Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Buckeyes Are Defeated by Brandon Paul's 43 Points - Change Coming to BCS? -Players Entering the NFL Draft


Players Entering the NFL Draft

Entering draft
Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson
Edwin Baker, RB, Michigan State
Mike Ball, RB, Nevada
Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State
Greg Childs, WR, Arkansas
Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State
David DeCastro, G, Stanford
Marcus Fortson, DT, Miami
Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
Chris Givens, WR, Wake Forest
Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
Cliff Harris, CB, Oregon
Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
Jayron Hosley, CB, Virginia Tech
LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina
Chandler Jones, LB, Syracuse
Matt Kalil, OT, USC
Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
Ronnell Lewis, LB/DE, Oklahoma
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Terrell Manning, LB, North Carolina State
Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
Bobby Massie, OT, Ole Miss
Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois
Lamar Miller, RB, Miami
Brock Osweiler, QB, Arizona State
Donte Paige-Moss, DE, North Carolina
Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple
Nick Perry, DE, USC
Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
Chris Polk, RB, Washington
Riley Reiff, OT, Michigan State
Josh Robinson, CB, UCF
Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers
Darrell Scott, RB, USF
Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami
Robert Turbin, RB, Utah State
Olivier Vernon, DE, Miami
Brandon Washington, G, Miami
David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech
Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State


Undecided

Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State
Mario Benavides, C, Louisville
Orson Charles, TE, Georgia
Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
Marcus Coker, RB, Iowa
Ray Graham, RB, Pittsburgh
Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama
Ronnie Hillman, RB, San Diego State
Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa
Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
Robert Lester, S, Alabama
E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State
Jonathan Massqauoi, DE, Troy
Leon McFadden, CB, San Diego State
Sam Montgomery, DE, LSU
Sio Moore, LB, Connecticut
Alex Okafor, DE, Texas
Eric Page, WR, Toledo
Rueben Randle, WR, LSU
Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
Trent Richardson, TB, Alabama
Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers
Kawann Short, DT, Purdue
John Simon, DT, Ohio State
Chase Thomas, LB, Stanford
Kenny Vacarro, S, Texas


Returning to school
Ray Ray Armstrong, S, Miami
Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin
Matt Barkley, QB, USC
Knile Davis, RB, Arkansas
Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida State
Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia
Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
T.J. McDonald, FS, USC
Kevin Reddick, LB, North Carolina
Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame






Buckeyes Are Defeated by Brandon Paul's 43 Points

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Brandon Paul awoke from a nap Tuesday to a text from Illinois coach Bruce Weber. The message was simple: It's your night.
Weber couldn't have known how right he was.
Paul scored a career-high 43 - the third best scoring performance in Illinois basketball history - to lead the Illini (15-3, 4-1) past the No. 5 Buckeyes 79-74.
The most important of Paul's shots was an off-balance 3-pointer that, with 43 seconds left, gave Illinois a 74-70 lead that all but finished the Buckeyes.
By then, the junior said, so many of his shots had fallen he couldn't help but laugh to himself.
"I was laughing a couple times. After the first couple three's, I just said I was going to keep shooting," Paul said, saying he didn't think he'd ever scored 43, even in AAU ball. "That's the mindset that I've got to have."
"Brandon Paul played like a pro tonight," teammate Meyers Leonard added.
Buckeye coach Thad Matta said Paul's night - and the Illinois win it guaranteed - was among the best he's seen anyone have against Ohio State (15-3, 3-2).
"I've seen (former Wisconsin Badger) Jordan Taylor have one of those nights and I saw (former Purdue star) Etwuan Moore have one of those nights, and then I saw this," Matta said. "You have to give him credit; he made plays."
Paul scored the final 15 points for the Illini.
Ohio State led 39-34 at halftime, and was up 64-61 with just over five minutes to play.
But with the game tied at 66 with just over two minutes to play, Joseph Bertrand swiped the ball from William Buford, putting the ball in Paul's hands for a baseline 3-pointer that put the Illini up 69-66.
Paul's 43 points was the third-highest scoring performance in Illini history and he tied a school record with eight 3-pointers. He also had a team-high eight rebounds
Leonard added 14 for Illinois and Bertrand and D.J. Richardson scored 10 each.
Deshaun Thomas scored 23 points and Jared Sullinger added 21 for Ohio State. William Buford had 15 points for the Buckeyes and Aaron Craft added 12.
Ohio State looked ready to put the Illini away early in the second half, stretching its lead to 48-37 in the opening two minutes on an efficient run that yielded nine points over four possessions. The last three points came from Thomas on a jump shot and a free throw.
Weber told his team in a huddle that it was a make-or-break point in the game.
They go up 10 or 11, and then we came back," he said.
Illinois ran off its own 7-0 run, pulling to with two at 48-46 on a 3-pointer by Richardson. Paul stole the ball from Sullinger, broke down the court and quickly fed his junior teammate. It was the kind of run Illinois was able to answer with all night.
"We just let down," Matta said. "We've got to find another gear about us."
Ohio State did pull away yet again, going up 52-46 on a short turnaround jumper by Sullinger over Leonard with 14:25 left in the game.
The Illini then scored eight straight, taking the lead 55-54 with a baseline jumper by Leonard with 11:18 to play. The run's other six points came, not surprisingly, from Paul on a pair of 3-pointers. The second a sky-high bomb that dropped cleanly through the net and ignited the crowd.
On Illinois' next possession, Paul drew what the officials judged to be an intentional foul by Craft, sinking two of his three shots and giving the Illini a 57-54 edge with just under 11 minutes left.
Buford answered a long miss by Paul with two points on outside jumper that tied the game again at 61.
Then, after a Leonard turnover, he drained a 3-pointer for a 64-61 Ohio State lead with 6:18 to play.
Paul had a confounding first half, the kind Illinois fans have gotten used to.
He committed four of Illinois' 10 first-half turnovers (and finished with seven).
"I had way too many turnovers," he said. "I have to take care of the ball better."
"The way he started," Weber joked, "he was special bad. But he was special good down the stretch."
Paul led the Illini on a 10-0 run that brought them back from a 23-15 deficit to a 25-23 lead.
Most of that run came with Sullinger on the bench.
Paul's 3-pointer with 6:23 to play in the half tied the game at 23, and Sullinger quickly left the bench to come back in.
Paul, though, followed his game-tying shot up less than a minute later with a bucket that gave the Illini the lead, their first since going up 2-0 less than a minute into the game.
Sullinger didn't score until almost nine minutes were gone in the first half, and was frustrated by a combination of tenacious defense from Leonard and Paul.
Sullinger took the hint, moving to the perimeter where he hit two first-half 3-pointers.
The second, over a desperate Leonard lunging toward the 3-point line to reach him, gave the Buckeyes a 34-29 lead with 2:19 left in the half.
Even with 21 points, Weber said he was happy with defense against Sullinger, particularly from Leonard.
"It's truly a heavyweight battle with those two pounding on each other all the time," Weber said.


BCS executive director: 50-60 ideas presented for postseason change

One day after the BCS championship game, members of the BCS met today, as was indicated yesterday, to discuss possible changes to the postseason format of major college football.
There were reportedly a lot of ideas; somewhere between 50-60 to give you a ballpark estimate. BCS executive director Bill Hancock said after the meeting that the 11 conference commissioners will meet likely 5-7 more times and a decision is expected to come before July 4.
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said ideas were presented, but not ranked or thrown out.
“It was far more open,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. “Four years ago there were five guys who didn’t want to have the discussion. Everyone here fully participated in it.”
I wouldn’t necessarily count on a definitive answer any time soon seeing as these things move at extraordinarily slow rates, but any discussions about how to change the current system is progress.

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