This is March.
How, Duane?? pic.twitter.com/7GI4KtgxnZ
— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2022
Word of the Day: Spurious.
THAT RESUME THOUGH. It would seem that almost everyone in the world is expecting Loyola to beat Ohio State on Friday afternoon.
Scroll through almost any list of "Cinderella Candidates" or "which 10 seed will pull the upset?" or "dark horse teams" and you'll find the Ramblers over the Buckeyes as one of the trendiest picks in the entire tournament. Shit, even more than half the voters in our own site poll are picking Ohio State to lose.
And there's certainly plenty of reason for that. But there's also plenty of reason to be just a little skeptical of Loyola's resume. Did you know that the Ramblers have beaten exactly one (1) team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament all season?
Overall, Loyola is ranked by KenPom as the No. 24 team in the country while Ohio State is ranked as the 32nd team in the country, even though Ohio State is a higher seed in the tournament. That said, the Ramblers only have one win this year against a team that’s actually in the NCAA Tournament (San Francisco).
They also lost to Michigan State earlier in the year who Ohio State waxed on its senior night with pretty much the exact same lineup it has now.
So let's just hold on a little bit before we pencil in Sister Jean into the next round.
REINFORCEMENTS? With at least seven players leaving after this season and a class of just five freshmen coming in behind them, Ohio State's going to need to hit the portal pretty hard the next couple of weeks.
And it looks like they're already hitting the ground running.
Princetons Jaelin Llewellyn has heard from Alabama, Vandy, Stanford, Minnesota, DePaul, Ohio State, Butler, Georgetown, St. Johns, Cincinnati, SMU, Memphis, Miami, Arkansas, Seton Hall, amongst plenty of others, he told @Stockrisers.
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) March 15, 2022
Averaged 15.8 points on 45% shooting.
North Dakota State transfer Sam Griesel has heard from Ohio State, Creighton, Loyola Chicago, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Stanford, Indiana St, Northern Iowa, Colorado State, Drake, Santa Clara, Cal Baptist & Fort Wayne, per source.
— Sean Paul (@SeanPaulCBB) March 16, 2022
He averaged 14.3 points this season.
I'm sure there are going to be dozens more players the Buckeyes reach out to before the dust settles and there's a chance neither of these kids is even a serious option for Ohio State, but it's certainly a sign of things to come.
Tis the season!
B1G BEST. The Big Ten gave out its hockey awards yesterday, and you'll be pleased to learn that Ohio State was well represented.
We'll start with goaltender Jakub Dobeš, who absolutely cleaned up. He was named Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman.
- winner of FOUR @B1GHockey postseason honors
— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) March 15, 2022
B1G
B1G -
-1
1 - #GoBucks @Lil_Doby44 pic.twitter.com/xGYfXCZfru
Dobeš currently leads the nation in saves 1,086 and is also one of 11 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, given to the nation's top goaltender. Again, he's a freshman.
But Dobeš wasn't the only one to get honored. Ohio State forward Georgii Merkulov was also named first-team All-Big Ten and a Big Ten All-Freshman while defenseman Mason Lohrei was named honorable mention All-Big Ten and a Big Ten All-Freshman.
We still have no idea of the Buckeyes will be playing in the upcoming NCAA Tournament as Ohio State is right on the bubble. But we'll know tomorrow when the bracket is revealed.
BOXING BUCKS. If y'all know me, you know that I love giving love to some of the lesser-known sports at Ohio State. I'm also a huge fan of showing some love to those in our own large, yet tight-knit 11W community.
That leads me to this glorious crossover episode.
If found out this week that the Ohio State club boxing team is coached by the son of 11W Royalty – NavyBuckeye91. I also found out that they have been kicking ass recently, and have a couple of fighters heading to nationals.
Ohio State went a perfect 3-0 at this past weekend's regional competition with Giaminh Nguyen, Eddie Son, and Mustafa Mahmoud (the fellow getting wrapped up in the photo above), all winning their matches.
Now, Nguyen and Mahmoud will get a chance to represent the Buckeyes at the NCBA National Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina where they haven't been able to participate the past couple of years due to COVID.
They do need a small assist, however – they're raising money for travel costs. So if you're down to help out some Buckeyes and our 11W family, head on over to their GoFundMe page and give what you can.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Savannah" by Relient K.
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