Next season comes early for Buckeyes

After losing six of their last eight including four straight, the Buckeyes are out of the NCAA tournament unless they manage to put it all together for the upcoming conference tournament.

How bad have things gotten in the last few weeks? Well, freshman center Kosta Koufos is still having problems battling for rebounds, taking too many bad shots and looking lost under the basket - and he's been the best player on the team.

Saturday was no different as once again sophomore forward David Lighty looked like he wasn't even on the court, and senior captain Jamar Butler ran the point with the enthusiasm of Ben Stein.

The team has officially fallen apart at the seams.

With home games remaining against Purdue and Michigan State and a student section that places tickets for sale at an exponential rate, it's realistic to expect this team to end the regular season on a six-game losing streak.

It's sad to see a player with the ability of Butler seemingly give up on the season.

Clearly exhaustion plays the biggest role in the Lima native's on-court nonchalance. Averaging 36.3 minutes per game could do that to a player.

Butler has played 35 or more minutes in all but one Big Ten contest this season, the lone exception being the Jan. 9 blowout victory against Iowa.

He's gone the full 40 minutes in 11 of the 29 games this season, leading a group of youngsters as they try to ascend from mediocrity.

With Butler leaving and the hopes for a potential return to stardom all but gone for the Buckeyes, it's time to start worrying about who's going to take his place.

Junior college transfer P.J. Hill is a sophomore and the only successor currently on the team who could learn a thing or two if given a few extra minutes in the season's remaining games.

Hill's shining moment was penetrating a tenacious Coppin State defense in a December showdown that proved too quick for the already tiring Butler.

Since then he's seen limited time.

Whether coach Thad Matta gives Hill time in the remaining games will likely determine if the guard gets the starting nod next season ahead of incoming freshman Anthony "Noopy" Crater.

The 6-foot-1-inch New Hampshire native is a natural point guard with great handling skills but a limited shooting ability.

Either way, next season's replacement will be a huge step down in experience.

With a bid to the National Invitational Tournament now in the works, it's likely the Buckeyes have four games remaining at the very least.

I think it's time to see what Hill and freshman shooting guard Eric Wallace are made of now that the season has pretty much hit the skids.

They can't do much worse than anyone else on the team, and they'll probably both be willing to fight for a major role for next season.

Either way, nobody can say these two gave anything less than their best and that's more than we can say for anyone else on the court Saturday.

Zack Timmons can be reached at timmons.60@osu.edu.