While the Ohio State football team works its way up the BCS ladder, the Buckeye men’s basketball team has settled in near the top of the polls.
OSU rose to No. 2 in both the Associated Press and Coaches’ polls Monday, trailing only Duke in the standings.
The Buckeyes jumped Big Ten foe Michigan State, which dropped to No. 6 in both polls after losing to Connecticut in the Maui Invitational last Tuesday.
OSU coach Thad Matta showed little interest in the rankings when he spoke with media Monday.
“I haven’t seen a ton of other teams play, so I really don’t know who’s really, really good,” Matta said. “I do know that it is early.”
The Buckeyes’ stay among the top teams could last a while. OSU doesn’t play another ranked team until Jan. 9, when it hosts No. 13 Minnesota. Big Ten play could provide the Buckeyes with their most challenging competition, as five teams in the conference are ranked.
Matta warned about the minimal room for error as the No. 2 team in the Top 25.
“There’s not much room to go up but there’s a lot of room to go down, that’s for sure,” Matta said. “I think that it’s exciting for the program and that sort of thing, but I’ve always said this: ‘I’d like to be there at the end as opposed to the beginning.'”
