April 2, 2013 by The Lantern

sports

Tuesday April 2, 2013

thelantern www.thelantern.com upcoming Tuesday

Meyer not worried about complacency dan hope Oller reporter hope.46@osu.edu

Baseball v. Youngstown State 6:35pm @ Columbus

Wednesday Men’s Tennis v. Kentucky 2pm @ Lexington, Ky. Baseball v. Miami (Ohio) 6:35pm @ Columbus Women’s Lacrosse v. San Diego State 7pm @ Columbus

Thursday Men’s Volleyball v. Lewis 8pm @ Romeoville, Ill.

Friday Women’s Tennis v. Wisconsin 2pm @ Madison, Wis. Baseball v. Minnesota 4:05pm @ Minneapolis, Minn. Men’s Tennis v. Wisconsin 6pm @ Columbus

ANDREW HOLLERAN / Photo editor

OSU football coach Urban Meyer points during a practice on March 5 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

As far as standings go, the Ohio State football team could not have done any better than it did last season. Despite being banned from postseason play as a result of the program’s sanctions from the “Tattoo-Gate” scandal, the Buckeyes won all 12 of their games and were Big Ten Leaders Division champions. In the eyes of their coach, however, perfection in the win-loss column is not equivalent to excellence on the field. “Believe it or not … we finished 12-0, but we were not a great (team), we were very good,” Meyer told The Lantern in an exclusive interview Monday. “In some areas we were great, in other areas we were not. There’s some weak links to this program still.” Considering that, Meyer said it is important for his team to avoid complacency after last year’s undefeated season. “I don’t feel it (complacency from his team), because we’re not very good right now,” Meyer said. “I feel a void in leadership … We had not good leaders, great leaders.” The Buckeyes’ leadership void is especially prevalent on the defensive side of the ball, where the Buckeyes lost seven starters from last year’s team, six of whom were seniors. Meyer said the development of his defense and whether new players can

emerge and step up as leaders is the “essence of if we’re going to be good or bad” next season. “What’s going to make or break us next year? It’s going to be especially defensive leadership,” Meyer said. Meyer noted rising junior linebacker Ryan Shazier as a player he expects to step up as a leader on defense but expressed concern about Shazier currently being limited in practice due to a sports hernia injury. Offensively, Meyer said the Buckeyes are “still at 60 percent,” even though they are returning nine starters from last season, including quarterback Braxton Miller, who won the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award as a sophomore last season. “We’re not very good,” Meyer said. “Last year, honestly I thought we were very average offensively. I thought Braxton did some great things running the ball and Carlos Hyde and our offensive line, some areas were very strong but offensively, if you say big picture, we’re a very average offense.” In their 12-0 season, the Buckeyes ranked 21st nationally with 37.2 points per game and 46th nationally in total offense with 423.8 yards per game. For the Buckeyes to find the extra 40 percent of their offense, Meyer said more playmakers need to step up. “The great offenses in America right now are the ones that have the guy that can

continued as Meyer on 6A

Softball v. Michigan 6pm @ Ann Arbor, Mich.

Thomas named 3rd-team AP All-American

Men’s Gymnastics: Team Finals 8pm @ St. Paul, Minn.

patrick maks Sports editor maks.1@osu.edu

Women’s Golf: SMU/Dallas Athletic Club Invitational, Round 1 All Day @ Dallas, Texas

Deshaun Thomas was named a third-team All-American selection by the Associated Press Monday. As the Big Ten’s leading scorer, Thomas averaged 19.8 points per game en route to a 29-8 finish after losing to Wichita State, 70-66, in the Elite Eight Saturday in Los Angeles. Thomas, who was also honored as a firstteam All-Big Ten selection, had 23 points on 8 of 20 shooting in the loss. He joins three other Big Ten brethren to make the AP’s shortlist. Here’s the full list:

SATURDAy Men’s Lacrosse v. Hobart 12pm @ Columbus Men’s Track: Jim Click Shootout 12pm @ Tucson, Ariz. Women’s Track: Jim Click Shootout 12pm @ Tucson, Ariz. Softball v. Michigan 2pm @ Ann Arbor, Mich. Baseball v. Minnesota 2:05pm @ Minneapolis, Minn. Men’s Volleyball v. Loyola 5pm @ Chicago Women’s Gymnastics: NCAA Regional 6pm @ Columbus Men’s Gymnastics: Individual Event 8pm @ St. Paul, Minn. Women’s Rowing v. Tennessee TBA @ Columbus

First Team Trey Burke (Michigan, sophomore guard) Otto Porter, Jr. (Georgetown, sophomore forward) Victor Oladipo (Indiana, junior guard) Doug McDermott (Creighton, junior forward) Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga, junior forward) Second Team Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State, freshman guard) Cody Zeller (Indiana, sophomore forward) Mason Plumlee (Duke, senior forward) Shane Larkin (Miami, Fla., sophomore guard) Ben McLemore (Kansas, redshirt freshman guard) Third Team Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State, junior forward) Jeff Withey (Kansas, senior center) Russ Smith (Louisville, junior guard) Erick Green (Virginia Tech, senior guard) Nate Wolters (South Dakota State, senior guard)

Football is king, but OSU’s a basketball school too

Women’s Golf: SMU/Dallas Athletic Club Invitational, Round 2 All Day @ Dallas, Texas

ERIC SEGER seger.25@osu.edu

@LanternSports

sports Columnist

Women’s Rowing v. Notre Dame TBA @ Columbus

ANDREW HOLLERAN / Photo editor

OSU junior forward Deshaun Thomas dribbles the ball during the Elite 8 game against Wichita State at the Staples Center in Los Angeles March 30. OSU lost, 70-66.

“Ohio State athletics is really just centered around the football program.” “Who cares that basketball season is over — when does spring football start?” “How many more weeks until the Buckeyes kick off in the fall?” For as long as I can remember, questions and comments like these were all that I heard when it came to OSU athletics. The mindset was always about football as king, and any success that the basketball team or any other program was just idle entertainment as we patiently waited for September to roll around and those beloved football

weekends to return. It’s time for us to take a step back and change the way we think about our Buckeyes. Based on the frustration that still lingers inside me (and many other Buckeye fans) following the disappointing 70-66 loss to Wichita State Saturday night, the evidence to support the idea that OSU is no longer “just a football school” grows more and more each day. Sure, the loss to a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a chance to make a second-straight Final Four appearance makes us wonder if this was ever really the year OSU could have won a national championship, but look at the continued success OSU coach Thad Matta is having with the program. The team finished with a 29-8 overall record, won the Big Ten Tournament title and came within a few missed free throws by Michigan of at least a share of the regular season Big Ten title for the fourth year in a row. If it were not for an extremely bad half of basketball and a ghastly 31 percent shooting performance, we would all be considering making the eight-hour drive to Atlanta to watch the team play in its second Final Four in as many years.

The job that Matta was able to do with his team this year is the best coaching effort of his career. With only one consistent scorer in junior forward Deshaun Thomas and essentially no offense coming from the post while playing in the best conference in the country, Matta was able to mold his team into a national title contender. The Buckeyes are the only team in the nation to have made it to the Sweet 16 in four consecutive seasons, and certainly demand the respect of Buckeye Nation. Matta has been able to recruit big-time players like Thomas, Jared Sullinger, Mike Conley Jr., Greg Oden, Jon Diebler and Aaron Craft, who have all helped to solidify OSU as a top-10 team year after year. Yes, football is king. It has been that way as long as I can remember. The money, television ratings and publicity the sport provides OSU is staggering. I am not denying that. Every Saturday there’s a home game during the fall, Ohio Stadium is filled to the brim with screaming fans showing their support for the football team. But I think it’s time we started doing the same for basketball.

I understand that it is difficult to pack the Schottenstein Center on Tuesday and Wednesday nights when there are only about 2,400 tickets available to students and the basketball team has more than twice as many home games as football. That still should not prevent Buckeye fans from watching the basketball team on television or at least understanding that the program is elite. Matta was close to taking OSU to back-to-back Final Fours. Urban Meyer led the football team to a 12-0 season in 2012. Mark Osiecki and the men’s hockey team were two wins away from capturing the CCHA Tournament championship. The softball and baseball teams are off to great starts this spring. No matter how you look at it, it’s a great time to be a part of Buckeye Nation. Fans just have to take the time to realize it.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS