Category: Buckeyes Wire

Ohio State defeats Minnesota 22-13 in Top 5 wrestling bout

The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 5 Minnesota Golden Gophers in one of the most anticipated wrestling duals of the season.

The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to Minneapolis to take on the No. 5 Minnesota Golden Gophers in one of the most anticipated wrestling duals of the season so far, and it did not disappoint. The Buckeyes were coming off a 26-10 loss to Iowa on Friday. There’s no shame in that, though, as Iowa is far and away the No. 1 team in the country right now. The Buckeyes showed in Minneapolis on Sunday night that they are not far behind, though.

The dual meet started at 157 pounds, because the 141- and 149-pound matches were expected to be the two best of the night–a decision that obviously turned out to be the correct one. Elijah Clearly of Ohio State couldn’t find a way past the defenses of Ryan Thomas, and lost a very close match. Cleary definitely has potential at 157, though his lack of positive results so far has to be a bit concerning as the season moves on.

Following that, Ethan Smith picked up a Major Decision and a team bonus point with a late takedown, while Kaleb Romero picked up a 2-1 win over Devin Skatzka with a late takedown of his own. The Buckeye came out with an important win in a Top 10 battle, something that will definitely be a big boost to his ranking and eventual NCAA seeding.

184 pounds looked like the potential weak spot in the lineup for Ohio State early in the season, but Rocky Jordan seems to have found his place in the lineup. He lost a very tight battle to No. 18 Owen Webster of Minnesota–getting turned for two back points early in the match was just barely too much to overcome–but the way he fought against a strong ranked wrestler shows that he should be fine for Ohio State in that slot when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

Kollin Moore earned a seemingly-routine Tech Fall to give Ohio State a 12-6 team score lead, and “Gas Tank” Gary Traub managed to keep his heavyweight match against prohibitive No. 1 Gable Steveson to just a Major Decision. At the time, that was big in the team score, though later matches would show it wasn’t quite necessary.

Minnesota took the team lead after Patrick McKee defeated Malik Heinselman at 125 pounds, but the Buckeyes wouldn’t lose another match from there. Jordan Decatur picked up some much-needed momentum with a strong Major Decision victory. Decatur had lost four matches in a row–and while all four were close matches against Top 10 wrestlers, consistently losing is never good for an athlete’s psyche.

No. 1 (141 pounds) Luke Pletcher gave up an early takedown to No. 5 Mitch McKee, but the Buckeye controlled the match from there for a solid victory. And, finally, Sammy Sasso followed his Friday upset of No. 1 Pat Lugo with a victory over No. 4 Brayton Lee, capped by a late takedown for the win.

Next… Season Outlook

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Former Ohio State All-American Jim Jackson pays tribute to Kobe Bryant

Former Ohio State great Jim Jackson paid tribute to Kobe Bryant. Hear his comments about his former teammate during a broadcast on BTN.

The entire world is grieving the loss of one of the best basketball players to ever live. Kobe Bryant and his 13-year old daughter were a part of a tragic helicopter crash that took the lives of them and seven other individuals. All gone too soon.

We’ve heard from former and current NBA players and greats, other stars in other sports across the world, and media personalities galore. Each paying tribute and remembering the life of Bryant. There’s even a whole host of Buckeye personalities that shared their thoughts.

One of those greats is Ohio State All-American Jim Jackson. He played and competed not only against Kobe during his career in the NBA, but also played alongside him for a short time as his final stop in a long, fourteen-year career during the 2005-2006 season.

Jackson took some time to share his thoughts on Bryant both on and off the court when speaking during a game he was announcing on BTN. You can listen to his comments in the below Tweet shared to the official Twitter feed of the Big Ten Network.

Rest in Peace Kobe. The whole world will miss seeing you flash that smile.

WATCH: Ohio State guard D.J. Carton throws down ridiculous alley-oop

Ohio State guard D.J. Carton knows how to get off the ground. Watch a ridiculous alley-oop he got to go against Northwestern Sunday.

If you’ve watched Ohio State basketball this year, you’ve no doubt seen flashes of the high-flying athleticism of freshman guard D.J. Carton. He’s only 6-2, 185 lbs., but he can fly above the rim like a guy 6-7 or taller. He was blessed with fast-twitch ability some of us can only dream about.

That skill set was on full display in the second half against on the road against Northwestern Sunday night. With the game still in doubt, the Buckeyes grabbed a rebound, threw an outlet pass to Duane Washington and raced down the floor. Washington lobbed a pass up to Carton but appeared to sail it too high.

That’s when Carton reached back, cradled the basketball, and with his body and head behind the rim, found a way to get the basket to go down. In case you missed it, you too can appreciate the beauty of it all by clicking on the below highlight from the Twitter feed of Ohio State on BTN.

[lawrence-related id=22135]

Mighty impressive. Man if this kid ever completely figures things out, he’s going to be a handful for opposing teams.

 

Ohio State with much needed win over Northwestern. Three things we learned.

Ohio State battled through a back and forth game against Northwestern for its first Big Ten road win of the year.

Ohio State finally got a road win in the Big Ten, and it’s a big one. Heck, at this point, any win is big when you’re mired in a slump of losing six of seven.

The Buckeyes got a slow start to the game but began to turn up the pressure in the first half and went into the break with a three-point lead. Unlike last time out at home against Minnesota though, Ohio State was able to play a full forty minutes and finish this one with a solid 71-59 win.

Who knows? Maybe this will act as a catalyst towards a turnaround on the season.

We always like to take stock in these sorts of things, and so as normal, here’s three things we learned after the victory.

Next … Andre Wesson kept Ohio State in the game early

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Ohio State starts slow, finishes half with 3-point lead at Northwestern

Ohio State shook off a slow start to go on a run and took a 3-point lead into halftime against Northwestern.

The first half in Evanston looked a lot like some of the other games we’ve seen recently from Ohio State early on. But then, the Buckeyes came out of a timeout with more energy on defense and an attacking style on offense to take a little control in the game. After going up by as many as ten midway through the first half, Ohio State went into the locker room up 38-35.

There was a lid on the basket early on, as Ohio State fell down early 9-2. The offense struggled finding a way to score against a Northwestern defense that sagged all five guys close to the lane to limit the effectiveness of Kaleb Wesson.

But then, the defense clamped down and led to some runouts, some outside shots hit the bottom of the net, and the offense began to find a little more rhythm. Not everything is rosy though. Northwestern finished the half on a run that gave it some momentum headed to the break.

Forward Andre Wesson led Ohio State with eleven points. He also nabbed four rebounds and went 1 of 3 from beyond the arc. He’s brother Kaleb has been held to just four points. The Buckeyes also got contributions from their bench with Justin Ahrens pouring in six points, and both Duane Washington and D.J. Carton adding five each.

It’s a better showing on the road by Ohio State, but this one is far from over. Things went south last week against Minnesota in the second half, so there needs to be more of what we saw in the first twenty as the teams head out for the last twenty minutes.

 

Ohio State personalities and Buckeye Nation pay tribute to Kobe Bryant, react to passing

Hardly ever do we dive into things not tied to Ohio State here on Buckeyes Wire, but some things transcend scarlet and gray and reach down into life themselves. Some athletes and icons are bigger than us all. Kobe Bryant is one of those figures. By …

Hardly ever do we dive into things not tied to Ohio State here on Buckeyes Wire, but some things transcend scarlet and gray and reach down into life themselves. Some athletes and icons are bigger than us all.

Kobe Bryant is one of those figures.

By now you know the tragic news that we are all faced with this Sunday. Kobe Bryant, his 13-yr. old daughter Gianna, and three others died in a helicopter crash just north of the Los Angeles area Sunday morning in Calabasas, California.

Naturally, for one of the best basketball players to ever play the game, many are expressing disbelief, grief, and paying tribute to the Black Mamba.

Ohio State is no different. Here are some tweets from those considered a part of Buckeye Nation. Rest In Peace Kobe, and we’ll just leave these Tweets here out of respect.

Next … Tweet reactions from Buckeye Nation on Kobe Bryant’s passing

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Ohio State vs. Northwestern 2019 basketball preview and prediction

Ohio State is once again looking to turn its season back around when it travels to Northwestern. We’ve got a preview and prediction.

Here we go again. It’s well-chronicled the issues the Ohio State basketball team has had as of late. It’s a downward spiral that it just can’s seem to suck itself out of. So much so that the Buckeyes are in the basement of the Big Ten standings and are getting dangerously close to being on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Now they must travel to Evanston to take on a Northwestern and attempt to wrestle away their first Big Ten road win of the season.  At least OSU still has a shot at the postseason. Northwestern’s season is in much worse shape. Barring a miraculous run through the Big Ten Tournament, the Wildcats will be sitting home after the regular season.

This one is bigger for Ohio State. It desperately needs this win.

Records

Ohio State 12-7 (2-6),  Northwestern 6-12 (1-7)

All-time series record

96-23 Ohio State leads

Last meeting

Northwestern won 68-50 on March 6 last season

Broadcast, TV, Game Time

Date: Thursday, January 23
Game Time: 6:30 PM
Venue: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
Network: BTN

Next … The Ohio State Game Plan

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Big Ten Bowl Impact: Wisconsin vs Oregon

We look back on the Rose Bowl Game between Wisconsin and Oregon and see how it impacted both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

After a short hiatus (mostly because I had an absurdly busy week), we’re back to finish looking back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.

1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.

2020 Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs Oregon

The matchup

Coming in, fans expected a great game, which is exactly what they got. Oregon had an elite quarterback in Justin Herbert, while Wisconsin came in with its usual power setup. Talented defense, fast receivers, and most importantly an elite running back behind an elite offensive line has defined Wisconsin football this decade, and the 2019 team was no different. The Badgers and the Ducks were two highly talented teams, and winning the Rose Bowl would have been a boost for each program.

What went right

Wisconsin dominated this game. The Badgers had more first downs, rushing yards, passing yards (and total yards, obviously), dominated the time of possession, return yards, sacks, and tackles for loss. Wisconsin returned a kickoff for a touchdown. The Badgers even went a whopping 4-5 on fourth downs. This was as solid a Wisconsin team as ever, playing as solid a game as it ever has. If you looked at just the box score, you would expect an easy Wisconsin victory… aside from one thing.

What went wrong

The loss gets more blame than just the fumbles, but they were a big deal. Wisconsin lost three fumbles over the course of the game, two in the second half. Both also turned into instant touchdowns for Oregon. One–on the opening drive of the second half–was returned for a touchdown. Another second-half fumble was immediately followed by a Ducks touchdown, on the very next play. It’s very hard to overcome something like that, especially when you play the game control type of football that Wisconsin does. We also won’t go too into the badd offensive pass interference call at the end, because Wisconsin should have had the game in hand long before that.

Next… 2019 wrap-up and 2020 impact

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Joe Burrow has his own steak y’all. He has now accomplished it all.

Former Ohio State and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has done it all. He now officially has his own steak named after him.

Former Ohio State backup QB and LSU Hesisman-winning signal-caller Joe Burrow is having himself a year to remember. Solidify the starting spot as LSU’s starting quarterback? Check. Win the SEC? Yep. Check. Win the Heisman Trophy? Well, yeah check that off too. How about a national championship? Just check it all.

That’s quite the 2019 campaign folks, and you have to feel pretty good for him, even if he did take his talents to sweet tea, grits, and crawfish territory.

But nothing says Burrow has arrived more than getting an edible piece of meat named after him. You got it — Joe Burrow now has a steak of his own. If you didn’t see this, the guy that obliterated SEC passing records was in Columbus, Ohio this past week trying out the new “Steak Burrow” at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse.

So that’s what you get when you combine Cajun and Midwest culture eh? Looks pretty tasty to me, but of course the owner had to let the first taste go to none other than Burrow himself.

Looks like it passed the test to me. But we have to wonder what happened to the dress code here. A sweatshirt hoodie at a high-end steakhouse? I guess when you win everything under the sun you can roll up into any restaurant with the outfit of your choice, right Joe?

That sounds just like a Cajun Buckeye. Oh, and if you are around those parts, remember that some of the proceeds of this mouth-watering steak goes to the Athens County Food Pantry. A nice touch.

Ohio State men’s hockey drops second game of series against Minnesota, gets swept

The Ohio State men’s hockey team got swept in Minneapolis by dropping the second game of the series against Minnesota Saturday night.

This weekend is nothing close to what the Ohio State men’s hockey team had in mind. It left for the Twin Cities in first place in the Big Ten, but lost two games in convincing fashion and now sit in 3rd place behind Penn State and Michigan State who both battled to overtime Saturday night.

The contest tonight was an ugly one and it got started early. After a bad turnover in its own zone, Ohio State gave up a quick goal just five minutes in to go down 1-0. It stayed that way through twenty minutes of play, but then the Gophers scored two more goals in the second period, heavily outshooting the Buckeyes to take a 3-0 lead into the second break.

With the way this one was going, a three-goal lead seemed insurmountable. OSU got one back though when Caron Meyer scored on the Power Play to cut the lead to 3-1. But that would be it. The Gophers added one more on a power play for good measure, and the final score read 4-1.

Minnesota had a decided advantage in shots early on, but Ohio State tried to push back with a little momentum. Still, the Gophers had ten more shots on goal (33-23) and made good on scoring chances.

With the loss, Ohio State falls to 15-8-3 overall, and 8-6-2 in the conference. It’s a hard road from here on out with the next series’ against Michigan on the road, Penn State at home, and Michigan State away. Yeah, that’s a cruel schedule, but it does allow for a great opportunity to do damage head-on with teams above it.

 

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