Deshaun Thomas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

DeShaun Thomas Leaves Ohio State for the NBA

On Friday, Ohio State announced that junior forward DeShaun Thomas will not stay in school for his final season of eligibility and instead will enter the next NBA draft. The Buckeyes made it to the Elite Eight this year and last season played in the Final Four. Thomas is now ranked as the 9th highest scorer in school history with 1,630 points over three seasons.

LaQuinton Ross (Photo credit: SportsAngle.com)

Ohio State Basketball In The NCAA Tournament

Ohio State basketball has made their presence known in the NCAA tournament by consistently having games go down to the wire.  The March 28th tilt against Arizona proved no different, as the Buckeyes downed the Wildcats by a slim margin of 73 to 70.  Ohio State has won each game by last-second shots, this time proving triumphant due to power forward LaQuinton Ross's stunning three-point shot with only two seconds left on the clock. 

Ohio State and Arizona entered the game as familiar foes.  OSU coach Thad Matta and Arizona coach Sean Miller both worked together at Miami of Ohio in the 1990s, both working their way up to the ranks of NCAA basketball head coaches.  Most recently, the two coaches faced each other in 2007 when Miller was at Xavier University.  For this tilt in the West Region bracket in Los Angeles, both teams entered the Sweet Sixteen hoping to punch a ticket to the Elite Eight. 

The crowd in Staples Center -- home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, and Kings -- was firmly behind the Arizona Wildcats, with only a token cluster of scarlet-and-gray Buckeye fans representing.  The crowd may have energized the Wildcats, since they had a more impressive first period than their adversaries.  The 'cats led by four points at the first buzzer, with shooting guard Mark Lyons scoring ten points.  They capitalized each time on Ohio State's five turnovers.

The second half, however, as a different story entirely.  Ohio State began with a ten-zero run, keeping the Wildcats scoreless for more than five minutes of possession.  Once the Buckeyes had their lead, they kept pushing strong and did not let Arizona back into the game.  Though they tied the game at seventy in the dying seconds thanks to a Lyon foul throw, the OSU buzzer-beater sent the Wildcats home and the Buckeyes into the next phase of the NCAA tournament.

Iona Gaels logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Buckeyes Cleanup Iona Meltdown

Was this David vs. Goliath, Jack vs. Giant, or just a No.2 against an up and coming team? Nobody can deny that the Ohio State Buckeyes earned their victory and are a team to be reckoned with in the NCAA. The Iona Gaels are showing that they are not to be taken for granted as an opponent and it is only a matter of time before victory will come their way.

The Buckeyes have strong players in Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft. Iona has Lamont "MoMo" Jones, points leader in the MAAC and 3rd in nation, was held to only 11 points in this game. The team needs to build a core unit of stronger players to move up in the ranks.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ohio State vs. Iona NCAA Tournament

Ohio State is set to play Iona in the 2nd round of the West Division tonight at 7:15pm in Dayton Ohio. You can catch the game on CBS. Iona is 20-13 on the season with a record of 11-7 in the MAAC. Ohio State enters the NCAA Tournament 26-7 overall with a Big Ten record of 13-5 and the Big Ten Tournament trophy. Playing in the Dayton Arena should feel like home for the Buckeyes as they only need to travel a couple of hours on Route 70 to get there.

Iona returns to the NCAA tournament after setting the record for blowing the biggest lead in the tournament’s history last year. They had a 25 point lead on BYU in the opening round in 2012 and lost the game. The Gaels are a 15 seed and played in Dayton last year, so its either going to be more confortable for them or just as unlucky.

Jim Foster Quits Buckeye Basketball

The Ohio State University is looking for a new coach for their women's basketball program, following the news that Jim Foster has resigned.

Foster has had a long and successful career as part of Buckeye Basketball, winning six consecutive Big Ten regular season championships on the floor from 2005 to 2010. His total winning record of 279-82 makes him OSU's most successful coach ever in terms of his winning percentage. His record overall this season was 18-13. His team was tied for eight place in the Big Ten, with a record of seven and nine.

Thad Cutting Net '06 (Photo credit: ColumbusCameraOp)

The Big Ten Tournament 2013 Starts Today

The Big Ten begins their 2013 Basketball Tournament today in Chicago with four teams rated in the top 10 nationally. Tom Izzo thinks this could be one of the greatest tournaments in the history of Big Ten basketball. Izzo has been then head coach at Michigan State for 18 years now and coached in the league for 12 years prior to that. So he knows what he is talking about. OSU head coach Thad Matta leads a Buckeye team that finished the regular season with a 23-7 record, tied with the Spartans (24-7) for second place in the conference.

The "Terps" logo for the Maryland Terrapins, the athletic teams for the University of Maryland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Maryland Officially Joins the Big Ten

The Big Ten Network made the announcement on Twitter shortly before noon today that Maryland will be a part of the Big Ten conference when play begins for the 2014-2015 season. Previously a member of the ACC, Maryland will be featured in a special conference expansion show slated for this afternoon at 2:30 on the network.

COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 3: Deshaun Thomas #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes is congratulated by teammates Aaron Craft #4 and William Buford #44 after sinking a basket while being fouled by the Nebraska Cornhuskers on January 3, 2012 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Nebraska 71-40. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

2012-2013 Ohio State Basketball

Any fan of Ohio State basketball should be excited about the 2012-2013 season for the recent changes that provide a lot of promise for this organization. While this basketball team has always been known for talented players (Jerry Lucas, Dennis Hopson, Jimmy Jackson, Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger) , this will become even more obvious this year. Younger talent will help with production on the court as a result of increased speed and agility (Shannon Scott, Amedeo Della Valle). When you add these traits to the experience factor that some of the veteran players will bring to the game (Aaron Craft, Lenzelle Smith Jr, and Deshaun Thomas come to mind), you find that this combination is perfect for the creation of a successful season on the court.

Any fan of this basketball team would be advised to look for tickets in order to see the magic live at the Schottenstein Center. Student ticket packages sold out in less than 5 minutes earlier this month when all 2,400 went on sale. There is nothing like being able to see some of the best players in the NCAA live and in person. Many of these players have the ability to become professional NBA players in the future, seeing them today will give you the first look at what promise and potential can turn into when provided with the proper coaching staff.

Jared Sullinger Looking Past NBA Draft Snub

Ohio State graduating center Jared Sullinger has tweeted today in response to being notified that he was not being invited to New Jersey for the 2012 NBA Draft which takes place on Thursday in the Prudential Center. The 6’9” Center/Power Forward will not be in the top 15 selections according to predictions from the league and was therefore not invited to be at the draft in the green room. He is focused on what he can control and not on external events like the draft selection taking place in a little over two days. He will celebrate the draft at a Columbus location.

CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 20: Jared Sullinger #0, Jon Diebler #33, William Buford #44 and David Lighty #23 of the Ohio State Buckeyes greet Aaron Craft #4 as he comes to the bench late in the game against the George Mason Patriots during the third of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March 20, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Is Ohio State Basketball Good Enough To Win It All?

Ohio State and Kansas are ready to do battle in the final four. The state of Kentucky is very excited about the meeting between Kentucky and Louisville in the Final Four in New Orleans. There is quite a bit of interest in this all Kentucky matchup, because these are 2 of the main basketball powers in the nation.

However, the top game could be Kansas and Ohio State. This game has a couple interesting matchups, most notably down low. Here Thomas Robinson and Jared Sullinger will do battle.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 12: Jared Sullinger #0 and Deshaun Thomas #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes react against the Michigan Wolverines during the semifinals of the 2011 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse on March 12, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Ohio State v Syracuse Preview–Elite Eight

Ohio State isn’t used to playing a 2-3 zone and especially one as good as the #1 seed Syracuse will play Saturday night in the Elite Eight East Division Final. The team hopes to have success in the same way they did on Thursday night when they played against the zone defense of Cincinnati and took a 12 point lead to the half before the Bearcats switched to playing the more traditional man-on-man. The Buckeyes can’t be passive and pass the ball around the perimeter with their guards and hope for great results. They will need to mix up their attack with mid-range shots, drives to the hoop and long range baskets.

LEXINGTON, KY - DECEMBER 21: John Calipari (left in suit) the Head Coach of the Kentucky Wildcats is pictured with Joe Hall ( middle) and Herky Rupp (right) after the 88-44 victory over the Drexel Dragons at Rupp Arena on December 21, 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. The victory was the 2,000th for Kentucky . Joe Hall coached Kentucky to a national championship and Herky Rupp is the son of former Coach Adolph Rupp. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

2012 March Madness Betting Trends & Analysis

Las Vegas odds favor the 2012 Kentucky and the Ohio State basketball teams to win this year's NCAA tournament. Casinos rank #1 overall seed Kentucky higher than any other team, with Ohio State trailing slightly behind, more favored than any other #1 seed in the field.

Mike Colbert, odds-maker at Cantor Gaming positions Kentucky as a 5-2 favorite, despite their surprising loss to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference Championship.

Image via Wikipedia

Purdue Boilermakers (21-11) Play Ohio State Buckeyes (25-6)

The Buckeyes of Ohio State will face off with the Boilermakers of Purdue in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament with the game being played in Indianapolis. 

The Buckeyes appeared to be heading toward trouble in the post season after losses to both Michigan and Wisconsin; however, the team of Thad Matta has rallied to close the gap with a win over Michigan State to give them momentum for the post season.  In the Big 10, OSU was 13-5 and 1-0 in neutral site games, finishing with a three-way tie for 1st place in their conference standings.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Ohio State Goes Into NCAA Tournament On A Roll

Ohio State basketball just won a portion of the Big Ten title by beating number 5 Michigan State on the road on a last second shot by senior Will Buford, and is trying to keep it going during the NCAA tournament. This enabled them to share the conference title with the two Michigan teams-the Spartans and the upstart Wolverines.

Buford had 25 points in the game. He had been looking forward to the rematch with Michigan State due to the poor game he played against them in Ohio State’s home loss to the Spartans earlier in the year. In fact, that game ended their 39 game winning streak at home. Therefore, it gave Buford some measure of satisfaction in what has been a slightly disappointing final year for him.

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Illinois' Bruce Weber Fired

Despite a successful run as head coach, Illinois Bruce Weber was released from the university. His legacy includes a run to the national championship game within the first three years of his contract.

Athletic director Mike Thomas said that Bruce Weber was everything a university could want in a coach at a news conference. He added that it felt that the team was just running in place, not moving forward as it needed to.

For nine years Weber led the Illini through thick and thin, including the 2005 NCAA title game. However, the Illinois team did not pull through and lost to North Carolina.