Outright Big Ten Champions for the third time under Tressel — part of five straight conference titles.

The LOLverines have now dropped seven games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in… ever.

This is a good day.

Now we go big. Ride, ride, ride, ride…

It’s here. The 106th edition of The Game.

Stacked up against history, today’s stakes aren’t what we normally see for the last game of the regular season. That does not, however, mean there’s nothing on the line. For the Wolverines, it’s a chance to become bowl-eligible. For the Buckeyes, it’s a chance to snuff out that bowl eligibility.

And as always, to the players on each side, it’s a chance to vanquish the one team that’s in your mind all season.

In a game that featured the Buckeyes playing the same role North Carolina did an evening earlier, Ohio State withstood a series of second half runs from a Golden Bears team who once trailed by 24 to win the consolation game in the 2K Sports Classic by 6.

The Villain chipped in 6 free throws in the final minute to help secure the victory. On the night, Mr. Turner stroked an outrageously efficient 9/14 attempts from the field in recording 26 points to go along with 14 rebounds, his 4th double double in as many games. Turner also racked up 6 assists, 4 in the first half, finishing a few dimes shy of his second trip-doub for the young season.

After Cal trimmed an early Buckeye advantage to just 18-16 halfway through the first, Ohio State used timely defense and actually having the shots that weren’t dropping an evening earlier fall to jump out to a 35-28 first half advantage. The Buckeyes went into half shooting the ball vastly better than they did the evening prior but also brought a different defensive look, playing a significant amount of 2-3 zone to trip up the Golden Bears. Dallas Lauderdale continued to show what the Buckeyes were missing in their first two by putting up 6 points and 4 blocks (including 3 emphatic swats) in the first half alone. Perhaps the highlight of the first half was ESPN sideline reporter Doris Burke mistakenly calling Coach Matta “Coach Knight” in her first half exit interview of the coach. While Matta was no doubt humbled by the inadvertent comparison, I can’t personally imagine The General having operated in near that little man-to-man during an opening half.

Behind the shooting prowess of Turner and Jon Diebler, the Bucks came out of the locker room still stroking it expanding their lead all the way up to 52-28. Cal’s help side defense left much to be desired for the entirety of the afternoon resulting in the Buckeyes shooting 51% from the field on 25-49 attempts and 40% from 3 on just 6-15 shots. Diebler was the Bucks’ second leading scorer netting 14 behind 3 three point makes. Cal would go onto follow a Mike Montgomery technical with a 17-2 run midway through the second half, but the game never got closer than the 6 point final margin as the Bucks rolled comfortably to the W. The Villain, JD, and David Lighty would finish the evening having played all 40 minutes in the contest. No rest for the weary, indeed.

David Lighty’s box score presence (11 and 6 with 3 steals) doesn’t near account for the ways his hustle and aggressiveness at driving to the hoop impacted the game. Any doubts about how #23 would return from last season’s crippling injury have to be afterthoughts at this point after Lighty’s early showings have been critical from a hustle and leadership standpoint. Lingering worries about Lauderdale’s broken finger also all but have to be a thing of the past, with Swatterdale finishing with 7(!) blocks on the evening.

Perhaps the only negative to take away has been the continued by and large absence of Wil Buford in the last several games. Buford chipped in 12 points and 5 assists, but was just 4/11 from the field, including a few more frustrating, ill conceived attempts. Buford, widely considered by many scouts a late lottery/middle of the 1st round caliber talent, will need a return to the high ceiling format he exhibited at times last season for the Buckeyes to have a chance in their admittedly uphill battle for the Big Ten regular season crown.

The Bucks’ underwhelming next victim comes in the Lipscomb Bisons, who’ll collect their checks to take their pummeling Tuesday night at 6:00 pm in The Schott.

#15 Ohio State 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

November 20, 2009 5:00 PM ET – ESPN2 —— The Garden New York, NY

#12 California 2-1, 0-0 Pac-10 Roster | Schedule

Let’s face it North Carolina is just tall, lanky and good, but you have to applaud the fight Thad and his crew put up last night. At least this loss doesn’t affect the whole season, like football would and they get a chance at instant redemption tonight.

California was dominated in their 95-73 loss to Syracuse Thursday night, as the ‘Cuse shot a blistering 57% from the floor.

The Buckeyes were on the verge of getting blown out early in the 2nd, but Thad’s team showed some grit in clawing back to within 2 points in the closing seconds. The team showed heart and can hopefully carry that last 10 minutes of play into tonight’s tilt.

Opponent

Cal is the trendy preseason pick to win the PAC-10, but has battled the injury front thus far, missing Theo Robertson and Harper Kamp, 2 key members off a team that reached the NCAA last year. They still start 4 seniors in their lineup and will run about 9 deep. Jerome Randel is their main scoring threat, going for 25 last night and averaging 21.7 points on the season.

The Bears are coached by Mike Montgomery, the old Stanford coach, who returned to the college ranks after a failed stint in the NBA. The Bears lead the nation in 3-point shooting last year and have connected on 41% of their attempts this year. Cal won’t be as tall and lanky across the front and will run with 3 guards most of the time. They come in scoring 81 points a game and snag just above 42 boards. I was surprised to see they only dish out 13 assists per game and shoot 44% from the floor.

Buckeye Breakdown:

You can’t be too disappointed in last night’s loss. First, it’s still Michigan weekend and second, this group showed the fight it’s going to take to win the B10. Plain and simple, the Buckeyes could not hit shots early and a couple guys couldn’t hit shots all night.

The Buckeyes will enter the game scoring 82 PPG and shooting 47.5% overall from the field. Although it’s too early in the season to call it a trend, I think it’s safe to say this team needs to get some more scoring in the paint. I was happy they continued to drive to the hoop last night, but if they can’t muster any points from their center position, teams will have an opportunity to double up Turner or Buford.

A few keys for tonight include OSU’s conditioning level. After their furious comeback and an end time of 11:35 PM, the Bucks will need to keep up the defensive intensity if they are going to come away from NYC with a win. Tired legs could also hurt the perimeter game, so they need to drive to start the game and get to the foul line. If they can hit just a couple of more shots tonight, they should be able to pull off a victory.

Etc

• Cal leads the overall series 9-8, but OSU has won the last 2, including 73-56 in 2007, during the NIT run.
• Ohio State is 33-34 overall against the PAC-10.

#8 Ohio State 9-2, 6-1 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

November 21, 2009 12:00 PM ET – ABC —— Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI

Michigan 5-6, 1-6 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

For the second time in three years, tragedy has struck one of the programs on the eve of The Game and we’re reminded that there are many, many things that rate ahead of football on life’s priority list.

In 2006, Michigan fans grieved the loss of Bo Schembechler, who passed away the night before one of the greatest games in the long history of the series. Last night, the Ohio State family lost one of their own when Stefanie Spielman passed away after a courageous 12 year battle with breast cancer.

As is often the case, these events touched both sides. Buckeyes mourned the loss of Bo because he played for Woody at Miami, followed him to Ohio State and was responsible for jolting some life back into The Game after a decade of futility for the Wolverines. Likewise, though Chris Spielman tormented the Wolverines on the field, most Michigan fans grew to respect and admire him due to his stellar play with the Lions in the NFL.

Another thing that Chris and Bo shared is a deep respect for this game and all that it stands for. Even with Michigan on the ropes, likely sputtering towards a second-straight bowl season at home and the Buckeyes with a Rose Bowl berth already in hand, this is still the most important game of the season.

It sounds like a bundle of platitudes, but you really can throw out the records and expect one of the hardest hitting games of the year tomorrow in the 106th matchup between the two storied programs. Every year, you hear the same thing from players after taking part in their first edition of The Game: the speed and intensity is unlike anything they’ve seen before and from the first play, you quickly find out what it’s all about.

Opponent

It will be Senior Day in Ann Arbor and besides the curious concept of naming permanent captains during the final week of the season, the Wolverines will be honoring two of their best players before kickoff. We’ve already established defensive end Brandon Graham to be a beast, but another senior, punter Zoltan Mesko is also extremely good at what he does. The Twinsburg native is currently sixth nationally in punting with a sterling 44.7 average and if the 24 punts he contributed in the past two meetings are any indicator of what to expect, he will need to have a solid day.

While there are many things for the Wolverine faithful to complain about this season — most notably the current six game conference losing streak (mercifully broken up by the pounding administered to Baby Seal U) — one thing Rodriguez’s detractors and supporters can agree on is that there has been improvement on the offensive side of the ball. The Wolverines are leading the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 31.3 points per game and their rushing attack is good enough for 2nd in the conference by way of 195.8 yards per game on the ground. By and large, even during the six game conference skid, the offense was doing it’s part.

The unit suffered a setback, however, when running back Brandon Minor — also known as the only Wolverine to score a touchdown on the Buckeyes in the past two years — was ruled out for the game with a shoulder injury. Michigan is one of a handful of schools to issue injury reports and they can’t be considered 100% truthiness, but we’re going to assume “out” means “out”. It’s a big loss for Blue (Minor ran with authority against Iowa, putting up 95 yards and two touchdowns on the ground) and Carlos Brown (also banged up) and freshman Vincent Smith will look to pickup carries Minor’s absence.

Boom gets it

After a good start, wunderkind quarterback Tate Forcier has slowed down a bit. He was an efficient 20/26 against the Badgers, but he has just three touchdowns against the same number of interceptions over his last six games. Little Man Tate takes a lot of sacks and his line, particularly senior center David Moosman will face some heat, especially after calling out the Buckeye defensive front earlier in the week.

Denard “Shoelace” Robinson will enter the game to spell Tate and provide a different look for the offense. Though he’s the team’s third-leading rusher with 320 yards on the ground, he’s not much of a threat throwing the ball, having attempted only 27 passes on the year. Still, he’s quick and shifty, and you can expect Rodriguez to maybe have something up his sleeve to get Robinson into the gameplan.

As a team that trends towards running the ball, Michigan has a stable of receivers that are decent, but not really a threat to break the game open. You have the usual suspects like Roy Roundtree, Greg Mathews, Martavious Odoms, Junior Hemingway and tight end Kevin Koger, but I’d be really surprised if one of them blew up Saturday.

Turning to defense, you find the unit that has most often let the team down and as a result, is receiving most of the incoming hate from the faithful. The hiring of Greg Robinson in the offseason to be defensive coordinator was interesting, given the relative lack of success he’s had at all but one or two stops in his career. Put quite simply, teams are able to run on and control the clock against Robinson’s unit. Whether that’s an indictment of Robinson, much celebrated S&C coach Mike Barwis, or a combination of the two, I’m not sure, but there’s definitely a problem.

Sophomore end Mike Martin turned in a solid game opposite Graham last week, but the Buckeyes should be able to do some damage up the middle (DAVE!). Linebackers Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton have each been exposed repeatedly on the run and over the top in the passing game, and the third backer, senior Stevie Brown is pretty undersized for his position and could be fun to exploit.

Like the linebackers, the Wolverine secondary has been a bit of a hot mess. Smallish walk-on Jordan Kovacs, a redshirt freshman is responsible for stopping home run plays up the middle. This should bring a smile to your face.

Buckeye Breakdown

Being obsessive Buckeye fans, we all have a pretty good idea of Jim Tressel’s MO by now. Especially with this team, he’s going to want to come out and run the ball and establish field position in the hope of wearing down the Wolverine defense and maybe getting some easy short drive scores. It can be incredibly frustrating — when all most of us want is for him to drop the hammer on Michigan, you can be assured of a probable close score at the half. After all, a much superior team took a 14-7 lead into the half before exploding for 28 second half points last year.

The word is everyone is back to healthy for this weekend, which even if not true, we would be told, anyway. With injuries to Adams, Shugarts and others, the line has been a grunting set of musical chairs for most of the season, but they have stringed together a series of nicely played games over the course of the last month. They’re playing well to finish the season and should continue that progress tomorrow, but with the intensity of this game and Brandon Graham on the other side of the line, they will need to step up. An afternoon off could be trouble against a team playing a one game season.

Going to miss these helmets Saturday

If the line is on, both Boom and Zoom have proven in recent weeks that they are: capable of carrying heavy loads and breaking off long runs when they have a window. Tressel has been running the wildcat Buckwild, and always to the right with Herron over the past handful of weeks, so you can bet he’ll have something different in store when the team lines up in that look.

For Pryor, it needs to be more of the same that we’ve seen the last four weeks. He (and Tressel/Bollman) were hammered by some for not throwing downfield against the Hawkeyes, but it really takes a herculean effort to hate on a 14 of 17 afternoon. In his toughest stretch of conference play, he’s made smart decisions and, more importantly to Tressel, he’s taken care of the ball. He has just one turnover since Purdue Harbor and you’re starting to see some poise and decisiveness creep into his play. He’ll likely be up for the game, so it’s important to keep a cool head on his shoulders.

The defense will be in for a challenge taking on offense that likes to mix it up with runs to all corners of the field. On the flip side, this front will easily be the best the Wolverines will see this year and hate should propel Heyward, Larimore, Williams, Gibson and company upfield and into Forcier’s face. He certainly has moxie, but he’s also tiny and one solid early lick could put him into a tentative mindset for the rest of the afternoon.

It will be the last regular season and Michigan game for Spitler, Russell and Coleman. Coleman has been steady all season, but it’s been nice to see Spitler and Russell turn things on a bit lately. The Wolverines don’t exactly stretch the field through the air, so expect to see plenty of Hines and the secondary playing closer to the box. Also, look for Rolle to make up for the Chekwa interception he broke up last week against Iowa.

Prediction

Michigan is a very difficult team to figure out. The hot start. The sudden swoon. The fact that they lose a lot but are often in games with a chance at the end. The crazy stat that indicates they actually have a better record this season when losing the turnover battle than they do when winning it. Really perplexing.

Though the Wolverines are 5-2 at home this season and parts of Tresselball can be thoroughly maddening, one thing you can count on out of him is he will have his team focused and ready for the Michigan game. He understands it. He typically saves some of his ballsiest stuff for this game and weather permitting, we will get to see some of that Saturday. Not only will one more win push the streak to seven six in a row, it will seal the school’s best mark against the Wolverines for a decade, passing the 7-3 mark the team compiled in the 1960s.

Just hope the new uniforms aren’t a curse. Nah…

Ohio State 28, Michigan 13

Finally, if you haven’t already done so, please consider joining us and donating to Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research.

Five points from David Lighty in the final minute cut the deficit to 74-70 with :22 left before a Jon Diebler triple trimmed it 75-73 with :15 but Larry Drew hit two clutch free throws after PJ Hill was forced to foul providing the final margin.

Though the Buckeyes can take a lot from the comeback, they were never really in sync as North Carolina used significant size and athleticism advantages on the defensive end to stifle ball movement and push the offense away from the hoop while building what became an insurmountable 38-24 lead at intermission. The first half saw OSU shoot a dreadful 29% (9/31) from the floor including a frigid 1/10 from downtown behind cold starts from Wil Buford (2/10) Jon Diebler (1/6) while Evan Turner coughed it up 5 times.

Even with the rally, the Buckeyes shot just 42% from the floor (30% 3FG) with Buford and Diebler combining on a 7/29 stinker. Both needed to show up for OSU to have any chance especially with Turner struggling to command the offense. ET did finish with 23 points and 8 boards but his 10 turnovers caused too many empty possessions to overcome.

David Lighty contributed 13 points (5/10) and 6 boards to go with Dielber’s 17 and Buford’s 8.

In addition to showing some moxie over the final 10 minutes the Buckeyes can take some solace in the fact they were game on the glass losing the battle 32-31 while forcing 20 turnovers. Lauderdale was a bit overmatched due to wave of bigs UNC threw at the small OSU front line but he did add 6 boards and 2 blocks in his second game back from a broken finger.

As expected, Matta showed some zone though he may have forced to play even more than he planned thanks to foul trouble. Turner picked up his 2nd with 11:26 left in the first half, his 3rd just 2 minutes into the second while Lauderdale recorded his 4th with 16:18 left in the game. The quick whistles worked both ways, however as UNC hit 18/25 (72%) while OSU shot 15/22 (68%).

The loss means the Buckeyes will take on California at 5pm tomorrow in the 3rd place game of 2K Sports Classic courtesy of a 95-73 beating handed down by Syracuse.

Stop by to ogle The Villain, virtually have a few with us, and speak your peace.

#15 Ohio State 2-0, 0-0 Big Ten Roster | Schedule

November 19, 2009 9:30 PM ET – ESPN2 —— The Garden New York City, NY

#4 North Carolina 3-0, 0-0 ACC Roster | Schedule

After stomping 2 inferior teams, it’s time for the Big Boys, as the Buckeyes travel to NYC tonight to take on the defending National Champs at Madison Square Garden in the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Both teams come in undefeated, taking down lesser opponents with pretty good ease, although UNC has shown their team is still trying to adjust to each other, after losing most of their scoring punch and leaders from last year’s squad.

There is no doubt this should be an exciting game, an up and down affair similar to the early season game played by these 2 schools in 2006, when UNC took down the Greg Oden-less Buckeyes, 98-89.

Opponent

North Carolina has beaten their foes by an average of 25 PPG this year, although Valpo lost by just 11 on Sunday. The Heels will be lead by Deon Thompson, the silky smooth 6′8″ senior, who has posted 20 point games in 2 of the 3 played. Also across the front line will be sophomore Ed Davis, a 6′11″ athletic center, who has hit 74 percent of his shots thus far. Throw in Tyler Zeller, a 7′ sixth man, who comes in averaging 12 points and the Buckeyes could see trouble inside the lane.

The back court will be just as lethal, with senior Marcus Ginyard and sophomore Larry Drew II controlling the pace of play. Like OSU, North Carolina will look to push the ball up the court, looking for quick scores. The Tar Heels have scored 88, 89 and 88 points in their 3 games and average 40 total boards and 12 offensive caroms a game. The achilles heel thus far have been TO’s, recording 26 in their first game, 19 the second and 14 against Valpo.

The Heels will go at least 10 deep, with 9 players averaging more than 10 minutes a game and 2 more getting just above 9 minutes of time. Plain and simple, they push the ball up the court, look to get offensive rebounds and continue to come at you in waves. I like the depth and athleticism the Buckeyes have this year, but it will take their best effort to pull the upset tonight.

Buckeye Breakdown:

Mark Titus put it best yesterday via Twitter, “Y’all need to call Batman cause The Villain’s about to take over Gotham City.” Evan Turner has been unstopable this year and will get his chance to shine in America’s greatest basketball arena, against one of the most talented teams in the country. Obviously, he won’t be able to do it alone and the game will come down to the scoring abilities of Diebler, Buford and Lighty. If these 3 guys can each get close to 15 points a piece tonight, the Bucks have a chance.

One key tonight will be if they can get to the bucket. With the height of UNC’s front line, they can’t be intimidated to drive the ball inside and end up settling for the outside jumper. They have to take it right to the Heels front court and worst case, get their bigs in some foul trouble. Chucking up nothing but 3 pointers could spell doom, of course unless they are draining most of them.

Another key for tonight, as has been the case for the last 2 years, is rebounding. The Heels will have at least 2 players above 6′9″ in the game at all times and there aren’t too many teams that crash the boards better then the Heels. This should be Lauderdale’s first start of the season, but we still don’t know what his conditioning level will be and if he gets into early foul trouble because he is laboring up and down the court, Madsen and Big Z have to log most of the minutes, which doesn’t give me the warm fuzzy I would like to have going into this game.

The last key for pulling off the upset tonight will be the play of PJ Hill and Jeremie Simmons. Hill has yet to show his shooting stroke he worked so hard on over the summer, going 0-7 this year, including 0-6 from behind the arc. Simmons is averaging 10 points a game, but scored just 5 in the last contest and has dished out only 2 assists on the season. The pace should be so frantic, that these 2 have to give Thad some quality minutes off the bench.

The aspect that will be most interesting to me tonight, is the pace the Buckeyes will play at. Will Thad let them run like they have thus far and take his chances on outscoring the Heels? Or will he try to slow the pace just a bit and run some set offensive plays in the half court? Regardless, it should be one of the best games this season, so get an after work nap in, if your normal bedtime is before 9:30.

On a side note, we would like to help promote a worthy cause over at ClubTrillion.com and more importantly, A Kid Again. For those of you that don’t know, A Kid Again was recently known as Adventures for Wish Kids, a charitable organization that helps kids with life threatening illnesses feel like, well a kid again. I personally got to know the foundation this past summer, as my company helped publish their fundraising book and quite simply, they are amazing people with huge hearts, who volunteer all their time to these kids in need. Now it’s ClubTillion’s turn.

We make no bones about the fact ClubTrillion is one of our favorite blogs and now when you visit his site, you can make a $25 donation to A Kid Again and you’ll receive a free ClubTril tshirt. The shirts appear to be made by our friend Ryan over at Homage, who always puts out quality work on super comfy shirts. Now do your part and follow 11W’s lead, by making a donation towards this worthy cause and filling Columbus with ClubTril shirts this hoops season.

Etc

• UNC leads the series 9-2 and has won the last 4.
• Turner ranks 4th nationally with 17 rebounds a game.
• Ohio State will play either #24 Syracuse or #12 California tomorrow at 5 or 7:30.
• Luke will be liveblogging the game around these parts at 9:00. Feel free to stop on by.

With hate week in full effect, we thought it best to give you all a chance to show your wit via another prize-free caption contest.

I’ll defer to the experts but I can’t help but wonder if I just saw Tress whisper, “Hey, Dick, I regret to inform you of this but I’ve never lost a recruit to a dude sporting a leather collar and sleeves.”

While we all share a common distaste for the collective entity known as That Shell of a Football Program Up North, it’s the personnel passing through Ann Arbor over the years that truly stoke the hate flames.

That said, we’re wondering which Wolverine(s) you love to despise the most, and why?

We’re guessing many of you cut your rivalry teeth during the Cooper Era so you’ve got more than few choices at your disposal. Others may not focus their hate on players who may have beaten OSU, instead choosing to reserve their utmost disdain for Wolverines who have shown a penchant for classless behavior.

Here’s a sample size for you to ponder:

• Tshimanga Biakabutuka: A man of many nicknames, although I believe iball’s moniker is the best of the bunch, Timmy lit up the undefeated Buckeyes in my one and only trip to Ann Arbor rushing for 2,836,943 yards in a 31-23 upset. Obviously, this vaults “YMF” to 2nd on my personal hate list. Worst. Trip. Ever.
• Tom Darden: Maybe a bit obscure to some of the younger generation, Darden got away with blatant pass interference before intercepting a key pass in a 10-7 loss to Michigan in 1971 prompting a Woody explosion complete with one down marker thrown like a dart onto the field before shredding another. This preceded a well deserved verbal lashing of multiple officials. Even better, Woody apologized after the game but later saw the replay and immediately took back the apology. Hate week, indeed. Tom Darden was a cheater. And he kicked dogs, too.
• Jim Harbaugh: Reeking of Michigan faux elitism, Harbaugh earned all-time hate status after guaranteeing a Michigan victory in 1986. With a Rose Bowl trip on line, OSU’s Matt Frantz missed a 45 yard FG in the closing minutes giving UM a 26-24 win.
• Desmond Howard: An obvious step brother of Shannon Sharpe, Horse Teeth Howard is at the top of my personal hate list thanks to his (1) defection, (2) Heisman pose, and (3) for stooping so low as to sing Hail to the Victors in a romantic duet with Nick Lachey atop the ‘Shoe a few years back. Where’s a gust of wind when you need it?
• Mike Hart: I feel weird putting H20-4 on the list considering his career featured a donut against the Buckeyes but he makes the cut on sheer cockiness alone. Dude had a penchant for running his gums but never backed it up with a W in The Game. I can’t thank him enough for coming back for his senior season.
• Charles Woodson: Already a traitor, the ever-cocky Woodson did it all in the ‘97 loss returning a punt for a TD, picking off a pass in the endzone and even catching a pass on a big gainer to set up another score.
• Marcus Ray: A traitor from Columbus, Ray is the safety who undercut David Boston as shown on the infamous 1997 SI cover. At least there’s a silver lining with Ray – he missed half of his senior season after having an agent take him to the Cincy Jazz Fest and pay for some hotel rooms. I hope the agent at least had enough taste not to spring for the Chess King sweater Ray wore when coming clean about his dirty dealings.
• Brian Griese: Memories of his daddy providing color commentary on ABC is enough to earn him a spot on this list but the fact he helped upset OSU in both ‘95 and 96 is icing on the hate.

We could go on for days commenting on the likes of John Kolesar, Anthony Carter, Shawn Crable, Dan Dierdorf, etc. but now it’s your turn. Who do you love to hate?