College Basketball Preview: 9. Ohio State Buckeyes

The good defender Lighty now must be a scorer with no more Turner.

Ohio State Buckeyes, Key Losses: G Evan Turner, G P.J. Hill Key Returnees: F Dallas Lauderdale, G-F David Lighty, G Jon Diebler

It might be hard to imagine the Buckeyes this high up after the loss of Evan Turner. But, their is still a lot of talent in Ohio. Most notably guard/forward David Lighty who's not explosive but works hard. Hard nosed power forward Dallas Lauderdale could be moved to center but it shouldn't matter much one way or another. The question may be who will take the ball up now with no Turner. It will be likely be guard William Buford who isn't as quick or as good of a ball handler as Turner but can still make plays. The Buckeyes may also put sharpshooter Jon Diebler at shooting guard which would be a better fit for him than at small forward where he played a lot last season. A huge reason Ohio State is so high is the recruiting. They gained 5 top 150 recruits including 3 ranked center Jared Sullinger, who could start and F DeShaun Thomas(18).

Big Ten Rank: 3rd
Last Season Results: 29-8, lost to Tennessee in Sweet 16
Key Recruits: C Jared Sullinger(3+), F DeShaun Thomas(18+), G Jordan Sibert(37+)
+=Rivals.com Recruiting Rank