Jared Sullinger Leads Buckeyes to Final Four with Win over Orange

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, March 24, 2012

Ohio State is in the Final Four for the first time since 2007 after defeating Syracuse in the East region final, 77-70, on Saturday.

The Buckeyes head to New Orleans with an experienced squad that finished the Big Ten regular season tied with Michigan and Michigan State for the title at 13-5 and is 31-7 overall. Their on-court leader, sophomore Jared Sullinger, the team's top scorer and rebounder, was once again a key factor in the Buckeyes' success.

Sullinger was forced to sit out the final 16 minutes of the first half after picking up his second foul just four minutes into the contest. Still, he finished with a game-high, 19 points, scoring 15 points in the second half and leading the Buckeyes to break open a 29-all tie at the break. Sullinger has had four fouls in a game 11 times this season, fouling out just once, in a February 21, 83-67, win over Illinois. On Saturday, he committed just one more foul over the last 20 minutes of play.

Leading all scorers with 19 points, Sullinger also was a factor on the boards when he was allowed to play his usual fearless, low-post style. He ripped down seven rebounds for the Buckeyes, which led Syracuse, 37-22, in rebounding. Considering he played only 26 minutes, his personal numbers and the final score might have been vastly different had he been on the floor his normal 32-35 minutes.

Ohio State will face Sunday's winner of the Midwest regional final between North Carolina and Kansas. They'll be in New Orleans for one of the two national semi-final games on Saturday, March 31.

Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas Lead Buckeyes Past Bearcats

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 22, 2012

Ohio State's 81-66 win over Cincinnati in the East region semi-final was the largest margin of victory of the four games played Thursday night.

The primary reason that the #2 seeded Buckeyes were able to put away the Bearcats so handily was their dominance in the paint, on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

Jared Sullinger recorded yet another double-double, his second - in three games - of the tournament and his 16th of the season, with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Sullinger was 7-for-13 from the field and made nine of 10 free throws. Five of his rebounds were offensive.

His front court running mate, Deshaun Thomas, poured in a game high 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting, including three of five three-pointers. Four of Thomas' seven rebounds were of the offensive variety.

If Ohio State reaches the Final Four (they face East region #1 seed Syracuse on Saturday for the right to advance), Thomas could be looking at tournament Most Outstanding Player. He scored 31 points with 12 rebounds against Loyola (MD) and dropped in 18, with seven boards, in Ohio State's win over Gonzaga.

Jared Sullinger, Trey Burke and Rob Wilson Each Score 30 in Big Ten Wins

College Hoops Players of the Day for Friday, March 9, 2012

Three players - all from the Big Ten - scored 30 points in Friday's tournament action, each richly deserving of Player of the Day honors, so as the number of teams in conference battles continues to be pared down, we salute their efforts.

In Michigan's 73-69 victory over stubborn Minnesota, whose NCAA tourney life was on the line, freshman guard Trey Burke continued to dazzle with his rapidly-developing skill set, scoring 30 points on 11 of 14 from the field with three 3-pointers.

Burke was on the money from start to finish. He scored 11 of Michigan's first 12 points and had seven of his career high effort in overtime, including the final dagger, a long-range three. The #10 Wolverines face #7 Ohio State in one of a pair of Big Ten semi-final games at 4:05 pm ET Saturday.

The Buckeyes rolled to an 88-71 quarter-final win over Purdue behind Jared Sullinger's 30 points and 12 rebounds, his third straight double-double and 14th of the season.

Sullinger nailed 12 of 17 shots, including a three-pointer and was 5-for-5 from the foul line. Three of his rebounds were on the offensive end and he had two assists and blocked three shots.

On the other side of the Big Ten bracket, #14 Wisconsin led the entire game in a 79-71 win over #15 Indiana. The unlikely scoring leader was senior Rob Wilson, who scored a career high 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting, including an amazing 7 of 10 from beyond the arc.

Wilson, primarily a bench-rider, had a previous high of just 11 points this season and throughout his career with the Badgers averaged 9.5 minutes and 2.6 points per game.

Wisconsin faces Michigan State in semi-final action at 1:40 pm Saturday.

NOTABLE: The Big East and Big 12, along with a number of smaller conferences will crown champions on Saturday, as Louisville matches up with Cincinnati at 9:00 pm ET inside Madison Square Garden. Prior to that contest, #5 Missouri will battle #12 Baylor for the Big 12 title at 6:00 pm ET. The 27-6 Bears lost both regular season meetings with the Mizzou, losing by a point at home and by 15 at Missouri.

Buckeyes Hammer Blue Devils; Sullinger, Craft, Buford, Thomas Shine

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2011

An individual player having a monster game is always a good thing, but, in the long run, basketball is a team game, and teams which don't have to rely on one or two star players are usually the better for it.

Take Ohio State, for instance, a team which demonstrated a wealth of talent among their starters as they bombed the Duke Blue Devils in the now-annual ritual of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, smashing Duke's perfect season with an 83-65 blowout victory.

The Buckeyes led wire-to-wire, beginning the game with an 11-0 run that set the stage for the monumental win.

Jared Sullinger led all scorers with 21 points, adding eight rebounds. The sophomore forward from Columbus, Ohio was 8-for-14 from the field.

Three of Sullinger's teammates weren't far behind in the scoring category. Senior guard, William Buford, closing in on the all-time Buckeye scoring leaders, pumped in 20 on 8-for-15 shooting, including two of three from beyond the arc. Highly-touted sophomore, Deshaun Thomas was 8-for-12 with a pair of threes, for 18 points, his high point total for the season.

Point guard Aaron Craft may have had the best game of all, scoring a season-high 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Craft also dished out eight assists, for his third straight game.

Ohio State, which was moved up to #2 in Monday's rankings, improved to 7-0, dropping #3 Duke to 7-1. The win also gave the Big Ten a 4-2 edge in the challenge series, which continues on Wednesday.

NOTABLE: Winners for the Big Ten, along with the Buckeyes, included Northwestern, a 76-60 winner over Georgia Tech, Purdue, 76-65 over Miami, and Illinois, which topped Maryland, 71-62.

For the ACC, Clemson beat Iowa, 71-55, and Virginia topped Michigan, 70-58.

The Baylor Bears, already ranked #7, got a big boost from sophomore Perry Jones III, who crammed in 27 points in Baylor's 90-54 win over Prairie View A&M. The 6'11" forward hit 10 of 14 shots and grabbed six boards.

Jones was playing his first game of the season due to a six-game suspension for accepting disallowed benefits which included Baylor's final game in the Big 12 tournament last season. Baylor is 6-0.

Syracuse played their first game since assistant coach Larry Fine was fired for alleged sexual misconduct, but the Orange didn't miss a beat, knocking off Eastern Michigan, 84-48, before a packed house at the Carrier Dome, Super sub, James Southerland, scored 19 points in 19 minutes. The crowd gave head coach Jim Boeheim, himself under fire in the scandal, a raucous standing ovation as he made his way onto the floor. Boeheim addressed the issues in the post-game press conference, but said there was nothing he would do or say until the investigation into the matter was concluded. Syracuse officials are staunchly behind Boeheim remaining as head coach of the Orange, a position he's held since 1976.

Jared Sullinger Hoists in 27, Grabs 13 Boards as Ohio State Routs North Florida, 85-50

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 21, 2011

With the holiday shopping season nearly upon them, the Ohio State Buckeyes went to Jared... Jared Sullinger, that is, the 6'9" sophomore forward who helped power the Buckeyes to a 34-3 record and a trip to the sweet sixteen in the NCAA tournament last season.

This season, Sullinger has the Buckeyes at 4-0, after their blowout, 85-50, win over North Florida, in which Sullinger produced season highs in scoring and rebounding, with 27 and 13. Shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 9 of 10 from the line, Sullinger was deadly in the paint while his teammates were ball-hawking away from it, forcing 23 turnovers by the overmatched Ospreys.

Sullinger's 13 boards included five n the offensive end. It was his second double-double in a row after going for 20 points and 11 rebounds against Jackson State this past Friday.

The Buckeyes have won 26 straight home games and will be put to the test on November 29, when the Duke Blue Devils come to visit. Prior to that, Ohio State hosts VMI and Valparaiso on the 23rd and 25th, respectively.

Jared Sullinger Puts Up 40 for #2 Buckeyes

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, December 9, 2010

As usual, there are some good freshman players in college hoops this season, and then there's Jared Sullinger, the 6'9" Ohio State forward that has help the Buckeyes to a 7-0 record and a #2 ranking in the national polls.

Sullinger had the best game of his brief career on Thursday, slamming down 40 points on the pesky Jaguars of IUPUI, as the Buckeyes overcame relentless pressure to secure a 75-64 victory.

Averaging nearly a double-double (18.9, 9.9), Sullinger hit 12-of-17 shots from the field and canned 16-of-23 free throws to set an Ohio State freshman scoring record. He also contributed 13 rebounds, with 7 of them coming on the offensive end.

Whenever teams play IUPUI, comes the obvious question, who? For the record, IUPUI is short for: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, an urban university boasting over 30000 students in 20 schools. The school offers 200 different degree programs and is ranked the 8th best public university in the Midwest, according to Forbes magazine.

The school definitely is an up-and-coming establishment, playing in the Summit League. They've already played - and lost - to three ranked teams; along with Ohio State, they've met Gonzaga and San Diego State.

Notable: The #2 Buckeyes may get an unexpected boost soon, especially if word coming out of the Duke athletic department is to be believed. Sadly, it involves another freshman sensation, Kyrie Irving, the flashy guard that has helped the Blue Devils forget the loss of Jon Scheyer to graduation. Irving suffered a freak injury late in the second half in Duke's win over Butler last Saturday.

Irving jammed his right big toe making a move, and hasn't seen action since. While the injury is being called "ligament damage," there's possibly more to it. Duke is mulling over options for their young star, including rest and/or surgery. How long Irving will be out is still speculation, though some feel his season may be over.