Home

Buy Sports Picks

Free Sports Picks

Sports Betting Forum

Members Login

Article Archives

Contact Us

Leaderboard

Who's Hot

Recent Results

2010-11 Ohio State NCAA Basketball Predictions

The Ohio State Buckeyes finished the 2009-10 season 29-8, wining both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, and made it to the Sweet 16 before falling to Tennessee 76-73. The Buckeyes were led by the consensus player of the year Evan Turner, who averaged 20 points, nine rebounds, and six assists a game, but Turner is now playing with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Buckeyes enter the 2010-11 season counting on what many consider to be the nation’s top recruiting class to lead them back to the NCAA Tournament.

Even with the loss of Turner, Ohio State still has four starters back from last season, giving them plenty of experience to go along with a very exciting freshmen class. Ohio State already has one game in the books, beating North Carolina AT&T 102-61 and it was freshmen Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas who stole the show. Here is a closer look at what Ohio State will send to floor this season, plus my prediction on where they finish the season in the Big Ten.

Frontcourt: Seniors David Lighty and Dallas Lauderdale return down low, while freshman Jared Sullinger is added to the mix. Sullinger debuted with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Lauderdale added 12 points and 13 rebounds. These two should form quite the duo on the inside, and Ohio State should have one of its best rebounding teams in years. Lighty will spend the majority of the time playing the small forward, but has the versatility to move down and play the 4-spot and can also handle the ball and play the point. Thomas came off the bench for the Buckeyes in the opener and scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just 20 minutes. If Thomas continues to play like this, head coach Thad Matta might not have a choice but to find a spot for him in the starting lineup. Freshman J.D. Weatherspoon adds depth, but could be the odd man out as far as seeing a lot of playing time.

Backcourt: Junior William Buford and senior Jon Diebler both return to the starting lineup. Buford averaged 14 points and nearly 6 rebounds a game as a sophomore, and while he was the fifth leading scorer in the opener, this kid is a pure scorer and will be counted on heavily with the loss of Turner. Diebler is three-point specialist, and one of the best in the country from the outside, and when he gets it going, this team is very tough to beat. Freshman Aaron Craft came off the bench to score eight point with nine assists, and figures to be one of the top options off the bench this season. Also added to the mix are freshmen Jordan Sibert and Lenzelle Smith.

Prediction – Second Big Ten: I believe Michigan State is the only team standing in the way in the Big Ten, but if the freshmen continue to play like they did in the opener, the Buckeyes could once again be the class of this conference. I look for the Buckeyes to only get better as the season goes along, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the Buckeyes make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament, regardless if they win the Big Ten or not.