Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Buckeye

Ohio State jumped way up the polls early in this 08-09 campaign. In fact, the Buckeyes, after starting 8-0, reached No. 15 in the AP poll and 13 in the Coaches' Poll. All the recognition came after Thad Matta's guys dropped Notre Dame and Miami in back-to-back upsets.

Then, Ohio State edged now-ranked Butler and pushed a few bad teams down.

8-0.

Easy as that.

Then, the Bucks were throttled by visiting West Virginia.

A nice win against a very good defensive team in Iowa came next, but that was briefly enjoyed, because Minnesota dispatched OSU three days later.

Michigan State dropped OSU in similar fashion -- resoundingly.

So, Ohio State -- true contender or just a pretender?

Not an easy question to answer. I think the Buckeyes can be a Tournament team. They have the talent, albeit young, to make some noise in the Big Ten. But the question is, how many times can the other good teams in the conference thump them before the Buckeyes fold up and mail in the rest of the season?

Oh, and p.s., every night this winter will have two ranked Big East teams playing each other. Sure seems like it, doesn't it?

Weekend Preview

Because I'm away for the weekend, let's run over some of the best games ahead, starting with tonight ...

Games of the Week(end):

St. Joe's vs. No. 15 Villanova (Thursday at 8): Last year, St. Joe's put a hurtin' on the 'Cats. Villanova has the upper hand this year, but Scottie Reynolds has to be a bigger factor if 'Nova wants to go anywhere. And if Tuesday's performance against Texas was any indiciation, Reynolds has a lot of work ahead.

Iowa at Iowa State (Friday at 8:05): This one's not on TV, but a good-old in-state rivalry never disappoints, even if this one lost its relevance about three years ago.

Long Beach State at No. 13 Syracuse (Saturday at noon): It will be interesting to see if Syracuse is distracted by the whole Eric-Devendorf-hitting-a-girl-in-the-face controversy. He'll be on the floor Saturday.

Butler at No. 21 Ohio State (Saturday at noon): Ohio State made its case for being ranked; now it's Butler's turn. We know the Buckeyes are gritty and talented. Butler has a chance to get a really high-quality win on the road.

No. 8 Tennessee at Temple (Saturday at noon on ESPN): The first of many tough games ahead for the Vols. This will test their mettle.

No. 17 Memphis at No. 19 Georgetown (Saturday at 2 p.m. on CBS): Both teams are scrapping to get recognized, but these are two clubs nobody will want to play come March. Or January, for that matter.

UMass at No. 25 Kansas (Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN): Kansas should win this game, but UMass needs to cut down on its turnovers to start competing better with big-name clubs like KU. This would be a nice place to start for the Minutemen.

Indiana at Kentucky (Saturday at 4 p.m. on CBS): Just for the names, not for the hoops.

Utah at No. 5 Oklahoma (Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN 2): The Sooners should win this contest, but the Utes have a nice team.

UMBC at No. 3 Pitt (Saturday at 7 p.m.): Cause it's been too long for the Panthers.

No. 10 Xavier at Cincinnati (Saturday at 8 on ESPN 2): The Musketeers are legit, we know that much. But how far has Cincinnati come this season? Good wins against UAB and at UNLV look nice, but a loss to Florida State catches my eye.

No. 4 Gonzaga at Arizona (Sunday at 6): Jordan Hill is starting to be a major player for the 'Cats, but Gonzaga is clearly at Top 5 team that is starting to really jell. They ran over Wazzou (at Wazzou, no less) on Wednesday.

OK, folks, have a nice weekend.

Another Resume-Builder

Add Duke to the list of upsets. Michigan is certainly piling up some nice NCAA Tournament-caliber wins in the nonconference schedule. A win against Duke gives the Wolverines two (UCLA being the other).

Could Michigan challenge for third in the Big Ten? We'll see.

Elsewhere
-- God, of all the teams I wanted to see in the BCS title game, Florida is not even close to being one of them. The only good thing to ever come out of Florida is Erin Andrews.

-- Notre Dame lost to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are snatching up some nice wins early this year, too.

Starting the Party Off Right

I have to admit something: I refused to watch more than snippets of the Wisconsin-Virginia Tech last night. I can't stand watching Wisconsin. The Badgers are more boring to watch than The Hills. But my college basketball desires could not be entirely crushed, and, with 30 seconds left, I decided to flip back to ESPN to catch the game's waning moments.

Boy, was I rewarded.

It was 67-58 Wisconsin with 1:14 left, so when I tuned in, the commentators were talking about Virginia Tech's comeback in the final minute to make it a game. Here's what ensued ...

0:53 Va. Tech's Malcolm Delaney hits a 3 (67-61 W)
0:43 Wisconsin's Joe Krabbenhoft makes 1 of 2 FTs (68-61 W)
0:36 VT's Dorenzo Hudson hits a 3 (68-64)
0:33 Wisconsin turnover
0:29 VT's Delaney fouled shooting a 3, makes 2 of 3 FTs (68-66 W)
0:26 Wisconsin's Krabbenhoft makes 2 of 2 FTs (70-66 W)
0:18 VT's AD Vasallo makes a 3 (70-69 W)
0:11 Wisconsin's Jason Bohannon makes 2 of 2 FTs (72-69 W)
0:07 VT's Vasallo makes another 3 (72-72)

And that's when Hughes drove (almost) the length of the floor, slipped by one defender and awkwardly released a jumper while sideways and barely avoiding another defender. Nothing but net.

Virginia Tech even had a halfcourt heave to win, and it looked good when released, but not good enough.

What a finish. Wisconsin won, 74-72.

Elsewhere
-- Rosie O'Donnell's show got canceled after one episode. Surprised?

-- Good games tonight: Ohio State at No. 21 Miami and No. 4 Duke at No. 9 Purdue. Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, of course.