The B-Boys Are Back! Buckeyes Roll Alcorn State

A very impressive season opening victory for the Buckeyes, albeit, very much expected. They came out, took control early and never looked back. To say Alcorn State was overmatched and undermanned is an understatement, with suiting up less then 10 players and the majority of them being freshman. Nevertherless, the Buckeyes looked sharp and their long-range shooting was indeed nice. A bulked up Jon Diebler nailed 6 treys and looked much more comfortable than in seasons past. Opponent aside, Diebler will be needed to display that touch he exihibited in high school. Other Buckeyes excelled behind the arc as well, mainly Buford, who seems ready to take his game to the next level. Man, it sure was nice to see a healthy David Lighty back in the mix, the intangibles he brings the the floor are unmeasurable. With him returning and for the first time in several seasons, there are no key losses of personnel to the NBA or graduation. Okay, B.J. Mullens, but really, how much did he contribute. If Dallas Lauderdale and Sarikopoulos can man the inside and provide some interior punch to go along with the outside shooting displayed against Alcorn St. the Buckeyes will definitely be able to challenge Michigan State and Purdue for the Big Ten title.

And with a prime time player such as Evan Turner, who became only the second Buckeye in history to record a triple-double, (the first being our man Dennis Hopson), Thad has that star player that can take over in the clutch when needed. With so much talent returning to the Big Ten this year, it could make for a really exciting campaign, much more will be learned during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. I'm predicting that this will finally be the year the Big Ten breaks through and wins it this year after coming really close last season.