Wednesday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning, Buckeye fans!  I’m happy to announce this is the first ever post on Inside The Shoe on February 29!  Happy Leap Day!

However, I’m getting tired of writing about Ohio State having to bounce back from a weekend defeat against an inferior opponent on the road, but that’s exactly what I have to write again today. 

The Buckeyes face off against Northwestern tonight at 8:30 Eastern Time, needing a win to keep any shot at a share of the B1G title alive.

Hoosiers take down Sparty.  Ohio State needs to send a big thank you down to Bloomington after Indiana knocked off Michigan State 70-55 at Assembly Hall last night.  With wins tonight against Northwestern and at Michigan State this weekend, the Buckeyes would clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title. 

2013 4 Star Offensive Tackle Evan Lisle Commits To Ohio State

Lisle is #5

Dayton (Ohio) Centerville four-star offensive tackle Evan Lisle has committed to Ohio State and Urban Meyer, making him the 5th commitment in the class of 2013.

Just 6 days after receiving a long anticipated offer from the Buckeyes, Lisle has made it truly official. Evan was recruited by Ed Warriner and was viewed early on as a rising prospect. 

As mentioned above, Lisle is the fifth pledge for Ohio State in the 2013 class, joining five-star athlete Jalin Marshall, four-star defensive lineman Billy Price and four-star defensive backs Cameron Burrows and Eli Woodard.

Ranked as the nation’s No. 25 offensive tackle overall, Lisle also held offers from the likes of Alabama, Miami, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

Lisle is a huge pick up for the Buckeyes, as Evan is the best offensive tackle in the state of Ohio.

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

Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Hello again fellow Buckeye fans. Welcome to another edition of "Buckeye Bit's". We are here to scour the Internet in an effort to pick out some interesting tidbits for you, our loyal reader. Hopefully you find our efforts worthwhile in this barren wasteland we call the offseason. Let's get to it. 

Armageddon? While wasting away at my office on Monday, I came across this scary little article. I am a total space, history and sports buff so anything that falls within those categories quickly catches my eye. What does it have to with the Buckeye's you might ask? 

Hell, I don't know but it's interesting nonetheless. If scientists just found this thing last year, imagine how many other threats exist out there in space. I'm going to need at least 2 championships from Urban before we all die in a hail of asteroids so let's get to it coach! Oh, looks like he has. 

Monday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning Buckeye fans. It was another long weekend for our Buckeyes as yesterday they fell to Wisconsin for another loss at home this season.

After the Senior Day loss, the Buckeyes look to finish out the regular season with one more match up against Northwestern (at home) and Michigan State (at Michigan State).

Soon after that it's on to tournament madness! Let's get on with the Bits.

NFL Combine Is Surprising, At Least. Former Buckeyes Mike Adams, Michael Brewster, Dan Herron and DeVier Posey completed their work at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis over the weekend.

Adams, produced one of the most disappointing performances, with 19 reps on the bench press to go along with a terrible 5.40 mark in the 40-yard dash, even though it might not mean too much, being an offensive lineman. Brewster put up 29 reps on the bench and clocked a 5.35 40 at 6'2", 312.

Herron clocked a 4.66 in the 40, which is not as good as he was hoping for as a running back.

Posey turned in a 4.50, which doesn't really seem to be accurate in my opinion. Interestingly enough, Posey's unofficial time was a 4.37 40. You have to wonder which is his real true speed.

Buckeyes Fall At Home To Wisconsin

Buford's last home game was a loss

Jordan Taylor netted 19 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists, and No. 16 Wisconsin edged No. 8 Ohio State, 63-60, in a thriller on Sunday.

Jared Berggren scored 18 points and Ryan Evans had a double-double with 10 points to go with 10 boards for the Badgers (21-8, 10-6 Big Ten), who bounced back from a one-point loss at Iowa on Thursday.

Deshaun Thomas led all scorers with 23 points and William Buford contributed 15 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes (23-6, 11-5), who have lost two of three. Aaron Craft added 13 points in defeat. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State's leading scorer averaging 17.2 points per game, was held to eight points.

In a scintillating game that featured 22 lead changes, none was more important than Berrgen's three-pointer, giving the Badgers a 61-59 edge. It was a lead that they did not relinquish. Down 59-58, Berggren accepted a pass from Taylor just beyond the arc on the left wing and drained his decisive three.

Basketball Preview: #8 Ohio State vs. #16 Wisconsin

Buford is playing his last home game

Despite its recent losses, Ohio State remains in contention for another Big Ten title. Another subpar performance against a ranked opponent, though, might all but end those championship hopes. The eighth-ranked Buckeyes will try to keep those alive by getting past No. 16 Wisconsin in their final home game of the season Sunday.

Ohio State (23-5, 11-4) has split its past four games -- with both of those losses against Top 25 teams -- and is 1 1/2 games behind Michigan State in the conference race. The Buckeyes, seeking their fifth title in seven seasons and third in a row, will visit the Spartans on March 4 to conclude the regular season.

After shooting 38.8 percent in a 56-51 loss at rival Michigan on Feb. 18, Ohio State bounced back with a 65.3 percent performance -- its second-best this season -- in an 83-67 rout of visiting Illinois on Tuesday. The Buckeyes made 11 of their first 12 shots in that game.

Deshaun Thomas finished with a team-best 19 points while making six of his eight shots, and William Buford had 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

Buford, who has been a part of 108 wins over his four seasons, will be the only Buckeyes player participating in his final home game. The senior guard is 34 points shy of surpassing Michael Redd for fifth on the school's scoring list.

Friday's Buckeye Bits

Good Friday morning, Buckeye Nation! We're putting a nail in this week, another week without football. Not to worry. By my count, we are merely 57 days away from the Spring Game!

Hoopage News. First, the women's team. Last night was Senior night and Samantha Prahalis wrote one of the final chapters of an outstanding career, playing her last at the Schott. And it was a good one to go out on, with a 25-point thumping of the Gophers.

Prahalis ended the night scoring a school record with 42 points on her own. She hit 15 of 27 shots from the field including 7 of 12 3-pointers, and was 5 for 5 at the line. She also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals before leaving to a standing ovation with 2:27 left after breaking Katie Smith's 1994 record by hitting two free throws.

How Jim Delany Finds Traction On The Slippery Slope

More Money - More Headaches

Our friend ProveIt has dropped by again for his third article on ITS. Today he covers just how Delany is working the playoff/BCS scene.

Portions of Delany’s playoff model were recently leaked - a seeded 4 selected using the BCS formula with the 1st round played at the home field of the top 2 teams. The location of the title game would be bid on by prospective hosts.

The Slippery Slope
From the initial SEC proposal to the present, the majors have said they don’t believe a seeded 4 or plus 1 would appreciably impact yearly revenue. They believe a seeded 4 risks becoming a slippery slope to larger formats. They believe larger formats would result in a decrease in revenue for the year. This is the common findings of the networks, bowls, and independent research groups. When dropped like a hammer to the head of mid major commissioners, they have never denied this, choosing instead to quickly change the topic.

It is worth noting:
1. Nobody with access to, and the ability to project from, pertinent information has ever claimed a plus 1 or seeded 4 playoff would result in a notable change in revenue for the year for the majors. They have all claimed a larger format would result in a yearly loss in revenue for the majors.

2. Prior to the recent talks (and perhaps still now), no major had ever stated their conference supports a playoff of any size – this includes the SEC and ACC.

 - If you have a link to show otherwise, it would be greatly appreciated. If you have a series of unsupported plausible sounding statements, you have something anyone could make up.

This is not the 1st Time Delany Walked the Slippery Slope
Courtesy of Pariahwulfen at Off Tackle Empire, Delany promoted a true Plus 1 format to the B1G in 2005.

“Henry Bienen, president of Northwestern University, told Yahoo! Sports that Delany actually favored a playoff-type system that Delany decried in 2005… the so-called Plus-One model, the two top-rated teams that emerged after the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl were played would advance to a national championship game. “