By: Zack Hayes via huffingtonpost.com --  The much-maligned Tyshawn Taylor posted a redemptive senior season, staying out of Bill Self’s doghouse, limiting turnovers and shooting a robust 39 percent from three. Taylor is a tough cover due to his blazing speed, swift crossover and irrepressible confidence, a characteristic never more evident than when Taylor pulled up for a 3-on-1 three-pointer late in Kansas’ Elite Eight win over North Carolina despite the fact he hadn’t made a shot from behind the arc in ... Read More

By:  Matt Conner via sbnation.com --  The Kansas Jayhawks have already faced and defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes back in December, but the biggest asterisk associated with the win was the absence of OSU's best player Jared Sullinger. Now that the two are meeting again in the Final Four, KU can only hope for the same results while the Buckeyes are banking on Sullinger's return making the difference. Yet Kansas has a player in the middle who could make a significant difference, even ... Read More

By RANDY COVITZ via The Kansas City Star --NEW ORLEANS -- The Ohio State basketball team may be in the Final Four, but they realize they’re sharing the headlines back in Columbus. Spring football started this week. But the beleaguered gridiron Buckeyes can thank their basketball brethren for helping repair the tarnished image of Ohio State athletics and, for a few months this winter, taking fans’ minds off a turbulent football season. Football coach Jim Tressel was forced out last May for lying about NCAA ... Read More

By Tammy Nunez via nola.com -- A file cabinet could be filled with newspaper articles written this season about what drives Jared Sullinger. There is last year’s 62-60 NCAA Tournament loss to Kentucky, after guard Brandon Knight’s winning shot with five seconds left — an image that Sullinger, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound Ohio State forward, hung on a wall. There is the talk that Sullinger, a sophomore, shied away from Kansas and a matchup against the Jayhawks’ Thomas Robinson when the teams met Dec. 10. ... Read More

By MICHAEL PERIATT via nytimes.com --    The Quad asked writers at newspapers on the campuses of teams that made the Final Four for reports on what to expect on Saturday. “The Phog” proved too much for the Buckeyes the first time Ohio State faced Kansas. It was Dec. 10 and Ohio State Coach Thad Matta told his Kansas counterpart, Bill Self, that he had an early Christmas gift for him. Jared Sullinger, who was dealing with back spasms, wasn’t going to play. Without their preseason ... Read More

By Doug Lesmerises via The Plain Dealer --  NEW ORLEANS, La. — In the locker room of the dome with the roof so high, to a shooter it may as well be the sky, Ohio State's Deshaun Thomas was asked Friday who among the Buckeyes was the best shooter. "That's a hard question. What do you think?" Thomas asked. Told that freshman LaQuinton Ross had voted for Thomas, the sophomore hemmed and hawed some more. "[Will Buford's] got a nice stroke," Thomas said. "It's kind ... Read More

By: AP via mariettatimes.com --  NEW ORLEANS  — Walking down Bourbon Street, Aaron Craft stops to sign autographs for a few kids and is asked about his older brother. Craft shrugs. While he's in the Big Easy trying to lead Ohio State to its first national title in 52 years, his big brother and role model is headed off to war for a second time. Where Brandon is, where he's headed, when he might talk to him again, Craft doesn't know. Even when big ... Read More

By Paul Daugherty via usatoday.com --   NEW ORLEANS - It still sounds strange to praise a college kid for staying in school a second year. Even if that praise is being dropped on "student athletes'' - as the NCAA people insist on calling them - whose futures are full of dollars. Most degrees require four years, at least. Keeping the academic faith for two years isn't remarkable. It's, well, assumed. Yet Jared Sullinger's decision to forestall his future for a year is notable, ... Read More

By: Lee Feinswog  via NCAA.com -- NEW ORLEANS – The December doldrums are not the same as March Madness. Luckily for Ohio State, which lost at Kansas 78-67 on Dec. 10 in what cannot be considered a prelude to their national semfinal matchup Saturday at the Final Four. “It was our first loss of the season,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “I think of it more in terms of how that game prepared us with what we had to deal with going into the rigors of ... Read More

By: AP via si.com --  NEW ORLEANS  - Welcome to "The Other Game'' at the Final Four. OK, so, the Ohio State-Kansas matchup may not have the fantastic freshmen,  the outspoken coaches or blood-feud story line of the opening semifinal between  Kentucky and Louisville. But this one still should be worth a two-hour  investment in front of the TV set Saturday night. Besides the chance to watch two top-line teams play for a spot in the  national title game, the Buckeyes-Jayhawks game offers a ... Read More