Currently Ranked #18 (3-1)
 
The Ohio State Buckeyes basketball season is underway and the Bucks started it off big, crushing Alcorn State, 100-60, and James Madison, 72-44 before losing to North Carolina, 77-73.  The Buckeyes rebounded nicely with a 76-70 win over Cal.

Evan Turner was named Big Ten Player of the Week following the NC and Cal games.  He is averaging 21.8 points, 14.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game and previously posted just the second triple-double in Buckeyes' history (14-17-10) in the Alcorn State romp.

Currently Ranked #18 (9-2)

The Buckeyes played their first game without leading scorer, Evan Turner, and it showed as they scored a season-low 66 points in a 74-66 loss to Butler.  They rebounded the following week with a uninspired rout of Presbyterian, 78-48 (after leading 14-0 and 53-21 at the half) and a lackluster, slow-paced win over Delaware State, 60-44.

The rest of the Buckeye squad has done a poor job of trying to pick up the slack for Turner.  David Lighty scored 20 against Presbyterian (his second 20+ game of the season), but his numbers are right around where they were when Turner was carrying the load.  Jon Diebler, if anything, has taken a step back.  Dallas Lauderdale has stepped his game up, but can't hope to fill the shoes of Turner in terms of scoring - he needs to continue to work the boards and maybe clear out the paint for the likes of Diebler.

This week's game against Cleveland State should be a walk in the park, but the Vikings are coming off of a stellar performance against West Virginia in which they showed that they can pressure even the big boys in college basketball - and if the Delaware State game is any indication, the Buckeyes are susceptible to pressure defenses.

Currently unranked (10-4)

Wisconsin continued their recent dominance over Ohio State with a 65-43 rout of the Buckeyes to open conference play.  The Buckeyes looked undermanned going into the game with Evan Turner, but still looked out of sync.  The Bucks endured repeated scoring droughts and didn't play their usual style of defense in a game that got out of hand quickly.

Poor shooting and a hot Wolverine tandem of DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris doomed the Buckeyes in their second Big Ten game of the season.  The Buckeyes had no answer for the two leading scorers for Michigan, dropping their second Big Ten decision and falling out of the rankings with the 73-64 loss.