Some more clutch shots!

There is nothing more exciting than a big shot to win a huge game.  Yesterday, I posted about my top 3 big shots in Ohio State basketball.  Well after I posted there were some other great shots that came to mind.  I decided to post other great shots that I will never forget.

Buford Big Ten Title Winner Over Sparty! 

The best part of this game-winner is Buford's smile looking over at the Michigan State students after draining the shot.  This gave the Buckeyes a tie for the Big Ten title, and is the signature moment of Buford's career.  His legacy up to that point was his struggles against Kentucky in the NCAA tournament the year before.

Jared Sullinger pulls out a late basket over Northwestern!

Northwestern made a great comeback against the Buckeyes, but Jared Sullinger was able to pull out this gem to give Ohio State the win.

Matt Sylvester knocks off LSU in dramatic fashion!

Big Shot Sylvester does it again.  This time it was against LSU, who went on to make it to the Final 4 that season.

The Best Clutch Shots in Ohio State History

Ohio State Basketball Countdown: 21 days until exhibition game with Walsh, 31 days until season opener with Marquette, and 85 days until the Big Ten opener with Nebraska!

With Ohio State Basketball season just around the corner, as a countdown we will be answering some Buckeye Basketball questions to get ready for the season.

What is the best clutch shot in Ohio State history?


When I think about the best clutch shots, there are 3 questions that pop into my head. 
1. How significant is the game in which the clutch shot comes?
2. How difficult was the shot?
3. How much time was left when the clutch shot was made?

With the above criteria, here are my top three clutch shots in Ohio State basketball history.


1.  Ron Lewis in the 2007 NCAA Tournament to beat Xavier in the Second Round
The reason this shot is number one on the list is how big the game was in which the shot was made.  Ron Lewis hit a long distance three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into Overtime!  Ohio State went on to win the game and make it all the way to the National Championship game.  What adds to this amazing shot it that it was an amazing call by Gus Johnson.  Watch the clip below.  I have seen it no less than 30 times and I get goosebumps every time!

2.  Evan Turner from just in front of half court to beat Michigan in the 2010 Big Ten Quarterfinal
It was a difficult choice between this shot and the Matt Sylvester's shot against Illinois for number 2 on the list.  I went with this one because of the difficulty of the shot.  Turner was just past mid-court and it was hit with the clock hitting zero.  The shot helped the Buckeyes advance on and win the Big Ten Tournament in 2010.  It was also my favorite shot of all-time as I sat in the stands thinking I was going to be in Indianapolis for two more days as the Buckeyes were going to be going home.

 

3.  Matt Sylvester beats Undefeated Illinois on a Three Point Shot with under 5 seconds to play
Matt Sylvester was never considered a star as a Buckeye despite his decent 4 year career.  What he could be considered was clutch!  In the final game of the regular season with Number One ranked Illinois at the Schottenstein Center he came up with a huge game, and an even bigger shot to put the Buckeyes ahead.  The win ended the Illini dominance and undefeated regular season in 2005.  Illinois went on to lose in the National Championship to North Carolina.  Ohio State was ineligible for post-season play, so this was their National Championship.  This game is probably still the best game in the history of the Schottenstein Center.

Half-Way Mark of the Big Ten Season: The Prokop's

This weekend marks the halfway point of the Big Ten basketball season, so I figured it was about time to hand-out some Prokop awards. 

All-Big Ten (top 5 players in the league): Jared Sullinger OHIO STATE, Draymond Green MICHIGAN STATE, John Shurna NORTHWESTERN, Tim Frazier PENN STATE, and Jordan Taylor WISCONSIN

Best Newbie (top Freshman): Trey Burke MICHIGAN

Onions (clutch player): Christian Watford INDIANA

Who? (best player you might not know): Tim Frazier PENN STATE

Didn't you used to be good? (speaks for itself): Robbie Hummel PURDUE

Send it in Big Fella (Best 7-footer): Meyers Leonard ILLINOIS

Three Blind Mice Award (worst officiated game): Ohio State at Indiana on New Years Eve

WOW! (best dunk): Sam Thompson OHIO STATE vs Indiana

For Three (best 3 point shooter): Jordan Hulls INDIANA

Surprise Team: Michigan State

Disappointing Team: Northwestern

Gene Keady Award (Gotta be fake hair): Tom Crean INDIANA

George Castanza Award (coach that looks like George from Seinfeld): Doc Sadler NEBRASKA

Raise the eyebrows (most surprising result): TIE Indiana over Kentucky, Indiana over Ohio State, Northwestern over Michigan State, Iowa over Wisconsin

Ohio State Basketball Media Day

So how much weight did Jared Sullinger really lose this off-season?  What did William Buford and Aaron Craft work on in the off-season?  What do the new Freshman look like?  It is all here from Ohio State Media Day!

Back and Better than ever for Buckeye Basketball

Sports Advice You Didn't Ask for is back.  Maybe you finally asked for it!  Maybe I just wanted to avoid this disaster of a football season here in Columbus.  The reason it is back is simple.  Six months from now I plan on celebrating a Ohio State Basketball National Championship!  In the meantime I will be covering and documenting this entire college basketball season.  We are officially one month away from Ohio State's first regular season game against Wright State on November 11.  For the next month, I will be looking at questions and topics heading into the 2011-12 season. 

Big Ten By The Numbers

As I was researching Big Ten Football over the last decade, I came across some crazy information.  Did you know that Minnesota has beaten Arkansas, Oregon and Alabama as their last three bowl wins, while Michigan has only beaten one team in a bowl game the last 10 years....Florida twice!  Or how about this, Northwestern has just one bowl win in school history, and that was the 1949 Rose Bowl.  Below are some other numbers and information to impress your friends with.

Total Wins in Program History:
1. Michigan 884
2. Nebraska 837
3. Ohio State 819 (lost 11 wins from 2010 season)
4. Penn State 818
5. Minnesota 642
6. Michigan State 628
7. Wisconsin 624
8. Iowa 587
9. Purdue 579
10. Illinois 572
11. Northwestern 468
12. Indiana 449

Bowl Game Appearances over the last 10 seasons
1t. Iowa 9 (6-3)
1t. Ohio State 9 (5-4) (does not include Sugar Bowl from 2010)
1t. Wisconsin 9 (4-5)
4t. Nebraska 8 (5-3)
4t. Michigan 8 (2-6)
6t. Penn State 7 (4-3)
6t. Minnesota 7 (3-4)
8t. Purdue 6 (2-4)
8t. Michigan State 6 (1-5)
10. Northwestern 5 (0-5)
11. Illinois 3 (1-2)
12. Indiana 1 (0-1)

Prokop's Parlay: How to Spend $100 on College Football Preseason Odds

Throughout the season I will be wagering $100 every single week on college football bets.  There are 14 weeks of the regular season (including conference championship week) and I am giving myself a budget of $100 to spend on preseason picks.  So in all I am putting $1,500 on the line this football season to test my betting knowledge.  Rest easy friends and family, this is all just fake money and it not result in me losing the house.  However, I am curious how I would do throughout the entire season, so I will keep track on this blog of my earnings and losses.  At the end of the season, I will keep track of what I win and put the money down on bowl season. 

If you are interested in where I get the odds, you can find out and follow along at bodog.com.  I am strictly keeping it to college football for this experiment, but I may post other sports betting odds that I find interesting.  First, my betting philosophy tends to have me participate in 3-5 team parlays.  If you are unaware of a parlay, you have to hit all of the games correct to win.

So let's take a look at how I would spend my $100 of college football preseason bets.

Odds to win Heisman Trophy:
Scott Spends: $8 on LaMichael James to win $60 at 15/2
Scott Spends: $7 on Michael Floyd to win $280 at 40/1
Scott Spends: $5 on Andrew Luck to win $17.50 at 7/2

Explanation:  Picking the Heisman winner is difficult so I am only willing to risk $15 on it.  I love Michael Floyd the WR for Notre Dame at 40/1.  It is a long shot, but if Notre Dame has a good season, he will be the reason why.  He played great against Miami in the Sun Bowl and Notre Dame has the marquee games to get him noticed early.  Andrew Luck is the preseason favorite and everyone has him as the number 1 pick in next year's NFL Draft.

Odds to win National Championship:
Scott Spends: $10 on Wisconsin to win $180 at 18/1
Scott Spends: $5 on South Carolina to win $125 at 25/1
Scott Spends: $5 on Oregon to win $70 at 14/1

Explanation: I really think Wisconsin is the team to beat this year in the Big Ten.  They have a pathetic non-conference schedule and if they can win at Ohio State, I believe they go undefeated this year.  I have South Carolina because they have a Heisman candidate at QB and RB and because the SEC always puts a team in the title game.  Oregon is purely because I think the Pac-12 is mediocre and they can run through it. 

Odds to win Conference Championship:
Scott Spends: $20 on Ohio State to win Leaders Division to win $50 at 5/2
Scott Spends: $10 on Oklahoma State to win Big 12 to win $90 at 9/1
Scott Spends: $10 on Michigan State to win Legends Division to win $40 at 4/1
Scott Spends: $10 on Toledo to win MAC to win $32.50 at 13/4

Explanation: I know that I contradict my National Championship bet with Ohio State to win the Leaders Division.  I just think that if Ohio State wins at home against Wisconsin that Ohio State is a shoe-in to win the division.  They have won the conference the last 7 years, surely they can win the division.  I also really like Oklahoma State to upset Oklahoma for the Big 12 championship, especially at 9/1 odds.

Odds on Over/Under Win Totals:
Scott Spends: $10 on Boise State winning UNDER 10 games to win $24 at (+240)

Explanation: Boise State is in a new conference and will actually have to play some teams with a pulse.  I actually believe they will probably win 10 games, but if they don't I think it will be less considering they play @Georgia, TCU, @Toledo and @San Diego State. 

So there you have it for my preseason odds that stood out to me.  Below is my betting slip for the preseason!

Odds to win Heisman Trophy:
Scott Spends: $8 on LaMichael James to win $60 at 15/2
Scott Spends: $7 on Michael Floyd to win $280 at 40/1
Scott Spends: $5 on Andrew Luck to win $17.50 at 7/2
Odds to win National Championship:
Scott Spends: $10 on Wisconsin to win $180 at 18/1
Scott Spends: $5 on South Carolina to win $125 at 25/1
Scott Spends: $5 on Oregon to win $70 at 14/1
Odds to win Conference Championship:
Scott Spends: $20 on Ohio State to win Leaders Division to win $50 at 5/2
Scott Spends: $10 on Oklahoma State to win Big 12 to win $90 at 9/1
Scott Spends: $10 on Michigan State to win Legends Division to win $40 at 4/1
Scott Spends: $10 on Toledo to win MAC to win $32.50 at 13/4
Odds on Over/Under Win Totals:
Scott Spends: $10 on Boise State winning UNDER 10 games to win $24 at (+240)