Is Ohio State or Alabama Best Fit for Mammoth 4-Star JUCO OT Chad Mavety?
4-star JUCO offensive lineman Chad Mavety is one of the best junior college recruits in the 2014 class, and he’s getting major attention from some very big programs. That shouldn’t be surprising, because…
Watch List OT Smith plans three visits
It won’t be much of a break for Braden Smith (Olathe, Kan./Olathe) in a few weeks. Then again, one of the most sought-after offensive guards in the nation wants to make sure he’s making the right choice when it comes to colleges. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound junior has planned unofficial visits to Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame. The ESPN Watch List junior will visit the Buckeyes on March 18 and then follow up with visits to the Wolverines and Fighting Irish throughout the course of a week.
Ohio State 2014 snapshot: OT Jones
Throughout the next few months, BuckeyeNation will look deeper into those juniors offered by Ohio State. We’ll give as much detail as we can and go behind the scenes to see why these Class of 2014 standouts are so attractive to the Buckeyes. First on the list among offensive linemen is Jamarco Jones, who was in Columbus, Ohio a few weeks ago. Vitals: Jones (Chicago/De La Salle) is 6-foot-3 and 186 pounds. Status: Uncommitted and in high demand among Big Ten teams, Jones was offered by the Buckeyes on June 10 after a senior advanced camp at Ohio State.
Watch List OT finally visiting Ohio State
Back on Oct. 28, ESPN Watch List offensive tackle Quenton Nelson (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) was excited about his offer from the Buckeyes. It was the sixth offer from a BCS school and it set the dominoes in place for what has become an incredible offseason for the junior. Nelson, who now counts 25 such offers, tried to get to The Horseshoe for the Ohio State-Michigan game last fall, but high school playoffs got in the way and he had to scratch the trip.
Watch List OT Bauer piling up offers
As ESPN Watch List offensive tackle Andy Bauer (St. Louis/ De Smet) creeps up on 40 offers, he is reminded of two important yet unofficial rules to the recruiting game. Network, first of all; and second, have fun. Bauer has been making his rounds across the country taking both of those rules into consideration. The 6-foot-6, 304-pound lineman most recently visited Ole Miss with his family two weekends ago and hopes to take in a few other schools during the spring.
Illinois, Mizzou next trips for Watch List OT
ESPN Watch List offensive tackle Roderick Johnson (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) is up to eight offers – four from the Big Ten, three from the SEC and one from the ACC. The spring could be the perfect time for Johnson’s recruiting to see a major spike. At 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, Johnson recently picked up offers from Florida State and Tennessee. He also had offers from Missouri, Texas A&M, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa.
OT Eluemunor talks about newest offer
Jermaine Eluemunor (Scranton, Pa./Lackawanna) awoke to a ringing phone around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, assuming it was a premature alarm. But when he rolled over to turn his cell off, he noticed it was actually someone calling. About 10 minutes before sunrise, with crust still in his eyes, the juco offensive tackle ended up speaking with Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien. He expected a call from the Nittany Lions — but he wasn’t anticipating what came next.
Minnesota defense clamps down on Wisconsin in OT (The SportsXchange)
MINNEAPOLIS — It didn’t matter that the Minnesota offense wasn’t clicking Thursday night. Not with the way the Gophers played defense in a 58-53 overtime victory over No. 20 Wisconsin. The Gophers held the Badgers without a field goal during the final six minutes of regulation and the first 4:49 of overtime. Wisconsin missed 12 shots in a row and was 1-for-14 with four turnovers in that 11-minute stretch. That allowed Minnesota to close the game on a 15-6 run and secure an important victory. That down-the-stretch defense had been missing from the Gophers (18-7, 6-6 Big Ten) as they lost six of eight games and went from being ranked in the nation’s top 10 to being unranked. That ability to win a game with defense was part of the reason the Gophers were so pleased after the game. “It was very satisfying,” Austin Hollins said. “We sat down, we switched when we need to, we contested shots, we played good post defense.” Said Minnesota coach Tubby Smith: “We had gotten …
Minnesota 58, Wisconsin 53 (OT) (The SportsXchange)
MINNEAPOLIS — It didn’t matter that the Minnesota offense wasn’t clicking Thursday night. Not with the way the Gophers played defense Thursday night in a 58-53 overtime victory over No. 20 Wisconsin. Minnesota held the Badgers without a field goal over the final six minutes of regulation and the first 4:49 of overtime. By the time Wisconsin’s Jared Berggren scored a putback basket with 10.2 seconds remaining in overtime, the Gophers still led by three. The Gophers outscored Wisconsin 15-6 over the final six minutes of regulation and the overtime session. The Badgers made one of their final 14 shots and turned the ball over four times in that 11-minute stretch. The victory was important for Minnesota (18-7, 6-6 Big Ten) as the Gophers had lost two in a row and six of eight. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for No. 20 Wisconsin (17-8, 8-4) and didn’t allow the Badgers to…
No. 3 Michigan edges No. 10 Ohio State 76-74 in OT (The Associated Press)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke made nearly every shot they took from 3-point range in the second half. When that somehow wasn’t enough, Michigan’s talented tandem sealed a win with a little desperation on defense. Hardaway blocked Ohio State’s Aaron Craft on the final play, giving the third-ranked Wolverines a 76-74 overtime win over the 10th-ranked Buckeyes. Hardaway kept Michigan in the game with a relentless streak of 3-point shooting, then both teams struggled through a tense, low-scoring extra session that finally ended when Craft was stopped three straight times in the final minute. ”Ohio State-Michigan is one of the biggest rivalries in college basketball – in college, period,” Burke said. ”Just to come out and grit it out all the way to the end of regulation and in overtime, it shows a lot, how this team can stay together.” Hardaway scored 23 points, including five straight 3-pointers in the second half. Michigan made all eight of its attempts from…
