With the Buckeyes basketball season ending in disappointment, just like the football season did, we must now look to the future, and in our Buckeye circle of life that means it’s once again time for large men in pads to smash into other large men in pads. Go Bucks.

 

Date: Saturday, April 25

Gates Open: 10 a.m.

Lacrosse Game: 11 a.m.

Football Scrimmage: 1:30 p.m.

Ticket Price: $5

Purchase Tickets: Ohio State Ticket Office

In a game that took the Ohio State Buckeyes (22-11) from late last Friday night all the way to early Saturday morning against the Siena Saints (27-8), the Buckeyes were outlasted in two overtimes to lose in the opening round of the NCAA tournament 74-72.

 

On this night, where nobody shot the ball well, the Buckeyes just didn’t have the legs, getting out-rebounded by the smaller Saints 51 to 34, including the 21 offensive rebounds to only 7 for the Buckeyes. With key Buckeyes have awful nights, even Evan Turner’s monstrous performance (25 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) wasn’t enough to get those 3 extra points. Headlining the bad shooting night was Jon Diebler who went 2 for 12, and William Buford to hit only 4 of his 12 attempts from the field.

 

For Siena it was an unstoppable motor, and steady production from all of their starters, all of whom scored in the double-digits, that led the mid-major champion past the Buckeyes. Led in the end by Ryan Rossiter’s 16 points and 15 rebounds, and another double double by Alex Franklin (10 points, 13 rebounds) the Saints crashed the board all night, getting to most of the caroms seconds before a Buckeye player.

 

And that is what matter in a game that goes into two overtimes, the littl

The Boilermakers and Buckeyes split the season series, with the Buckeyes taking the first game 80-72 in Columbus, and then the Boilermakers came back with a 75-50 beat down of the Buckeyes in West Lafayette.

 

This is the last game before the announcement of who is in and who is out in reference to the Big Dance. For these two teams, it’s not waiting to find out if they’re in, it’s waiting to find out what seed they get, which region they’re in, and who they’ll have to go through to get to the sweet sixteen. These teams are close to each other in the seeding questions, but it doesn’t appear that even if the Buckeyes win today in Indianapolis they will be able to leapfrog the Boilermakers for a higher seed. I’d say if the Buckeyes win, they’d end up with a #5 seed. If the Boilermakers win, they’ll be looking at as high as a #3.

The Spartans beat the Buckeyes by 9 in East Lansing, and by 11 points in Columbus. It looks like the Spartans are only two victories away from not only a Big Ten Tournament title, but also possibly a #1 seed. The Buckeyes, also considered locks for the Big Dance will also be looking to improve their seeding.

 

This feels like one of those games that will come down to Jon Diebler hitting open 3-pointers while Evan Turner creates. If he does hit those shots, it will be a long day for the Spartans. On the other hand if Kalin Lucas goes for 20 points in a half again, the Buckeyes will get blown out of the water.