Can Thad woo Thomas back for one more magical run???  Will Thomas decide to take his talents to the NBA level???

Buckeye Nation are praying for one last hoorah…

According to DraftExpress.com, Deshaun is currently ranked as the 51st pick in the upcoming 2013 NBA Draft.  If this is true, I don’t see Thomas leaving early as most 2nd round draft picks start out in the D-League.  Will he be enticed to go though after the gruesome, freak injury that occurred to Kevin Ware over the weekend?  If Thomas does leave, who is left to carry the offense?

Here are the projected returning players for the 2013-14 Ohio State Buckeyes:

Aaron Craft 10PTS/GM, 4AST/GM

Lenzelle Smith, Jr. 9.2PTS/GM

LaQuinton Ross 8.3PTS/GM

Sam Thompson 7.8PTS/GM

Evan Ravenel 4.9PTS/GM

Shannon Scott 4.9PTS/GM

Amir Williams 3.5PTS/GM

Amedeo Della Valle1 2.5PTS/GM

Trey McDonald 1.3PTS/GM

Jake Lorbach 0.7PTS/GM

Alex Rogers 0.2PTS/GM

Looking at this… where is the scoring going to come from?  The Buckeyes do have two fabulous incoming recruits coming in next year… 6’3 Guard – Kameron Williams and 6’7 Forward – Marc Loving.  Both have the potential to be elite scorers, averaging over 20 PTS/GM this past year for their AAU/High School teams.  Is the Buckeye Nation confident that a Aaron Craft led offense fueled by two freshmen can lead them back to the Elite Eight?  My guess is, no.

So many questions surround a significant part of this Buckeyes Elite Eight team… if Deshaun decides to come back, the Buckeyes will be a instant favorite – if not, an uphill climb awaits.

Mar 10, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard D.J. Richardson (1) reacts after losing the ball to Ohio State Buckeyes guard Aaron Craft (4) at the Schottenstein Center. Ohio State won the game 68-55. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Ohio State will begin its Big Ten tournament run on Friday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers who advanced by defeating the Purdue Boilermakers. The Cornhuskers eliminated the Boilermakers, 57-55.

This will be the third meeting between the two schools this season. Ohio State won both of the prior contests. On January 2nd, Ohio State defeated Nebraska 70-44 at home. In Lincoln, the Buckeyes beat the Cornhuskers, 63-56.

Nebraska enters this game with a 15-17 record and finished 5-13 in conference play. The Cornhuskers struggle to get the ball in the basket. They only score an average of 58.5 points per game. This total is 333rd out of 347 teams that play Division I basketball.

Fortunately for Nebraska, they are a little better on defense. They allow 63.5 points per game, which is tied for 98th in the country.

The Cornhuskers are led by Senior Guard Dylan Talley who scores 13.9 points per game, grabs 4.8 rebounds and dishes out 2.5 assists.

Ohio State is currently on a five game winning streak. They have expectations of playing on Sunday. Nebraska’s only chance is to survive and advance. Great efforts should be expected from both teams. However, Ohio State’s talent and execution should prevail as the game enters halftime and as the second half drags on.