Ohio State Basketball: Will Buckeyes Help Big Ten Be Nation’s Best Conference?

The Big Ten has been a bridesmaid instead of a bride in the college basketball world recently.

It is almost always one of the best conferences in the country during the regular season and regularly sends teams to the Final Four, but the last national championship for the league came from Michigan State in 2000.

Ohio State has certainly been a part of this trend, with multiple trips to the Final Four, multiple No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament, a loss in the national championship and a heartbreaking loss to underdog Wichita State in the Elite Eight over the course of the past 10 years.

The question is, can the Buckeyes help the Big Ten establish itself as the nation’s best conference during the 2014-15 campaign?

Regardless of what too-early preseason polls say, the thought here is that Ohio State is much better than it was last year, even if it did lose Aaron Craft, Lenzelle Smith Jr. and LaQuinton Ross. One reason why is that Thad Matta brought in a loaded recruiting class, which Jerry Meyer of 247Sports commented on, via Kyle Rowland of Eleven Warriors:

It’s funny, some people across the country are quick to doubt Thad and his ability to recruit. Yet, he typically brings in some great classes.

Ohio State is one of the top programs in the country. The stability and the consistency they have there has been impressive. Going into every year, I assume they could be a Final Four contender. Maybe they need a little bit of a punch here or a spark…

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