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Go Bucks!

For the first time in the conference, a football team and both the men's and women's basketball teams are outright Big Ten champs.

Both Ohio State basketball team won the conference outright last year, too. That feat marked the first time in Big Ten history that both a men's and women's basketball team had won both outright conference championships in the same season. (Last year, the football team shared the conference title with Penn State.)

"I think it speaks volumes about Ohio State," says Thad Matta, OSU men's basketball coach. "With what we have been able to accomplish here the last few years in winning a conference championship in those three sports is a tribute to this university. People don't understand how hard that is to do. This place is incredible. In all sports we are fortunate with the kids we have. It's a tribute to The Ohio State University and all it has to offer."

This year's back-to-back title is a throwback for the men's team, which hasn't been this good since the 1960s. Between 1960 and 1962, the team claimed three consecutive outright Big Ten titles. The men's are on an 11-game winning streak, their longest since 1962. And the team is now ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, another accomplishment last achieved in 1962.

“I think it speaks volumes about Ohio State. This place is incredible.”
—Men's basketball coach Thad Matta

Much of the focus this year has been on Greg Oden, a 7-foot freshman center who has been compared to LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The women are enjoying their own winning streak. Their victory over Michigan clinched their third consecutive championship. Seniors Stephanie Blanton (forward), Jessica Davenport (center), and Brandie Hoskins (guard)--stars in Coach Foster's first recruiting class--are credited with leading the team to its most successful seasons since the 1980s.

Thanks for a great season, Buckeyes, and good luck in postseason play.

(Text: University Marketing Communications. Images: Department of Athletics)

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