Ohio State Buckeyes

2011-12 Record: 31–7 (13–5 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Thad Matta (2nd Final Four)

Final Four Preview: Kentucky
Final Four Preview: Louisville
Final Four Preview: Ohio State
Final Four Preview: Kansas

Projected Starters: G – Aaron Craft (8.8 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 spg), G – Lenzelle Smith Jr. (6.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg), G/F – William Buford (14.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 82.6 FT%), F – Deshaun Thomas (16.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg), C – Jared Sullinger (17.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 53.1 FG%)

Will win the national title if… Jared Sullinger stays on the court and out of foul trouble. The 6'9", 280-pound sophomore is the key the Buckeyes’ attack on both ends of the floor. Big Sully returned to Columbus to make his mark on OSU history. He is in position to carry the Bucks to their first title game since Greg Oden in 2007 and first national championship since Jerry Lucas in 1960.

Will lose to Kansas on Saturday if… coach Thad Matta’s team loses control of the paint by Sullinger getting in foul trouble — as he did against both Gonzaga and Syracuse — or being outplayed by the Jayhawks’ duo of national player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson and 7-footer Jeff Withey. No team this side of Kentucky possesses the type of interior talent that KU does.

East Region

Best Team: Ohio State
Biggest Upset: Cincinnati over Florida State
Most Surprising Team: Cincinnati
Most Disappointing Team: Florida State

Best Player: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State. Big Sully may have been strapped with foul trouble more often than he would have liked, but the Buckeyes big man still carried OSU to the Big Easy.

Honorable Mention: Scoop Jardine, Syracuse; Dion Waiters, Syracuse; Yancy Gates, Cincinnati; Cashmere Wright, Cincinnati; Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin; Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Best Game: Syracuse 64, Wisconsin 63, Sweet 16 — The Badgers’ last-second luck ran out against the Orange, whose defense on the game’s final possession prevented UW from pulling off another late-game win, following a second-round victory over Vanderbilt.

Most Disappointing Game: Ohio State 81, Cincinnati 66, Sweet 16 — A record four teams from the state of Ohio advanced to the Sweet 16 (OSU, Cincy, Xavier, Ohio). The highest-profile matchup, however, quickly turned into a lopsided blowout.