Ohio State And Duke Paired Again For ACC-Big Ten Challenge

Duke will get a chance to avenge a lopsided loss to Ohio State as the Blue Devils host the Buckeyes in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wed., Nov. 28, at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Exact game times for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will be set at a later date, but the OSU-Duke match-up is almost certain to air in a prime spot on ESPN.Ohio State took an 85-63 win over Duke in a Challenge match-up on Nov. 29 at Value City Arena. That game matched up No. 2-ranked Ohio State with No. 3 Duke in arguably the biggest nonconference game in the 14-year history of VCA.

Duke has four starters back from a 27-7 team that fizzled down the stretch with three losses in its last four games. The capper was a 75-70 loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh in an NCAA second-round tournament game – in Greensboro, N.C., no less. That was certainly an early exit for a Duke program just two years removed from its latest national title under Mike Krzyzewski.

Guard Austin Rivers is leaving Durham after one year for the NBA. But 6'10" Mason Plumlee (11.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg) will be back for his senior year.

Also returning are guard Seth Curry (13.2 ppg), forward Ryan Kelly (11.8 ppg) and guards Andre Dawkins (8.4 ppg), Quinn Cook and Tyler Thornton. Duke also adds shooting guard Rasheed Sulaimon (ranked 11th nationally).

Ohio State has three starters back from its 31-8 team that won a share of the Big Ten title and reached the Final Four. The Buckeyes lost guard William Buford to graduation and saw center Jared Sullinger leave early for the NBA.

Wing Deshaun Thomas (15.9 ppg) announced he would be back. Thomas averaged just under 20 points per game in OSU’s Final Four run and could be poised for a big year. Guards Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. also return. OSU coach Thad Matta will ask sophs-to-be Sam Thompson, LaQuinton Ross, Shannon Scott and 6'11" Amir Williams to step up and fill the voids.

2012 Basketball Recruit Tony Parker To Announce Decision Today

Will Parker join the Buckeyes?

Tony Parker, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound senior basketball center from Miller Grove High in Lithonia, Georgia, will announce his college choice in a 3 p.m. news conference Monday at his school. He has a final list of Kansas University, UCLA, Georgia, Duke and Ohio State.

The 20th-rated player in the Class of 2012 is said to be favoring UCLA. With the low numbers the Buckeyes have, Thad Matta would sure love to land this kid and it's certainly a possibility.

Scouting Report via 247Sports: Showed an excellent motor while playing for the Georgia Stars at the Nike EYBL in Los Angeles. Uses body well to establish position on the block, and can score with either hand around the basket. 

Has an ability to square up defenders in the mid-range and make a move toward the basket. Parker can get up and down the court well, and doesn't look like he's maxed out in terms of height just yet. 

Once he fully develops, grows into his body and benefits from an advanced conditioning program the sky is the limit for the versatile athlete.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest news, updates and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning fellow Buckeye honks! Welcome to your Tuesday edition of the bits. There is lots going on this week so let's skip my regular "random link" and get right to it shall we?

Hey, I remember him!- All Buckeye fans, and most other fans, know Mark Titus by now. He was a benchwarmer for OSU a few years back but developed a cult-like following for his blog Club Trillion. That cult-like following quickly turned into millions of followers.

 The guy is a blog sensation at this point (if you can be such a thing). He has parlayed that success into a contributing role over at Bill Simmons' Grantland.

Whatever you think of Bill Simmons, Grantland is a good place to stop on your daily internet adventure. I stumbled upon this cool piece by Titus overviewing the first weekend of the tournament. It's pretty funny. Give it a look.


Good Overview- The tournament started out a little slow but picked up as the weekend approached. I know that thoroughly enjoyed watching Michigan go down in ball of flames. That game was quickly followed by another epic collapse as Duke went down at the hands of Lehigh. That was possibly the greatest 15 minutes of sports in the past 2 months for me. Eamonn Brennan had a great first look for this weekends games.

Basketball Recap: #2 Ohio State 85, #3 Duke 63

Sullinger and co. looked fired up

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was asked about an Ohio State player and almost chuckled.

"I wasn't focused on each of their guys," he said. "I was trying not to lose by 30."

It was that kind of night for the Blue Devils (No. 3 AP).

Jared Sullinger scored 21 points and three teammates were close behind as No. 2 Ohio State roared out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back in rolling to an 85-63 victory Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Buckeyes fans chanted "overrated" at the Blue Devils in the final minute.

NBA star LeBron James had a front-row seat for the rout, but he was booed loudly when he walked to his courtside seat with Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade. That was about the only time the fans expressed any dissatisfaction with anything on the court.

"This basketball team is special," Sullinger said.

The Buckeyes (7-0) never trailed, weathering a Duke rally in the first half and then leading by 20 for most of the second half.

"Sometimes you just get your butt kicked," said Krzyzewski, who said his young team appeared tired.

Austin Rivers had 22 points and Mason Plumlee 16 for the Blue Devils (7-1), coming off wins over ranked opponents Michigan and Kansas in their previous two games.

William Buford scored 20, Deshaun Thomas 18 and Aaron Craft 17 for the Buckeyes, who gave the Big Ten a 4-2 edge in the conference matchups. Craft also had eight assists and five rebounds and was a terror on defense.

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Duke

Matta is ready. Are you?

Well, it has been an interesting week to say the least. 

First of all it actually happened we lost to that team from up north. Yep, that really stunk, but as an OSU alum who was their during the Cooper era I can say I unfortunately got used to losing to them, however, that did not take the sting out of the game, but I can honestly say it was a great game (though I do believe we lost more then they won. Those over thrown passes will continue to haunt me as a fan, but I am sure Braxton, under new tutelage will correct that). 

Then we have the coaching situation, would he or wouldn’t he? What was going to happen with Urban Meyer, Luke Fickell, and the rest of the staff? Well, as I am writing this out, I have a big smile on my face!! Urban Meyer is officially the new head man at OSU!!!! What a great feeling that is!! He is a true son of Ohio! He is Buckeye born and bred. He had a dream job in mind, and now he is our coach. I would like to be one of the first million people to welcome Urban Meyer back home!! I would also like to congratulate Coach Luke Fickell on working his butt off to keep this team together. 

Urban Meyer And Ohio State Have Reached A Deal

He's coming home, all smiles

According to Bill Greene of Scout.com, and our many trusted friends at Eleven Warriors and The Buckeye Battle Cry, Urban Meyer has reached a deal with Ohio State officials to make Urban Meyer the next head coach of Ohio State. It appears that the final lines will be dotted and signed after the Michigan game. The formal announcement will be coming next week, not a specific date, but it will take place.

Next week of course, the Duke basketball game is going on, so we might see an introduction at halftime of that game. All eyes are now on Michigan as it seems that we have Urban wrapped up. This could quite possibly be the best Tuesday in a long time. It started out with the commitment of Adolphus Washington, a 5-star DE, to Ohio State, and now it seems the biggest news is that Meyer will take over the Buckeyes next year.

There is nothing completely official from Ohio State University out yet, but the agreement all but points to them just waiting on a good time to announce it.

Stay tuned for the latest Urban Meyer, Recruiting, and Ohio State news.

Basketball Buckeyes Ranked #3 In Preseason Poll

No soup votes for you

On Wednesday, the Coaches Poll came out, releasing it's Preseason rankings. The Buckeyes (who return Wooden Top 50 players Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, and William Buford to the team) were ranked #3, but received no first place votes. That honor was held for North Carolina who received all but 1 first place votes, and looks to compete for the national title behind sophomore Harrison Barnes.

Going now to look at the schedule, I see a pretty tough road for Ohio State, but if they do win these big games, I'm sure voters will place them on top if UNC fails to impress against lower schools. Ohio State faces #10 Florida, #6 Duke, at #13 Kansas, and then a couple of ranked Big Ten conference games.

Coaches Poll Preseason Top Ten
1. North Carolina
2. Kentucky
3. Ohio State
4. Connecticut
5. Syracuse
6. Duke
7. Vanderbilt
8. Louisville
9. Memphis
10. Florida

Your thoughts on where the Buckeyes were placed?

Time To Dance Buckeyes

The Ohio State mens basketball team has 1 more challenge left, and it's for all the glory. For now, though, they can relish in the fact that they are regular season and Big Ten tournament champions again.

Jared Sullinger's shot was off throughout the Big Ten tournament -- and he still dominated.

The freshman forward had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 1 Ohio State defeated Penn State 71-60 in the Big Ten tournament final on Sunday.

Sullinger made just 12 of 36 field goals in the tournament, but he still was named most outstanding player. He averaged 16.3 points and 14 rebounds to help the top-seeded Buckeyes (32-2) repeat as champions.


Shortly after the win, the Buckeyes learned they had received the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State will play either Texas-San Antonio or Alabama State in the second round Friday in Cleveland.

Ohio State headlines seven selections from the Big Ten. Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan were awarded at-large bids.

Big Dance hits midnight.

Duke won..DUKE. Ugh, If it could have been anyone else, I wouldn't have cared. Not only was it Duke, but Butler was 2 inches away from being the National Champions instead of being the runner-ups. Well, they had a great run, and a really nice 25-game win streak. We wish congratulations to both teams, and of course the 2010 Bracket Challenge Champion...Eric Gingrich! Yes, it is Eric from tBBC. I don't know how he did it, but he did, and we would like to wish him congratulations as well. It came close, but at the end he pulled it out. He now gets a free item of his choice from our shop. Good job Eric, and Go Bucks!

Big Ten wins first ACC-B10 Challenge

Last night, the Wisconsin Badgers upset Duke, Illinois came back down from 20, and Ohio State held on to win aganist FSU for the Big Ten's first Challenge victory. As me being very limited on Basketball knowledge, I'm not sure what really went on, but i do know it is a big deal. Duke has never lost a game in the Big Ten-ACC challenge, but Wisky made sure it happend as the B10 won the Challenge 6-5. Michigan lost it's game which made the Duke, Clemson, and FSU game all the more important. Congrats to the Big Ten.