri’s Phil Pressey, who check in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

The season tips off in approximately three weeks but the first official rankings have already been released. The USA Today Coaches’ poll was published this week and there are three Big Ten teams ranked in the top five – Indiana (#1), Ohio State (#4) and Michigan (#5) — with Michigan State (#14) and Wisconsin (#21) taking two more spots. What do these rankings really mean? That is a loaded question up for debate but the poll is generally an indication by the coaches around the country about who they believe the top teams are before the season begins. The good news for the B1G is that this poll shines the national spotlight directly on the conference. The bad news is that the same poll will cause hoops fans and the media to dissect the league’s performance especially during the first month of the season. The following are some key thoughts about the Big Ten schools ranked in the USA Today Top 25 poll:

Are Deshaun Thomas’ Buckeyes ranked too high in the preseason?

1. The Big Ten Is Under Immense Pressure: The good old phrase, “there is nowhere to go but down,” applies in this situation. Nobody is surprised to see Indiana ranked #1 but the Buckeyes and Wolverines’ rankings may raise some eyebrows. Both of those teams return three key starters from last season – Aaron Craft, Deshaun Thomas and Lenzelle Smith, Jr., for OSU and Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway, Jr., and Jordan Morgan for Michigan. Returning starters and potential All-Americans will trigger a high preseason ranking but three teams in the top five is still a big deal for the league. Having said that, if any of the three teams slip during the early non-conference games, they will slide down the rankings fairly quickly which will eventually lead to “the Big Ten is still overrated” claims among many hoops fans. That is the nature of preseason rankings so it is important to understand the selection criteria which is based on some evidence from the past seasons along with the talent on paper. Regardless of the pressure, the conference commissioner is probably breathing a sigh of a relief after this preseason poll considering that the Big Ten’s football teams are not doing very well in the new BCS poll. The only team that could have been in the first BCS Top 25 is currently ineligible – the Ohio State Buckeyes – speaking of whom… Read the rest of this entry »

1. The first official preseason polls are out and there are three total B1G teams in the top five positions of the USA Today Coaches Poll – Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan. It should come as no surprise that Indiana has been voted #1 after all of the hype surrounding the Hoosiers during the offseason. It might be a little surprising, however, to see the Buckeyes ranked one spot higher than Michigan at #4. Both OSU and the Wolverines return three key starters, so the overall ranking is well deserved to begin the season.
2. Another update on the Jabari Parker sweepstakes – he will not be committing during the early signing period and probably will wait until December to announce his decision. Parker is scheduled to visit Michigan State this weekend and will visit his other top choices – Duke, Florida, Stanford and BYU – over the next few weeks through mid-November. Tom Izzo has been recruiting Parker for a couple of years now and will get a chance to convince him further in East Lansing in a few days. It will be very surprising if Parker stays more than one season in the college game but that might just be enough for him to make a difference at one of the five programs.
3. College hoops icon Dick Vitale is just getting warmed up around this time of the year. He announced his preseason “All-Solid Gold Team,” which is essentially his list of best players for the season and it includes several players from the Big Ten. Indiana’s Cody Zeller and Michigan’s Trey Burke are on the first team followed by Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas on the second team. Seniors Trevor Mbakwe and Brandon Paul made it onto the fourth team which may be considered a bit of a surprise but is not a complete shocker considering their scoring averages from their last season – 14.0 PPG and 14.7 PPG, respectively. Mbakwe didn’t play a full season last year due to an injury, though. Junior guard Aaron Craft was also on his list despite averaging only 8.6 PPG last season but he is arguably the best on-ball defender in the country.
4. Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan has played a prominent role in Madison, both on and off the court. His record as a coach speaks for itself as he led the Badgers to several consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances over the years. Off the court, he is actively involved in the community and his most recent event is a “charity stripe” challenge to encourage the students to participate in raising money for cancer research as part of the “Coaches vs. Cancer” challenge. The event will be held at the Kohl Center on October 25 and $1 will be donated for every student in attendance. Ryan’s Badgers are ranked #21 in the USA Today preseason poll that was released yesterday. Despite losing Jordan Taylor who was an All-American guard last season, other Badgers are expected to step up, specifically freshman phenom Sam Dekker and point guard George Marshall.
5. After three official practices, Purdue head coach Matt Painter is very impressed with his newcomers on the squad. Returning wing DJ Byrd has been very satisfied with freshman A.J. Hammons during practice and praised his work ethic to improve his conditioning during the offseason. Painter thinks that the team is meshing well together and credited the four exhibition games on the European tour in August as one of the main reasons. The non-conference schedule is extremely important for the Boilers because they need several new faces to understand their roles on the team. Hammons is expected to be one of the primary options in the frontcourt along with sophomore forward Jacob Lawson who averaged 11 MPG last season. Redshirt wing Donnie Hale is also expected to contribute on the offensive end in addition to returning guard Terone Johnson (9.2 PPG) who will certainly be the primary scorer for Painter.

Another All-American gone, so who steps in to help fill the void and keep Ohio State as one of the top teams in the Big Ten? Surely it will be somebody — likely Aaron Craft and/or Deshaun Thomas — for Thad Matta, who has done nothing but rebuild and reload during his time in Columbus. He brings in elite-level recruits, they perform quickly and at a high level, then head off to the professional ranks and Matta does it again. Wash, rinse, repeat. So does that mean these summer months are the rinsing stages? There’s no time like the offseason for a captain to grab ahold of his team, and if Craft is the leader we’ve seen over the last two years, he’s probably gearing up for offseason workouts now just as much as he is for the first tip-off.

Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas will be carrying the Buckeyes this season.

• Evaluating Last Year: The Buckeyes were a primary reason why the Big Ten was held in such high regard last season, making an early non-conference statement by beating Florida and hammering Duke at home. They slipped at Kansas without All-American center Jared Sullinger, but geared up again for Big Ten play. They dropped a contest at Indiana in one of the best conference games of the year, hitting a rough patch that included three losses in six games (including two at home  versus Michigan State and Wisconsin). They lost again to the Spartans in the Big Ten Tournament championship but were the only Big Ten team to make it to the Final Four, where they arguably blew a two-point game to Kansas. There was a brief stretch late in conference play when it looked like the Buckeyes were a bit out of sync, but Sullinger and Matta got them back just in time to finish the year where many anticipated they would be.
• State of the Program: Under Matta, the Buckeyes have been one of the consistently excellent programs not only in the Big Ten, but also in the country. Matta continues to bring in top-tier recruits and, when many of them leave for the NBA after a year or two, he brings in some more. Matta’s Buckeyes pose a similar problem to the Big Ten schools as John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats pose to the SEC (and the rest of the country for that matter) with their ability to consistently reload with great, young talent prepared to jump right in and contribute immediately. Ohio State and Michigan State have essentially shared the conference’s top perch over the last four years, with each team claiming at least a share of the regular season title every year since 2009 and the last three Big Ten Tournament titles. Read the rest of this entry »

1. There’s been plenty of chatter over the last few weeks about the former Big Ten players headed for the NBA, but what about those who chose to stay behind? The biggest of those names is probably Cody Zeller, who opted to remain at Indiana for his sophomore season. A good choice? Brent Yarina from BTN.com seems to think so. The best way to make this call is to consider his ceiling and also to consider how much worse things could get. He could get hurt, like any player, or his additional time in college could give scouts time to pick him apart. But more time in college also allows a young player to mature, for him to grow into a body more suited for the NBA and for him to raise his draft stock (yes, that’s right, stock can also go up). There’s no way he would have gone No. 1 this year. But right now, there’s a great chance he’ll go No. 1 next year. Seems like a good choice.
2. Speaking of the NBA Draft, here’s a nice one-stop-shop from the fine folks at Big Ten Powerhouse with all the information you need about the Big Ten hoopsters — Draymond Green, Meyers Leonard, Robbie Hummel and Jared Sullinger — who are moving on to the professional ranks. All of these guys have something to prove. Green dropped further than many predicted but, as he said, it just wouldn’t be right if he didn’t have to work his tail off just a little while longer (and same goes for Hummel, who’s had to work as hard as anybody to get back to this level). Many questioned Sullinger’s health heading into the draft, and Leonard’s production at Illinois led many to doubt his potential. Only time will tell.
3. Northwestern didn’t have anybody taken in the NBA Draft, but the Wildcats did make an important addition for their future. It landed a huge commitment from Jaren Sina, a four-star point guard from New Jersey. Sina could be the biggest recruiting coup for Bill Carmody in his time as a head coach there. A second-team All-State selection in New Jersey as a junior last season, Sina averaged 20 PPG and 8.4 APG while shooting 42.9% from three-point range. Is he the guy who can finally lead Northwestern to the NCAA Tournament? Stay tuned. But while the Wildcats have had excellent forwards over the last few years, it’s been a while since an elite point guard came their way.
4. Michigan coach John Beilein knows a thing about recruiting coups, having brought in some top young talent (see: Tim Hardaway, Jr., Trey Burke) over the last four years with headliner Mitch McGary on the horizon for next season. Despite this recent success, Beilein says his recruiting philosophy has not changed, but he admits the scenarios are changing. “(In recruiting) you have to pick your battles,” Beilein told AnnArbor.com. “The battles we’re choosing, they may be a little larger.” Michigan has largely been most successful taking its recruiting out of state, since Michigan State and Tom Izzo has had a strong handle on the Mitten State for more than a decade (that was re-affirmed last week with the commitment of two-sport star Drake Harris). Every coach will tell you in-state recruiting is crucial, but who is to argue with the success Beilein has had at UM?
5. Here’s a bit of unexpected news that really shouldn’t surprise anybody: Aaron Craft, already known as one of the conference’s premier tough guys, has been playing since high school with a floating bone chip in his left ankle. “If he turned the ankle wrong just a certain way, that small piece of bone would get jammed back on his tibia and it would cause excruciating pain,” Craft’s father, John, told the Columbus Dispatch. The Ohio State point guard had surgery June 18 to remove the chip, and has been in a cast and on crutches since then but is expected to soon begin rehabilitation and be “full go” in 3-4 weeks. I can’t imagine any doubt that he’ll fully heal and get back to the same level we’re used to. In fact, if he’s been reaching that level this entire time, I think it’s safe to say he’ll be even better.

Evan Jacoby is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter.

With the announcement of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge schedule for next season, fans now have some important dates to circle on their calendars. The 14^th annual competition between power conference heavyweights will take place on November 27 and 28 with all games televised on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Eight of the teams in competition are currently slotted in the RTC preseason Top 25, and there are several enticing matchups between big-time teams. Given that it’s mid-May, it’s far too early to break down the individual strategic matchups, but we’ll give you the best games to look forward to, and why. The Big Ten has won three consecutive challenges after the ACC was victorious in the first 10. Here’s what the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge presents us.

Last Season, Aaron Craft and Ohio State Punked Duke in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge (Getty Images/J. Robbins)

Prestige and Intrigue, North Carolina at Indiana (Nov. 27) – Two of the top five or six programs in college basketball history square off in the headline event of this challenge, and it’s going to be one of the biggest games of the non-conference season. North Carolina loses its four top players from last season, but don’t count out the Tar Heels next year. James Michael McAdoo returns along with a bevy of talented perimeter players in Reggie Bullock, Dexter Strickland, Marcus Paige, and Leslie McDonald. However, UNC has the task of playing in Bloomington against a Hoosiers squad that might be the top team in the country next season. With a lineup full of talented scorers and the experience of last season’s spotlight, Indiana will be a title contender and a strong favorite in this game. The battle between Cody Zeller and McAdoo inside is a matchup of perhaps the two most talented low post prospects in the country.

The Best of the Bunch, NC State at Michigan (Nov. 27) – While UNC at IU presents the greatest national intrigue, a game on the same night presents a better overall matchup. When NC State hits the floor at Michigan, we’ll be seeing two likely Top 10 teams meet with experienced talent. Lorenzo Brown against Trey Burke pits two of the nation’s best point guards going at it, with two different styles at the position. Tim Hardaway, Jr., and C.J. Leslie are each talented juniors for their respective teams that flirted with the NBA but are back to lead their contenders. Throw in strong recruiting classes for each squad and we’ve got a doozy. Lucky for the Big Ten, they once again have the home court advantage in this one.

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The last five minutes of the Final Four game were a blur for the Buckeyes. Despite cruising for most of the game, Ohio State tightened up during the final few minutes of the loss to Kansas. Jared Sullinger had some issues in the paint against the longer Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson dominated the Buckeyes in the paint on the offensive end. But regardless of the outcome of the game, Thad Matta did an excellent job with his young Buckeyes as he led them to its second Final Four in six seasons. What used to be a great accomplishment for OSU basketball to make the Final Four has now become an expectation during Matta’s regime. And that’s a good expectation because he has raised the bar in Columbus with consistent incoming talent and superb coaching. Both of his best recruiting classes – one with Greg Oden and another with Jared Sullinger — have resulted in a trip to the Final Four. It is only a matter of time before Matta cracks the Final Four barrier and wins the national title. Every young coach had to go through some growing pains – Bill Self, Roy Williams and the latest addition to the championship table, John Calipari. Let’s take a trip back through the 2011-12 campaign and assess OSU’s overall performance.

Aaron Craft will need to step up offensively for The Buckeyes in 2012-13

• In a nutshell: Jared Sullinger returned to Columbus for another year of education, late night meals at Taco Bell, and a national championship.  Even though he fell short of the title, a Final Four caps off two great years of college ball before he heads to the NBA. Thad Matta’s freshman class 2011 showed tremendous improvement as Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft added new facets to their game. Along with Lenzelle Smith, Jr., the core of that group should be back next season for another run at a Big Ten championship. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s already been a wild weekend in the Big Easy, but there’s more still to come with a championship game to play later tonight. Here are some of the sights and sounds we stumbled into during Friday and Saturday down on the bayou.

The Road Ends Here

Louisville Fans Pre-Partying on Bourbon Street

No Myth: Cats and Cards Can Coexist

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Kansas

• When former Kansas coach Larry Brown watched this year’s Jayhawks practice early in the season, he was not sure if this year’s squad would win 15 games. Considering this notion, Bill Self has really done an exceptional job this season.
• During his first three seasons at Kansas, Tyshawn Taylor would be hardly allowed to play through his miscues. Now, the senior guard has the freedom and responsibility to correct errors and lead the team on the right path.
• Even though he only played a limited role last season, many pundits still saw Thomas Robinson as a first round pick. Bill Self believes Robinson made the absolute right choice in coming back to school, as Self said, “Thomas wasn’t prepared to make a living.”
• Most of the attention usually gets paid to Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson, but it cannot be overlooked that Elijah Johnson has quietly become the Jayhawks’ top weapon in the NCAA Tournament.