Ohio State Tabbed Ninth in Early Poll – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 28, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio-When Ohio State opens the 2006-07 men’s basketball season Nov. 10, it will be among the preseason Top 10 teams nationally, according to Street and Smith’s College Basketball Yearbook.
Ohio State, fresh from its outright regular season Big Ten championship in 2006, is rated No. 9 by Street and Smith’s in its annual preseason publication. The yearbook also selected the Buckeyes’ freshman center, Greg Oden, as a preseason first-team All-America. The 7-foot center currently is rehabilitating a right wrist injury that will keep him sidelined for the early portion of Ohio State’s 2006-07 schedule.
Thad Matta, the reigning Big Ten coach of the year, is in his third season on the Ohio State sidelines as head coach of the Buckeyes. He will direct the start of official practice Oct. 13 with a roster of 11 student-athletes, nine of which are available scholarship players.
With five returners and six newcomers, which includes a transfer who will sit out this season to satisfy NCAA rules, Matta will have his hands full early with scheduled road trips to North Carolina, No. 3 in the Street and Smith’s poll, and No. 1 Florida. The Buckeyes also travel for a neutral-site game vs. Cincinnati in mid-December and take on Iowa State and Tennessee in Columbus. No. 7 Wisconsin will face Ohio State twice in Big Ten Conference play as well.
Street & Smith’s 2006-07 Preseason Top 25
1. Florida
2. Kansas
3. North Carolina
4. Pittsburgh
5. Duke
6. LSU
7. Wisconsin
8. Georgetown
9. Ohio State
10. UCLA
11. Alabama
12. Arizona
13. Texas A&M
14. Memphis
15. Boston College
16. Marquette
17. Creighton
18. Syracuse
19. Georgia Tech
20. Nevada
21. Gonzaga
22. Kentucky
23. Villanova
24. San Diego State
25. Southern California
All-America Teams
First team:
Ronald Steele, guard, Alabama
Chris Lofton, guard, Tennessee
Nick Fazekas, forward, Nevada
Joakim Noah, forward, Florida
Greg Oden, center, Ohio State
Second team:
Dominic James, guard, Marquette
Arron Afflalo, guard, UCLA
Tyler Hansbrough, forward, North Carolina
Glen Davis, forward, LSU
Aaron Gray, center, Pittsburgh
Third team:
Sean Singletary, guard, Virginia
Richard Roby, guard, Colorado
Jared Dudley, forward, Boston College
Al Horford, forward, Florida
Roy Hibbert, center, Georgetown
