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Dave Thurman (9:05 PM)

What a weekend in Indianapolis!  If Ohio State was a cat they just used up about three of their lives on Friday and Saturday, defeating Michigan on an improbable 35 foot shot by Evan Turner (thanks Coach Beilein for not guarding the inbounds passer or trying to deny Turner the ball), and then going double OT with Illinois after trailing by double digits in the second half.  Once again ET showed why he is the player of the year.  Turner not only hit the big shot to stick it to the Wolverines, but carried the Buckeyes in crunch time agaisnt the Illini.  It is never easy to defeat a good team three times in one year, but OSU accomplished that when they came back to down the men in orange. 

Honestly I had my doubts about Sunday's game feeling the team would let down, having already secured a number two seed, in addition to dealing with tired legs.  But it was Minnesota that appeared fatigued in the second half as David Lighty and Evan Turner displayed amazing spring in their steps and flat took it to the Gophers in dominating fashion. What this squad lacks in depth they make up for in determination and if there was any doubt about who is the best team in the Big Ten this year it was erased at Conseco Fieldhouse this past weekend. 

Now onto the NCAA tourney where the selection committee did the team no favors.  Since Kansas was named the #1 overall seed, why did OSU wind up in their bracket?  Having established themselves as either the fifth or sixth best team in the nation, they deserved a better draw.  However, long before thinking about the Jayhawks, OSU has plenty of business to attend to including the unenviable task of taking on Georgetown and their beast of a post player in Greg Monroe who will cause all kinds of matchup problems. 

My personal thought is if Ohio State can make the elite eight (which will be difficult with their six man rotation), there could be a worse draw than Kansas.  I believe Kentucky, despite their youth, brings the most talent to the table, and their gigantic frontline would spell big problems for the undersized Bucks.  So, rather than moan, I hope the team goes out with some hunger, after bowing out in the first round a year ago.  Regardless of what happens the next couple weekends this has been a special year, marked by great coaching, tireless effort on the court, and true brilliance on the part of the Villain, Evan Turner. 

So, hats off to the Buckeye hoopsters and good luck this Friday in Milwaukee.
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Drew Thurman (7:20 pm)

Ohio State's Pro Day has taken a backseat to Turner's heroics, but today was a solid day for many of the Buckeye players. Coleman, Rose and Gibson have all received some accolades for how they looked, especially Gibson. Here is what Tony Pauline of SI.com had to say of Gibson...

"Linebacker Thaddeus Gibson was the man of the hour at this morning's Ohio State pro day. Very much looking the part, Gibson shaved one-tenth of a second off his combine 40 time, stopping watches in the low 4.6-second area. Gibson has secured a spot in the third round and could be taken as early as the late part of round two."

And...

"Getting back to the Ohio State workout from earlier today. The accolades continue to pile up for Thaddeus Gibson. After his fine 40, Gibson, who lined up at defensive end for the Buckeyes, impressed scouts with another outstanding performance at linebacker."

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/
nfl/03/11/pro.days.draft.news.tracker/
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The Buckeyes beat Michigan 69-68, thanks to a Player of the Year moment by Turner. With 2.2 seconds left, Turner took the ball past half court to hit a 37 foot jump shot. One of the most exciting moments of Championship Week, and something that will be part of Turner's legacy forever. Check out the magic one more time below (video via Elevenwarriors.com)! Go Bucks!
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We typically spend most of efforts on football here at The Silver Bullet, but basketball is impossible to ignore this time of year. The combination of Championship Week and March Madness simply makes this some of the best few weeks of the year. It always helps when the Buckeyes are playing well, and walk into the Big Ten Tournament with a No. 1 seed. Here is how the schedule looks, starting at 2:30 PM tomorrow:

Thursday, March 11: Opening Round
No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Iowa, 2:30PM (ESPN2)
No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Indiana, 25 minutes after first game (ESPN2)
No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 11 Penn State, 7:30PM (Big Ten Network)

Friday, March 12: Second Round
No. 1 Ohio State vs. 8/9 Winner, Noon, (ESPN)
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Illinois, 25 minutes after previous game (ESPN)
No. 2 Purdue vs. 7/0 Winner, 6:30PM, (Big Ten Network)
No. 3 Michigan State vs. 6/11 Winner, 25 minutes after previous game (BTN)

Saturday, March 13: Semifinals
Semifinal 1, 1:40PM (CBS Sports)
Semifinal 2, 25 minutes after previous game (CBS Sports)

Sunday, March 14: Final
Championship Game, 3:30PM (CBS Sports)

Now let's get to the good stuff. It's time for a little father versus son prediction battle, which typically is only seen on this blog during football season. We thought we would bring it out of hibernation for such an occasion as this...
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Drew Thurman (9:29 am)

In December when the Big Ten announced that they were pursuing adding more teams, Notre Dame and AD Jack Swarbrick made it clear that they wanted no part of it. Just four months later though, the Irish may be more interested due to trying to stay relevant. The Pac-10 has also announced that they want to add teams as well, which means a massive power shift could be about to happen in college football. So, though Notre Dame wants to stay independent, they could be forced to get over their preference.

“I believe we’re at a point right now where the changes could be relatively small or they could be seismic,” Swarbrick said. “The landscape could look completely different."

Swarbrick and the Irish are worried about the possibilities of seismic changes. This would have huge implications, the biggest being the economics of being part of a power conference. The Big Ten, for instance, may be too lucrative of a deal for the Irish to pass up (not that they aren't now).

"I think seismic is a possibility,” he said. “I don’t know where the spectrum falls out. You have such an interesting media environment here. It’s having such an impact on people. You have two conferences who have separated themselves economically. And you have all the other conferences lined up in successive years for broadcast negotiations. That’s a tough situation for everyone in that position. The bar has been set so high, and the media market is so tepid, that it creates tension.” 

The Big Ten could be totally changing the landscape of college football, will Notre Dame jump on board? Well, it appears things could be slowly heading in that direction.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/10740/bt-expansion-push-could-force-nds-hand
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Dave Thurman (7:12 pm)

Evan Turner is the newest media darling.  With college basketball's player of the year award all but conceded to him, the only thing that remains for Evan to do is lead the Buckeye roundballers to the Final Four.  

Of course nobody can debate his greatness this season.  Turner has done everything but sell hot dogs at halftime, and I'm surprised the team hasn't asked him to add that to his list of tasks.  While not the best at any single aspect of the game, I'm not sure I ever remember a college player being more versatile.  So ET deserves all the accolades, the magazine covers, and the hardware that is coming his way. No debate here!

But, while we celebrate a special season by an amazing player, let's not forget the incredible coaching job that has quietly taken place on the OSU sideline in 2009-10. With an impressive resume already at his disposal, Matta has taken his x's and o's to another level this year. 

Think about it.  Lacking a solid point guard, a big man who can post up and be a threat to score, or any depth at all, he has once again led the team to a Big Ten title, their third in five years.  Early entries to the NBA draft, transfers, and defections have cost this squad a long list of players that could still have eligibility including Greg Oden, Mike Conley, DaeQuan Cook, Kosta Koufos, B.J. Mullens, Walter Offut, Eric Wallace and Noopie Crater.  Forced to play a somewhat short center (6-8 Dallas Lauderdale) who possesses hands of stone, and a very small power forward (6-5 David Lighty), the team managed to somehow out rebound the opposition.  And often using but six players, and rarely more than seven, the team stayed remarkably fresh and seemed to finish with a flourish.
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That's right. A picture of Jonathan Newsome. (Photo via daylife.com)
Drew Thurman (12:26 pm)

As the Buckeyes look ahead to a title run in 2010, there don't appear to be many question marks lingering. Outside of the departures of Gibson and Coleman, this year's squad should improve at most positions on the field. What's really scary though, is that the Buckeyes have a young crop of talent ready to make a name for themselves, even at positions of depth (thanks to great '08 and '09 classes).

This creates an interesting dynamic, and a good problem for the staff. It also means as fans, we should get a chance to watch some position battles take place, especially this spring. So let's take a look at a few guys I feel could surprise fans, and find themselves with some serious playing time. Each of these players is a bit under the radar, but they may not be come September.

1) Jonathan Newsome - OLB/DE

Not many fans expected much of Newsome when he signed with the Buckeyes, me included. It appeared Tressel went after a hard working kid from Glenville to keep the pipeline going. Maybe the 101 tackles and 17 sacks he put up as a senior should have clued us in that he had a higher ceiling than we perceived. In fact, he found himself playing in five games as a freshman (three-deep at OLB), and would have played in more without the leg injury he suffered. I look for Newsome to build on that success, and continue to utilize his versatility in the "Leo" role. It's that versatility that will make him stand apart from the pack of talented linebackers and defensive ends, and the reason you should watch his name this spring. He has a great work ethic, and appears to be one of those guys that excels in Tressel's system.
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Drew Thurman (7:18 pm)

The NFL combine in Indianapolis didn't produce many headlines for Buckeye players. Some of that can be credited to Kurt Coleman (strained abdominal) sitting out the 40-yard dash, while Doug Worthington sat out a majority of the drills thanks to a strained muscle. Not only that, but Aaron Pettrey under performed, showcasing his inconsistency.

One guy that did build some momentum in Indy was Thaddeus Gibson. He was a top performer in three of the drills, and had the lowest 3-cone drill time of any defensive lineman. Here is what Steve Muench had to say (via Adam Rittenberg):

"Ohio State's Thaddeus Gibson looked smooth and comfortable dropping into coverage, which came as little surprise given how often he dropped into coverage in college. However, his footwork was a little sloppy during lateral bag work. Gibson is so explosive that his momentum often carried him past the bag and forced him to gather himself before redirecting. We've seen this on film as well, and Gibson needs to play more under control.

"Michigan's Brandon Graham is ranked ahead of Texas' Sergio Kindle and Ohio State's Thaddeus Gibson because he's the better player on film in our opinion. However, the combine is the perfect venue for Kindle and Gibson to showcase their talents because they are better athletes than Graham." 
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