\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tBruce Thornton, ladies and gentlemen:\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\t\tYou only get one life, you only get one decision of playing in college and Im glad Im a buckeye for life.<\/p>\n
– Bruce Thornton after Saturday’s win over Indiana. @OhioStateHoops<\/a> | #GoBucks<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/bsrIwsZklo<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\u2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) March 9, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n\tHe’s one of one!\n<\/p>\n
\n\tHave a good Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0BACK TO WORK.\u00a0<\/strong>Ohio State football is back.\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\tEeeeeek, it\u2019s back!\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0OHIO STATE PRESIDENT JIM TRESSEL? <\/strong>Ohio State president Ted Carter resigned Monday<\/a> after disclosing \u201can inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThat could mean a million things. None of them are good. All of them lead to the same result: Ohio State is searching for its third president since 2021, following two-year stints by Kristina Johnson and Carter.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWho do Eleven Warriors readers want to provide stability to the position?\n<\/p>\n
\n\tJames Patrick Tressel.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe first comment on our article for Carter\u2019s resignation came from 12th Warrior NHBuckeye, who \u2014 first and foremost \u2014 called Carter a \u201cdumbass.\u201d He then beckoned Ohio State\u2019s board of trustees to \u201cGet Jim Tressel on the horn ASAP.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe second comment, via Undercoverbuck, stole some of NHBuckeye\u2019s thunder \u2014 and (apologies to NHBuckeye) deservedly so.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cSure, he\u2019s an Ohio guy but only a President at an FCS school. Do we really think he\u2019s ready for that big of a jump to prime-time D1? Ohio State isn\u2019t where people get to learn on the job?\u201d Undercoverbuck wrote sarcastically.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWell played, sir. Well played.\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\t\tOhio State president Ted Carter resigns after disclosing an inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business. https:\/\/t.co\/NqiijXBM0w<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 9, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n\tTressel was a popular pick among Ohio State fans to become the school\u2019s next president when Michael Drake retired in June 2020 and when Johnson, Drake\u2019s successor, resigned in November 2022. However, Tressel was never reported as a legitimate candidate for the role.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tFollowing a decorated college football coaching career, which included four Division I-AA national championships at Youngstown State and one national title at Ohio State, Tressel became the vice president of strategic engagement at Akron in 2012. Two years later, he became president at Youngstown State, a position he held until his retirement in 2023. Tressel, who turned 73 in December 2025, has spent the past year as Ohio\u2019s lieutenant governor.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile Tressel has proven administrative skills \u2014 and, clearly, the widespread support of Buckeye fans \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t consider him a candidate to be Ohio State\u2019s president this time around, either. Ohio State has too many issues, both academic and athletic, that I\u2019m not sure Tressel would want to dive headfirst into at his age.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tBut what do I know? I wouldn\u2019t have predicted that the university would have two presidents in the timeframe it takes most students to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree (though I hear a lot of people go to college for seven years<\/a>). Anything can happen!\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0\u201cWE\u2019RE BUILDING SOMETHING.\u201d<\/strong> Please do not excommunicate me for this take, but here\u2019s something I\u2019ve been thinking about since Saturday: Ohio State\u2019s win over Indiana could rally the program like Matt Sylvester\u2019s buzzer-beater against Illinois<\/a> in 2005.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tStay with me now.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSylvester\u2019s buzzer-beater is an iconic Ohio State basketball moment, lifting the Buckeyes over top-ranked Illinois in the season finale at the Schottenstein Center. Ohio State, which missed the 2005 NCAA Tournament despite being 20-12 after the Big Ten Tournament, used the win as a launching pad toward remarkable success under Thad Matta.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSaturday\u2019s win feels like it had the potential to do something similar. While I cannot guarantee a national runner-up, two Final Fours, three Elite Eights and five Sweet 16s under Jake Diebler, I am confident that, with Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament results pending, Diebler can capitalize on the program\u2019s snowballing momentum.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tOhio State sold out the Schottenstein Center for the first time since a March 2022 matchup with Michigan. Almost all of the 18,801 in attendance \u2014 including alumni Dennis Hopson<\/a>, Brad Sellers, Jim Jackson (who called the game for Fox Sports), Lawrence Funderburke,\u00a0Scoonie Penn, Michael Redd,\u00a0Greg Oden, J.J. Sullinger, Aaron Craft, and future Buckeye Anthony Thompson \u2014 were on their feet when Bruce Thornton broke the all-time scoring record<\/a>. They also gave Thornton a standing ovation when he checked out near the end of the game.\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\t\tMan, this moment is incredible. Bruce Thornton being all business while the crowd collectively loses its mind perfectly encapsulates the kind of humble, team-first player he’s been his entire career. The all-time leading scorer and an all-time Buckeye.pic.twitter.com\/DUiAISMwT9<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\u2014 Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) March 7, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n\tDiebler said he felt the crowd\u2019s energy the entire game, but in those moments, it reached a level \u201cthat impacts winning.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis was a culmination of a lot of hard work and fight and handling adversity well,\u201d Diebler said after the game<\/a>. \u201cThe response from Buckeye Nation was incredible. That\u2019s what college basketball is all about at so many levels. There was so much that went into the moment today. A lot of people have played a major role in that, but we\u2019re building something\u2026 This was a huge step for us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThornton agrees.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cTonight was what Ohio State basketball should be every night,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cThe standard. You see the alumni, the fans, tonight had a different feel to it, a different energy. The confidence we have as a team right now, we worked for that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIf Sylvester\u2019s buzzer-beater launched Ohio State into one of its golden eras, what could Thornton\u2019s record-breaking moment do? That\u2019s for Diebler and his players to decide \u2014 and for me to ponder. As I do, I like what I\u2019m imagining: faith restored and hope rising in one of college basketball\u2019s sleeping giants.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0MASH MADNESS.<\/strong> No matter what happens in the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State looks all but locked into the Big Dance for the first time in four years.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAndy Anders will break down the full picture in this week\u2019s Buckeyetology, but as conference championship week begins, ESPN\u2019s Joe Lunardi<\/a> has the Buckeyes as the No. 9 seed in the Greenville Regional. That would mean a Round of 64 matchup against No. 8 Georgia and, if they advance, a Round of 32 showdown with No. 1 Duke \u2014 though the Blue Devils would first have to survive UMBC, the program that delivered the most shocking NCAA Tournament upset ever by beating top-seeded Virginia 74-54 in 2018.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhenever, wherever and whoever Ohio State faces in the tournament, you could watch the Buckeyes play at High Bank Distillery during the Mash Madness: Barrel Room Bash<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\tFor $35 per day or $60 for both days, you\u2019ll get wall-to-wall basketball, an all-you-can-eat game-day feast and access to one of the best atmospheres in Columbus to sweat out every buzzer-beater. We\u2019re turning the barrel room into the ultimate hangout \u2014 massive screens, nonstop action from the first tip to the final buzzer and the kind of electric energy that only March can bring.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tCome hungry and stay all day. High Bank is serving up a full spread of nachos, wings, hot dogs, salads and more \u2014 the comfort food you need to power through overtime thrillers and bracket chaos (drinks sold separately). Sip your way through the madness with craft cocktails, whiskey pours, buckets of beer and more available at the bar, and don\u2019t miss the limited-release Mash Madness Cigar Cask Blend while you\u2019re there.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWe\u2019ll also have raffle items and prizes throughout the event benefiting the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, so you can enjoy the games while supporting a great cause in the community. Bring your crew. Rep your team. Cheer loud!\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. <\/strong>One Hour of the “March Madness Theme Song” – CBS Sports.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0<\/strong>Finnish pair wins a barrel of ale in annual “wife-carrying” contest in England<\/a>…\u00a0Bag containing weed and cash accidentally donated to a New Zealand charity shop<\/a>…\u00a0Spacecraft\u2019s impact changed asteroid\u2019s orbit around the sun in a save-the-Earth test<\/a>…\u00a0Fans feared the worst, then Big Bear\u2019s Jackie flew back to the nest<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n