1. Rarely is a Rose Bowl title the goal for an Ohio State football team, but after a pair of crushing defeats — one at home to USC and a shocking loss at Purdue — theBuckeyes had to reevaluate their annual expectations of a national championship. After a perfect November slate included wins over Penn State, Iowa and Michigan, Jim Tressel’s squad rolled into Pasadena, Calif., for a matchup with Pac-10 champion Oregon. OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor stole the show with an MVP performance that included a career-high 266 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, as the Bucks broke their BCS bowl hex with a 26-14 victory.
2. To no one’s surprise, Evan Turner declared for the NBA Draft on April 7, nearly two weeks removed from a Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Tournament. The junior guard left with plenty of hardware, racking up nearly every national award. Still, the Chicago native said he agonized over the decision because of his love for Ohio State.
“This is the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Turner said. “If I could, I’d really just disappear.” Turner has been widely projected as one of the top few selections in this month’s NBA Draft.
3. As if two triple-doubles and a super quick recovery from a broken back weren’t enough to 
stake his claim, Evan Turner removed all suspense from the race for National Player of the Year with a 37-foot heave that sank through the net at the buzzer of Ohio State’s 69-68 victory over Michigan in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Manny Harris appeared to give the Wolverines the upset with a fallaway jump shot with 2.2 seconds left, but Michigan didn’t pressure Turner on the ensuing play, and the All-American found just enough space to let go of a shot that cemented his status as the nation’s top player.
4. On a gray afternoon on Oct. 17, the OSU football team hit its low point. In perhaps the biggest upset during Jim Tressel’s nine-year tenure at OSU, the Buckeyes lost to Purdue, 26-18, in large part because of five costly turnovers. The Boilermakers snapped a five-game losing streak, looking like the better team. Pryor tossed a pair of interceptions and lost two fumbles and the Buckeyes never established a running game, falling behind by as wide a margin as 23-7. The defeat dropped OSU to 5-2 and completely out of contention for a national title.
5. Evan Turner sat at midcourt, mesmerized.
Several teammates ventured over, offering to help him to his feet, but Turner refused assistance, opting to bypass postgame handshakes and head directly for the locker room. The reality of a hard-fought, season-ending loss didn’t take long to sink in for the Big Ten Player of the Year, competing in scarlet and gray for what would be the final time. Tennessee, the No. 6 seed in the Midwest region, used a late surge in the closing minutes to knock off No. 2 Ohio State, 76-73, to move within one step of the Final Four. Tennessee clenched a three-point lead as the Buckeyes gained possession with 12 seconds left. Turner had two looks at the basket, but both shots — and the team as a whole — fell short. Despite the lack of a whistle, Turner felt there was contact on his desperation heaves.
“I definitely liked the look I got,” he said. “I thought I was going to get a call.”
6. Only twice in Bob Todd’s 23 seasons at the helm for the OSU baseball team did the Buckeyes not qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year five times and won more than 1,000 games in his coaching career. The Athletic Department retired his No. 18 jersey before the second game of OSU’s double header against Minnesota on May 22. The Buckeyes won that game 9-6 to send Todd out on a winning note.
7. The night started with tears dripping down the face of senior Mark Titus. It ended with a floor full of Buckeye nuts celebrating Ohio State’s first Big Ten Championship since the 2006-07 season. Behind a barrage of 3-pointers by junior Jon Diebler, the Buckeyes raced past Illinois to win 73-57 on senior night at the Schottenstein Center. Diebler drained seven shots from behind the arc, including five in the first half to pace the Buckeyes with 21 points. With the win, OSU clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title in the final home game for Titus, the rest of the seniors and Player of the Year Evan Turner.
8. After the Buckeyes hit rock bottom with a loss to lowly Purdue just one month earlier, few could have predicted the scene that took place at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 14. The sun had set, erasing any memories of the afternoon start, which seemed like a completely different game once the teams entered the extra period. The OSU defense, ravaged by Iowa’s backup quarterback during a fourth-quarter comeback that saw the Hawkeyes score 14 unanswered points, bounced back in overtime and forced Iowa into a turnover. On the Buckeyes’ ensuing possession, Devin Barclay blasted a 39-yard field goal through the uprights. Fans poured out onto the field and the Buckeyes clenched roses in their teeth, as OSU secured a berth in its first Rose Bowl since 1997.
9. Needing a basket to win the Big Ten Tournament Championship, center Jantel Lavender drew a foul and nailed a pair of free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining to propel the Buckeyes over Iowa for the conference tournament title with a 66-64 victory. Lavender was firing on all cylinders against the Hawkeyes, scoring 35 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She scored 23 of OSU’s 33 points in the second half, when the Buckeyes made a furious comeback, rallying from a 49-33 deficit to eventually tie the game at 60-60 with five minutes to play. Ohio State also won the regular-season championship, its sixth in a row, with four games remaining on its conference slate.
10. For once, the rivalry wasn’t all the talk leading up to “The Game.” With a Big Ten title in hand for OSU and another underachieving season all but clinched by Michigan, the Buckeyes’ unveiling of throwback uniforms for the regular season-ending tilt dominated the pregame chatter. The uniforms made no difference, however, as OSU rolled over the Wolverines for the sixth consecutive season, the longest streak in the series’ lengthy history.
