Buckeyes begin Big Ten play at home against Hawkeyes

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12/31/2008 - Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Big Ten play begins for the 24th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the Iowa Hawkeyes tonight, as they duel at Value City Arena in Columbus.

The Buckeyes enter the tilt looking to rebound from their first loss of the season, as they were handled by West Virginia, 76-48, on Saturday. The setback snapped OSU's 14-game win streak, which had been the longest in the nation, and marked its worst home defeat since dropping a 107-75 decision to Purdue in 1998. OSU, which had won its last 54 games in Columbus against unranked teams, now turns its focus to the Big Ten, where it finished 10-8 a season ago.

As for Iowa, it took care of business in its final tuneup before league play, posting a 58-43 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday. It was the fourth win in the past five outings for the Hawkeyes, who improved to 10-3 on the year. Iowa will now try to carry its success over into Big Ten action after logging just a 6-12 record last season.

The Hawkeyes and Buckeyes split a pair of meetings on the hardwood last season, leaving Iowa with a 75-68 advantage in the head-to-head series.

Iowa clamped down on defense over the weekend, holding Western Illinois to a dismal 34.0 percent shooting effort from the floor in a 58-43 victory. The Hawkeyes made good on 46.2 percent of their field goal tries and they also went a solid 17-of-22 at the foul line. Jermain Davis and Jake Kelly each tallied 13 points in the win, while Matt Gatens notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Tucker, the team's leading scorer (13.0 ppg) on the year, however, didn't play due to a "coach's decision." Gatens ranks second to Tucker with 10.2 ppg on the season and he is also shooting an efficient 52.5 percent from the long range. As a team, Iowa is hitting on 47.3 percent of its attempts from the floor and 40.2 percent from three-point range for an average of 64.6 ppg.

In a simply dreadful shooting performance, OSU went a horrific 31.0 percent from the floor, including a poor 2-of-18 showing from three-point range, as it was downed by WVU on Saturday. The team didn't fared all that well at the foul line either, converting on just 10-of-19 chances. William Buford and Jeremie Simmons each netted 11 points, and Evan Turner had a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards in the setback. On the season, Turner is the only player for OSU averaging in a double figures, with 16.2 ppg, and he also leads the team with 7.2 rpg and 27 steals. The Buckeyes as a whole, have made their presence felt on defense, limiting foes to just 55.8 ppg and a only 37.7 percent shooting from the floor.

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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