Wednesday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning, Buckeye fans!  The 2012 NCAA Tournament kicked off last night and I couldn’t be more excited for the next three weeks!  In the first game in Dayton, Western Kentucky stormed back from a double-digit deficit with five minutes remaining to defeat Mississippi Valley State 59-58. 

The Hilltoppers’ reward? They get to play No. 1 overall seed, Kentucky. Good luck. 

In the second game, BYU defeated Iona 78-72 as Iona collapsed after running out to 55 points in the first 16 minutes and will face Marquette in their next game.

Now onto the Bits!

Fab Melo ruled ineligible.  The path to New Orleans possibly just got a little easier for Ohio State.  Syracuse’s star center and Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Fab Melo, was ruled out for the entire NCAA Tournament yesterday. 

This is a big blow for the Orange. Melo missed three games earlier this season with academic issues and it seems this is along the same lines. In the games he was out, Syracuse was 2-1, but was outrebounded by nearly 10 per game, when they were about even in the games he played in.

Wednesday's Buckeye Bits

Depsite being seven months away from the first game of the 2012 season, today is one of the most important days in college football. It is national signing day, the day where recruits can officially sign a Letter of Intent to play at their school. 

Urban Meyer has added several high-profile recruits since his hiring in November, and is looking to add at least one more today in Kyle Dodson.

At least 23 will commit the next four years to Ohio State.  As of this morning, Ohio State had 23 commitments, with 15 players being from Ohio.  The Plain Dealer made an interactive map where you can see where the recruits are from.  In a landmark move, all players signing with Ohio State will be given four-year scholarships, rather than the renewable one-year scholarships that had been handed out in the past. 

B1G Commissioner Jim Delany encouraged all conference schools to offer the four-year scholarships. The four-year grants were made possible in October by a rule change by the NCAA, but are not required.

'12 WR Recruit Roger Lewis Not Expected To Be A Buckeye

Pickerington Central's Roger Lewis

According to the Dispatch, 2012 Buckeye commit Roger Lewis might not be a Buckeye based off of what his high school coach has told the media. According to the coach, Lewis is not expected to sign his national letter of intent to Ohio State on Signing Day, due to not having the requisite pre-enrollment test scores and that he now is exploring other options.

Lewis's coach also stated, Lewis visited Ohio University this weekend, and said he also is considering Marshall and Bowling Green.

That leaves the OSU 2012 class, the first by new coach Urban Meyer, at 22 members, including the six players who enrolled at the start of the winter quarter.

Roger Lewis is a 3-star wide receiver commit, and with the recent struggles at wide receiver, the coaching staff made a priority of trying to get some athletes that can play the receiver position. While losing Lewis is not a huge deal, it does put a bit more pressure on Meyer to land either Davonte Neal or Stefon Diggs.

It sounds like Lewis doesn't have the test scores, and there's no chance anything can change. Especially coming from the coaches mouth, it looks like Lewis's time as a Buckeye commit will end short.