Buckeye Preview - A Rivalry Renewed

WRITTEN BY GRANT EDGELL  |  SATURDAY 10 MARCH 2012

When Ohio State and Michigan tip on Saturday afternoon in the second semi-final game of the 2012 B1G Tournament (4:05pm, CBS) you won't find a soul rooting for TSUN who does or has worn the Scarlet and Gray. That wasn't necessarily the case on Friday afternoon when we saw former Buckeye JJ Sullinger rooting for the Wolverines during their comeback win over Minnesota.

Michigan freshman point guard Trey Burke wasn't highly recruited by Thad Matta out of Northland (OH) High School last year, but heading north across the border did nothing to change the long-standing relationship he has with the Sullinger family, dating back to his year as a third grader when his father Benji Burke introduced a fourth grade 'beast' of a child to their Team Reebok - Jared Sullinger.

Years later, after the families forged a bond through the kids and sports, JJ and Jared's father Satch would coach both Burke and the younger Sully at Northland HS before they each headed off to opposite sides of the biggest rivalry in college athletics. But all of that flies out the window when Ohio State and Michigan meet in Indianapolis Saturday afternoon to battle for a spot in B1G Tournament championship game against the winner of #1 Michigan State v #4 Wisconsin (1:40pm tip, CBS).

BHC Roundtable - Jim Tressel - Part Two

WRITTEN BY BHC STAFF  |  WEDNESDAY 7 MARCH 2012

(Part 2 of 2)

We've looked at the controversial in Part One. We've also touched on the BCS history of the Tressel Era. Now we move on to Part Two of this week's BHC Roundtable, which can be summed up with one word: Remembrance.

  

This Week's Line-Up:

Eric Gingrich (The Buckeye Battlecry / Fox Sports Ohio) 
Chris Holloway (Buckeye Grove) 
Jim Baughman
Monty Fligner (BHC) 
Carrie Janello (BHC)

Matta and the Buckeyes - By the Numbers

WRITTEN BY CARRIE JANELLO  |  TUESDAY 6 MARCH 2012

Thad Matta has been the head coach of The Ohio State University men’s basketball team since 2004, after the dismissal of the controversial coach Jim O’Brien. From a record-standpoint, Matta’s eight seasons with The Ohio State University have been solid, with an overall winning percentage of 77.3%. His Buckeye resume also boasts five Big Ten regular season titles, three Big Ten tournament titles, two back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, and one Final Four appearance. Most fans believe this is enough to dub him one of our best basketball coaches of all time, and while that may be true, we must ask ourselves whether that is because he is truly great or because our standards are too low. Is it enough to routinely win the Big Ten and/or the Big Ten Tournament? Is it enough to make it to the Sweet Sixteen? At what point should we raise our expectations of our basketball coach?

At the beginning of the 2011-12 season, we boasted a four-year starter that would end his Buckeye career as one of the highest scoring players in school history. We had the returning 2010-11 National Freshman of the Year and pre-season favorite of the 2011-12 National Player of the Year award, Jared Sullinger. We had an incoming freshman class that was highly touted with several McDonald’s All-Americans among them. Sullinger has been falling in the POY rankings, and the overall production of the freshmen has been lacking … even digressing. We started the season ranked #4 in the country, moving as high as #2 … before dropping to our current ranking of #11. We were a landslide choice for the Big Ten Champion, and now we had to fight for our lives at Michigan State on their Senior Day to share the title with them and TSUN. Despite the exciting victory in East Lansing, the season as a whole has been disappointing thus far.

BHC Roundtable - Jim Tressel - Part One

(Part 1 of 2)

While we celebrate the hiring of Urban Meyer, as well as the early recruiting success he's had since taking over in Columbus, one beloved man has become a bit of a forgotten topic. This week we invited a few friends over, threw some Jim Tressel questions onto the Roundtable, and took a quick stroll down memory lane. Many of us will never forget "The Vest," while others may never forgive. Regardless which side of that fence you fall on, there's no denying that his ten-year career at The Ohio State University will go down as one of the most successful - and controversial - in our history.

This Week's Line-Up:

Eric Gingrich (The Buckeye Battlecry / Fox Sports Ohio)

Chris Holloway (Buckeye Grove)

Jim Baughman

Monty Fligner (BHC)

Carrie Janello (BHC)