Men's Lacrosse vs. Penn State - 1pm Faceoff

Unfortunately there is no wireless internet in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center so the Men's Lacrosse game can not be heard on our Web site.

You can log on to Ohio State Buckeyes.com to watch the game through the Buckeye Vision subscription service. Video is provided as well as Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio's commentary.

Thanks and Go Bucks!

Coaches Corner: Nick Myers Ohio State Men's Lacrosse

Earlier this week I had a chance to sit down with Nick Myers the head coach of the Ohio State Men’s Lacrosse team. I asked him questions about last week’s game against Villanova and we looked ahead at the Buckeyes’ first road matchup of the season against Bucknell.

Quickly, initial thoughts on how the team played. Things you did well, things you have been working on this week in practice?

Myers: “We got back to basics on Monday and took a look at the film. It’s very humbling when you look at it and break it down. We were excited with a win to start the year but we feel like we need to do a lot of things better.

We really stressed the importance of playing with the lead. We had a four-goal lead twice (against Villanova) and saw it evaporate. Credit Villanova we had a couple of costly penalties. We just talked a lot about playing smarter lacrosse.”

You have talked about this team having a young offense and early on in the season relying on a more experienced defense but the freshman stepped up in a big way accounting for seven of the team’s ten goals and three of the first four.

Myers: “That was not as big of a surprise as you would have thought. We have scrimmaged all preseason and after almost every scrimmage we have had almost 50% to 70% of the goals scored by the freshman. They have really solidified themselves in starting roles and key roles. It’s a matter of continuing to coach those guys but they have done a great job adapting to our schemes. They are very coachable. I think they fit nicely into our unselfish mentality on the offensive side sharing the ball and working off of each other.

It’s a long season for these young guys. We are about six or seven weeks into training, which feels like a season to them but we are only two weeks into our game schedule. So we need to pace those guys and make sure we bring them along and understand there is going to be some highs and lows.”

You had a four-goal advantage going into the fourth quarter, after Villanova scored three straight and you needed a goal to ice it. Were you confident that the freshman would respond positively to that kind of pressure?

Myers: “Without Joel Dalgarno we really have not established a go too guy down the stretch and in the fourth quarter we did not have anything specific drawn up for one guy. What we did was run our offense. A year ago we would have put the ball on Joel’s stick and run something for him but this year we really just put our best six guys on the field and allow them to play together.

I thought the key goal was the one Jeff Tundo had off of a pass from Logan Schuss and he made a nice hard inside move and he put it away. It was a big goal for us.

Jim Green, suspended for the first half, starts off the second half with a goal. He finished with two, talk about his impact on the game?

Myers: “Jim is guy that brings a lot to the table for us. He has played four years for us, he is a very athletic and fast. We had a set piece put together for him at the start of the second half, which I thought he executed very well. He got a nice shot on cage. He has the speed to dodge the poll and the biggest thing for Jim’s success is the continued development of our young guys. It will really allow the focus to be off of Jim and spread it around a little bit.

You open the season with a 10-8 victory what was the mood of the team after the game especially after all the hard work during the off-season?

Myers: “I was proud of the effort of the guys and you always like to start the year with a win. Again, Monday was humble pie. We got back at it and just showed them the film and challenged the team to get better.

This week you travel to take on Bucknell. How has the team handled preparing for their first road game?

Myers:” Well, it’s tough because we have not been able to get outside. We have been inside Woody Hayes, which is certainly a nice facility but does not prepare you the same way as getting outside.

It’s a matter of showing some resiliency, as far as being away from home and going into a hostile environment against a really good team. With these young guys you never know, we just talked to the team about executing the game plan, playing Buckeye lacrosse. Against a team with a defense that likes to slide like Bucknell does you are going to have to move the ball quickly. We know what we have to do to go in there and we have prepared hard all week to do that.”

After you have had a chance to look at Bucknell on tape. What have you prepared your team to expect in the game Saturday?

Myers: “Going into this week we have a tough test with Bucknell. This is a team that played the number-two team (Duke) in the country to overtime. Bucknell led the entire game until the very last goal, which is a heartbreaker for them. But we know how capable they are. They are a little bit different in a sense that they slide very quickly defensively and they have a ten man ride. They have one of the top ranked attack units in the country this year. They have two seniors back. They have an excellent faceoff man.

It is something we know and the men understand, this is a team that we have had three straight games decided by one goal and two of them went to overtime. We have had some battles and going on the road, being outside, it’s going to be a lot different than the friendly confines of Woody Hayes.

The guys understand the challenge. That has been our focus, preparing mentally for that.”

Any changes in the lineup this week?

Myers: “Jimmy Green is going to be out there from the get go in the midfield. Zach Rodgers had a nice week on the attack; look for him to get some more minutes working in with the attack unit.

Faceoff wise we are going to continue to throw different looks out there until we get more success from that point of emphasis. We did an all right job for Villanova but we have to keep getting better. Trey Wilkes, for his first game as a Buckeye, did some really nice things. Brandon McClain will get a couple of looks. That’s an area we are going to continue to mix up our lineups. But other than that we are pretty much business as usual moving forward.

You can catch the entire Ohio State men's lacrosse season on Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio or on OhioStateBuckeyes.com as a part of the Buckeye Vision Subscription service

Buckeyes End Season vs Huskies

It's kind of funny how you can play all season and yet it still comes down to final game to determine how standings are going to shape up. Such is the case in the WCHA this season. Minnesota and Minn.-Duluth are battling it out for first, Minnesota State and North Dakota for 7th and 8th (hey, it may not seem like a big difference but no one wants to finish last), and the other four teams are battling it out for 3rd through 6th.

For Ohio State to get into the top four and receive home ice in the first round of the playoffs next week they need to take both games at OSU Ice Arena against St. Cloud State this weekend. The Buckeyes are 1-0-1 against the Huskies this year.

Saturday is also Senior Day as Ohio State honors Michele Tonnessen, Raelyn LaRocque, and Rachel Davis.

Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio will have both games this weekend LIVE on Friday night at 7pm and Saturday afternoon at 2pm.

Buckeye Scholar-Athletes and Olympians

WCHA Scholar-Athlete Rachel Davis and Finland's Minttu Tuominen

Congratulations to Ohio State’s Barbara Bilko, Rachel Davis, and Raelyn LaRocque for receiving the 2009-2010 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award. The award is given to student-athletes who have maintained a 3.5 GPA. This year 77 players received the WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award. Co-Captains Rachel Davis and Raelyn LaRocque are both repeat award winners.

Also, be sure to check out Minttu Tuominen playing for Finland in the Olympics. Former Buckeyes Tessa Bonhomme (Canada), Lisa Chesson (United States), and Emma Laaksonen (Finland) are also playing in Vancouver over the next two weeks.

Ohio State Women's Basketball vs. Purdue

The Buckeyes have a chance to make Big Ten History by clinching their 6th straight Big Ten Championship.

You can listen to all the action right here on Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio

Tom Crean Fly By

If you have the game saved on DVR check out the post game exchange between Thad Matta and Tom Crean.

Thad Matta's face is priceless...

I mean it has been a tough two years for Crean but apparently he was late for something.

I am not saying its Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini but its close

Please Thad Matta

There is 1:47 left to go in the game and all of the starters are still in.  It is embarrassing...

They are tired.  They play all the time

He has listened... I am making a difference, I can feel it

Kyle Madsen I love You

Madsen has 11 points with 10:52 left to go in the game.  Career High in points...

Ohio State Men's Basketball vs. Indiana

Best Evan Turner moment ever.  Gets his second foul just three minutes into the game.  Does not look at the coaching staff, just walks right off the court and tells PJ Hill to get in the game.

At least Evan Turner won't play a full 40 minutes for once...

14 point lead at halftime with Turner on the bench.  Not great but I'll take it.

This just in: William "Slick" Buford maybe should not have tried the Windmill but I am glad Evan Turner was out there to laugh at him. Good job guys

Women's Basketball Shoots Past Penn State

No. 8 Ohio State defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 86-73 Sunday and set a Big Ten record with 17 made three-pointers.

The Buckeyes shot 65 percent (17-26) from downtown and 9-of-13 in the second half.

Two weeks ago Penn State had moved into second place in the conference and cracked into the top 25 for the first time since 2004.

This loss was the fourth straight for the Nittany Lions and a tough one to swallow.

OSU trailed by as many as 15 points but the Buckeyes closed the game on a 16-2 run.

Samantha Prahalis led Ohio State with 26 points and was 5-of-6 from three-point land.  Jantel Lavender had 18 points and eight rebounds for Ohio State (23-3, 11-2 Big Ten).

The Buckeyes return to action Thursday from Value City Arena to take on the, now second place, Purdue Boilermakers.  You can listen to the action on Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio.  Tipoff is at 7:30 pm.

OSU has a three game lead in the Big Ten and is trying to win it's sixth straight conference championship.

Buckeyes Look To Move Up Standings vs. Fighting Sioux

Normally, splitting a series against the defending National Champions would be considered a great success, but not when you are in a fight for home ice in the playoffs. After only coming away with two points each of their last two weekends while at home, it has become critical for Ohio State to take four points against North Dakota this weekend at the OSU Ice Arena. The last two weekends the Buckeyes have managed home wins on Friday night but lost heartbreakers on the following Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes achieved a split against the Fighting Sioux earlier this year in The Peace Garden State.

Coach Barto said that Ohio State is taking it one game at a time, but did admit the Buckeyes will most likely need to win four of their final six games in order to get home ice in the first round. The players know where they stand, but feel very confident going forward. “We’re going for 6-0,” said Sophomore Defenseman Kelly Wild. Senior co-captain Raelyn LaRocque added that while home ice in the playoffs would be nice, it was not critical and that the Buckeyes would get a chance to prove themselves in the playoffs either way.

It also should be noted that the two teams directly in front of Ohio State in the WCHA standings both have fewer wins then Ohio State. This is because of the shootout point award in the WCHA. The current standings system was voted on by the coaches a few years ago. (For full disclosure I hate the shootout and think it has no place in hockey.)

Both LaRocque and Wild said that it would be very important for Ohio State to play as well on Saturday as Friday this weekend. LaRocque added that she thought the team may be getting a little over confident going into the Saturday games after wins on Friday night. The good news for Ohio State is that North Dakota has never won a game in Columbus going 0-9-1 against the Buckeyes.

Both games this weekend can be heard on Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio. Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 4pm.

Thoughts on National Signing Day

Eh...

Super Bowl Preview: The Battle of the Could-Have-Been-Perfects

This Sunday the Goliath of sporting events looms. The Super Bowl is routinely the most watched television program year after year, and this weekend not only offers a potentially match-up, but makes one think of what could have been.

Enter week fifteen of the NFL regular season, both the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints sit at 13-0, and many in the football universe are dreaming of a Super Bowl of undefeated teams. Imagine a big game with two 18-0 teams. Even if the game turned out to be a stinker, it would be remembered for its gargantuan implications. No matter what would happen, America would be watching history. But, alas, it was not to be. The Colts (by that I mean Bill Polian) decided they were happier breaking meaningless regular season records. (Watch Mark Schlereth and Tedy Bruschi destroy Polian here.) There’s a reason the Patriots have three world championships and the Colts have one. The Saints, on the other hand, just decided to stop playing in general.

Just like that, the chance at history was destroyed. The Colts put a college team on the field the final two games losing to the Jets and getting blown out by the Bills. The Saints lost a legitimate game to the Cowboys, despite the Dallas kicker Nick Folk missing a late chip shot. (Boy, what an awful season for kickers, but that’s another day.) From there, the Saints essentially shut it down, losing in overtime to the lowly Buccaneers (an early candidate for a winless season). In week 17 the Saints played Mark Brunell and the rest is non-history.

However, both these teams proved me wrong in one respect, and that was my theory that late-season stumbles lead to playoff failure. One 45-14 Saints victory over the Cardinals and a Colts shutdown of Baltimore later I was eating my words. While each had their issues in the respective Championship games, they both figured out how to win. (Drew Brees didn't even get 200 yards passing, but you don’t need it when the Vikings turn the ball over so many times.) While the Saints and Colts finished the regular season questionably, the playoffs have shown they have the heart of a champion.

So now, the Super Bowl game itself. One cannot ignore the Dwight Freeney problem on the Colts side, so Drew Brees might put up a few points. However, two words: Peyton Manning. ‘Nuff said. If the Saints play the way they did against the Vikings, they may get run out of the building. However, I believe the Saints will come to play, and it will be close for a while. However, I see a scenario playing out where Manning gets the ball back with a one-possession lead and under 6 minutes to play. He takes it down the field for a late score, putting it out of reach for the Saints. The New Orleans Championship Parade will have to wait, sadly.

Colts 31, Saints 21

CHANGE TO PREDICTION THAT ABSOLUTELY CAME BEFORE THE GAME: Saints 31, Colts 17